NEC member Nav Mishra triumphs in Stockport selection race

Nav Mishra, a Momentum-backed member of Labour’s national executive committee, has won the Stockport parliamentary selection race by a significant margin.

LabourList understands that 592 eligible ballots were cast, along with 70 ineligible votes. Mishra won the contest with 338 votes, while local councillor Julie Reid secured 218, disability activist Mike Cain got 12 and Fiona Dent 23. The selection was conducted exclusively via postal ballots, which were counted today.

The NEC member, who lives in the constituency, was backed by nine trade unions including Unite and Unison, and nominated by five party branches. Several shadow cabinet members backed him, including local frontbencher Angela Rayner and John McDonnell who made a supportive video.

The result is another big win for Corbynite group Momentum, which helped to organise Mick Whitley’s campaign in Birkenhead. Their efforts also saw Whitley win on the first round last weekend.

As in Birkenhead, the selection process proved controversial when the NEC decided not to allocate an all-women shortlist despite the CLP voting in favour of one, then when a local councillor endorsed by the Jewish Labour Movement didn’t make the shortlist.

Stockport constituency Labour members need a trustworthy candidate.

That’s why I’m standing to be the next parliamentary candidate ✊✊

I’ve backed Corbyn in his leadership campaigns and supported him on the NEC. As a Stockport local, I know what needs to be done… pic.twitter.com/kOJxntrP5S

— Navendu Mishra (@NavPMishra) June 17, 2019

Ann Coffey, who quit Labour along with six colleagues to form The Independent Group in February this year, currently represents Stockport as a Change UK MP. She was first elected in 1992, and now enjoys a majority of 14,477 votes.

Mishra has been a parliamentary candidate before. In the 2017 snap election, he ran for Labour in Hazel Grove – a neighbouring seat, where William Wragg has sat as the Tory MP since 2015. Mishra secured 9,036 votes, coming third in the constituency, which has always been Conservative or Lib Dem.