Camberwell & Peckham shortlist revealed as selection committee dissolved

A shortlist of four has reportedly been finalised by Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) in the process to determine the party’s next parliamentary candidate for Camberwell and Peckham after the selection committee was dissolved.

Southwark News reported today that the selection committee finalised a shortlist of three names – subject to ratification by the NEC – on Monday evening. Peter Babudu, Miatta Fanhbulleh and Evelyn Akoto were shortlisted. The party later revealed a shortlist of four, however, adding Johnson Situ.

Fahnbulleh received eight local party branch nominations, Babudu received seven, Akoto three and Situ two. Marina Ahmad and Neeraj Patil received none. According to the paper, five out of six committee members agreed the shortlist.

An email, seen by LabourList, was sent to committee members from London region today, however. It described the article by Southwark News as a “blatant attempt to undermine” the selection process.

“The article includes quotes, some of which are inaccurate, from an unnamed member of the selection committee. You will be aware that when we left at 11pm last night, the views of the selection committee members were to be passed onto the NEC and that the final shortlist would be confirmed in due course,” it stated.

“This article is a blatant attempt to undermine that process. I therefore write to inform you that the selection committee has been dissolved and all of you of have been relieved of your duties with immediate effect.”

Southwark News reported comments from an unnamed selection committee member saying that “there’s a small chance [the NEC] might change it” – in reference to the NEC ratifying the shortlist.

“They were all good candidates but you have to take branch nominations into account,” the selection committee member is reported as having said.

“Peter and Miatta are outstanding candidates and Evelyn has done a lot as a councillor and cabinet member and she has a great story. Marina and Johnson just didn’t make it over the line – sometimes it just doesn’t happen.”

Labour confirmed to LabourList that the selection committee had been dissolved. The shortlist of four was susbsequently reported, including Akoto, Babudu and Fahnbulleh alongside Situ. A hustings is scheduled to take place on November 19th.

Situ is a senior adviser to Sadiq Khan and was previously a councillor and cabinet member in Southwark. Fahnbulleh is chief executive of left-wing think tank the New Economics Foundation and a former adviser to Ed Miliband.

Babudu is a former Southwark councillor and assistant director of research and youth understanding at the Youth Endowment Fund. Akoto is a current Southwark councillor and cabinet member for health and wellbeing. She also set up the Southwark Positive Futures fund and created the Southwark Safe Spaces initiative.

The party was criticised when Maurice Mcleod was excluded from standing to be Labour’s candidate last month. The councillor was reportedly excluded from the process over concerns relating historic social media activity, including liking a tweet by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas before he became a councillor.

MPs criticised the decision at the time, and activists highlighted that frontbench Labour MPs have shared a platform in the past with Lucas, including David Lammy and Keir Starmer when campaigning against Brexit.