Watford party is united, vows new candidate after stormy selection

The Labour candidate who triumphed in one of the most controversial selection contests said the seat is now “united” and is ready for a general election “any time”.

Chris Ostrowski, the 2017 PPC who was chosen again last night in a vote of more than 300 members, said the Watford party was coming together to take on a “weak and incompetent” Tory government.

Ostrowski, who runs an English language training company, beat taxi driver and trade union official Mike Hedges at the end of a contest which was postponed from last year amid a local row over postal ballots.

Hedges, chair of Unite’s London and Eastern political committee, came second in the contest after backing from Momentum and immediately sent his congratulations to Ostrowski.

The staunch Jeremy Corbyn supporter had been excluded from the initial shortlist but was later added back on by a national executive committee official after his supporters argued that the local panel had failed to take into account his nominations.

Today Ostrowski said he was “humbled” by the support he had received.

“We are now united and the Watford Labour Party is campaigning on full throttle as there could be a general election any time. This weak and incompetent Tory government is letting the people of Watford down. It’s time for a change”.

Ostrowski lost by just 2,092 votes in June last year when Tory MP Richard Harrington saw his majority cut from nearly 10,000.

The shortlist was drawn up in November but the selection was subsequently postponed following a dispute over postal vote applications. Labour officials last year accepted procedural errors had occurred but insisted party rules had been followed.