Emma Whysall wins Chipping Barnet selection race

Labour members in Chipping Barnet have again chosen Emma Whysall to be their parliamentary candidate in the next election.

LabourList has learned that Whysall won by 369 to 312 votes, on a high turnout of over 50%. The selection was conducted by postal ballot, using a preferential voting system.

I am humbled to be reselected as the @UKLabour candidate for @ChippingLabour. 354 votes to turn the seat red. Let’s get the job done!

— Emma Whysall (@EmmaWhysall) November 21, 2018

The successful candidate was endorsed by Unison, Jewish Labour Movement, Barnet Young Labour, Andrew Dismore, Bambos Charalambous and Catherine West.

Whysall is a member of soft-left group Open Labour, which also supported her candidacy. But the win will be taken as a victory for Corbynsceptics, who largely supported Whysall over Holly Kal-Weiss, the runner-up backed by John McDonnell, Diane Abbott, Momentum, TSSA and BFAWU among Labour left figures and organisations.

Chipping Barnet surprisingly became a key marginal seat at the last election, when the majority of sitting Tory MP Theresa Villiers was slashed to just 353.