Norwich North candidate selected

Today the members of Norwich North CLP met to select the candidate who will aim to beat Tory Minister Chloe Smith (you may have heard of once or twice). Norwich North was a Labour seat until a controversial by-election in 2009 resulted in the seat switching from Labour to the Tories.

Today Jessica Asato was selected local party members to be their candidate in 2015. Here’s a brief profile of Jessica:

Jess Asato works as an Advisor to Shadow Cabinet Minister, Tessa Jowell MP, and is a Labour and Co-op Councillor in Islington where she Chairs the Corporate Parenting Board. Jess is also the Vice-Chair of the Fabian Society, a Council Member of the Electoral Reform Society, and a Director of Left Foot Forward. She grew up in Norfolk and went to school just outside Great Yarmouth.

Congratulations to Jessica and commiserations to the other shortlisted candidate Jo Rust.

Update: We’ve got the numbers in now – 68 votes to 53 – so a good showing for Rust and not an easy victory for Asato by any means, and a good contest between two strong candidates.