Who will be Labour’s candidate in Leicester South?

By Mark Ferguson / @markferguson

Update: We now know that there are 12 people on the longlist, 4 of whom are women. We’ll try and fill in the gaps over the next few hours. The names that we have are Naheed Arshad-Mather, Patrick Kitterick, Adbul Osman, Ross Willmott, Sally Gimson and Neil Clayton, leaving six others on the longlist of whom two are women. We are presuming that Jon Ashworth has also been shortlisted. If you know someone else who has been longlisted, email us.

At the same time we’re hearing an interesting rumour that Leicester East MP (a very important figure in Leicester politics) is said to be backing Jon Ashworth for the Leicester South selection. This hasn’t been confirmed yet – and even if true, may never be – but if it’s correct it would be a significant boost to Jon’s bid.

Update: Things are beginning to hot up in Leicester South. Following Rory Palmer’s tactical withdrawal late last week, Jonathan Ashworth and Ross Willmott are now seen as the frontrunners, leading a strong field.

A number of candidates turned up to events and canvassing sessions throughout the city over the weekend. On Saturday all three Leicester CLPs came together for a day-long event to start putting the local elections manifesto together. Several potential candidates turned up and contributed over the course of the day, including Ross Willmott, Patrick Kitterick, Neil Clayton, Sally Gimson and Abdul Osman.

On Sunday afternoon a fundraiser organised by members of Aylestone branch turned into a proverbial hustings, with numerous candidates taking advantage of the chance to meet informally with Leicester South members. Patrick Kitterick, Sally Gimson, Jonathan Ashworth, Abdul Osman and Jewel Miah all turned up to the event.

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The party has begun to process of selecting a candidate to replace Sir Peter Soulsby in Leicester South. Soulsby announced his intention to stand down as an MP having been selected as Labour’s candidate for Leicester Mayor at the weekend, as reported on LabourList.

With such a short selection period there is a real sense of unease within the constituency. Local party members, activists and likely candidates are already talking about the race as a foregone conclusion with real concern over the likelihood of a candidate being parachuted into the constituency. There is particular concern as to whether the NEC will shortlist prominent local candidates. Labour Party members in Leicester South are holding their breath for a fair and open contest. The following people are likely to stand:

Naheed Arshad-Mather
Naheed – who was a candidate for the Leicester South selection back in 2004 – seems to have broad experience both inside and outside of the party. She served on the Home Office Task Force on ‘Preventing Extremism Together’, was a Member of the parliamentary task force on Representation, and featured in the Times 100 Muslim Women Power List 2009. She’s also served as a magistrate, and as chair of a housing association, as well as numerous internal party positions. Oh, and she has an MBE. In ordinary circumstances she would be considered a strong candidate, but it will be tough for her to win over local members in such a short space of time.

Jonathan Ashworth
A close personal friend and ally of Ed Miliband (and current Head of Party Relations for the leader) Ashworth’s connections will ensure that he is at least shortlisted for this seat. Probably the most likely candidate outside of Leicestershire to clinch the nomination, Jonathan has already visited the constituency several times over the last few months. With strong ties in East Midlands Labour Party, and as a well-known and respected figure within the party nationally, he should be in the final reckoning.

Updated: We’re now hearing that Ashworth is considered to be the frontrunner. While he may not be a local candidate (which may count against him) there does seem to be real momentum, and significant support behind his campaign. He’s a friend of Ed Miliband’s – but is he Ed’s candidate?

Neil Clayton
Neil is a councillor in Leicester South and has been a key party activist for many years. He has served as Chair of the Leicester West Constituency Labour Party for around 5 years, and held a number of prominent posts before that. He lives and works locally as a solicitor, and is seen by many as a popular and influential figure within the party. Local members are said to know him for his powerful oratory.

Sally Gimson
Sally is a well-known and respected party activist, and has built up an extensive network of friends and supporters throughout Leicester. She stood for Labour in the safe Tory seat of South Leicestershire in 2010. A former Director of Communications for the Family and Parenting Institute, she now works as the Head of Public Policy for Victim Support.

Alex Hilton
Alex Hilton’s campaigning credentials are strong. He was the Labour candidate in Chelsea & Fulham in 2010 and in Canterbury in 2005. He was a Campaigns Co-ordinator for the London Labour Party in 2001 and has worked in campaigning and communications for a range of organisations. He is currently the policy manager for a national cancer charity. In new media Alex built his name by founding the Labourhome.org website, he ran the online campaign for Hilary Benn’s Deputy Leadership bid and serves as a member of the Management Board of Computing for Labour.

Patrick Kitterick
Patrick is an active and prominent member of the party locally and has held a number of important roles. He has lived in the Highfields area of Leicester South since 1997, has chaired the local Leicester South Labour Party for over 10 years and is the longest serving Labour councillor in the constituency, having represented the Leicester South seat of Castle Ward for 8 years. Most recently Patrick was the election agent for Sir Peter Soulsby in Leicester South.

Mian Mayat
Mian is a councillor in Leicester East. He was one of a number of new councillors that were elected in the landslide Leicester Labour victory of 2007. He is well-liked but may struggle to get shortlisted. Earlier this year sought election to a vacant cabinet position within the Labour group, but was comprehensively beaten by a fellow councillor.

Abdul Osman
Abdul is a councillor in Leicester East and currently the cabinet lead for Regeneration and Transport on Labour-controlled Leicester City Council. He came fourth in the five-candidate race to become the Labour nominee for Mayor of Leicester. He has not confirmed as to whether he plans to stand for Leicester South, but several local councillors have already come out in support of him.

Rory Palmer
A clear frontrunner, Palmer is a councillor in Leicester South, has served three years on the council (including one as a cabinet member) and was the Labour candidate for the safe Tory seat of Bosworth in the 2010 General Election. Having quit his cabinet position in late 2010 to run Peter Soulsby’s Mayoral selection campaign, he will no doubt receive a lot of help and support from the outgoing MP. He was also one of only a handful of Leicester Labour politicians to back Ed Miliband for the leadership from the outset.
Updated: Palmer has pulled out of the race to be Labour’s candidate. At a CLP meeting this evening (Thursday) he confirmed that he will be Peter Soulsby’s deputy, should the former Leicester South MP be elected as Mayor. The race increasingly looks like a race between local favourite Ross Willmott, and Ed Miliband’s close friend Jon Ashworth.

Jonathan Roberts
A former PPC for Thirks and Malton, Roberts was a sabbatical officer for nearby Loughborough Uni. With two universities in the constituency, Roberts will be looking to make an argument for winning young people back to the party through the by-election. With years of experience working with MPs, MEPs and government ministers – Roberts could be a dark horse in this race.

Ross Willmott
A strong local candidate, Willmott was the Leader of Leicester City Council’s Labour group for 12 years, and council leader for more than 7 years. He successfully led the Labour group to a landslide victory in the 2007 local elections. He has been a councillor in Leicester for more than 25 years and has also stood for parliament twice, first for Blaby (now South Leicestershire) in 1997, and then again for North West Leicestershire in 2010. He is a prominent and popular local figure and finished a respectable second in the recent Mayoral selection behind Sir Peter Soulsby.

Other potential candidates:
Other candidates who may throw their hats into the ring are former MPs Parmjit Dhandha [Update: Parmjit has now ruled himself out] and Andy Reed (although we’ve heard rumours of former MPs in previous by-election selections which have come to nothing). Former Unite Political Officer Rachel Maskell is also said to be in the running. Maskell was was beaten by Liz Kendall in the 2009 Leicester West selection by just 6 votes.

The schedule for the selection is:

Monday March 14th (noon) – closing date for expressions of interest (with two page CV)
Wednesday March 16th – interviews in London with an NEC panel for longlisted candidates
Saturday March 19th (PM) – Selection meeting in the constituency to select from shortlisted candidates.