Four more Labour parliamentary candidates selected over the weekend

Four more Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) met over the weekend to select their candidates for the next election. All four seats – Colne Valley, Lincoln, Monmouth and Worcester – are currently represented by Tory MPs, with majorities ranging from 3,514 in Lincoln to 9,982 in Monmouth. Here’s a quick look at the candidates selected…

Colne Valley

Paul Davies was selected as the next candidate for Colne Valley. Davies is a councillor on Kirklees council, representing Holme Valley South ward, which is within the constituency. He currently serves as a cabinet member covering the corporate portfolio. He started his career working in the mines in Wales and served as a NUM representative. He has subsequently worked in roles in HR and operations management. Davies’ endorsements included the GMB and Unite.

LabourList understands Davies won selection with 157 votes ahead of Jane East on 60 and Amanda Pinnock on 11. Commenting following the result, Davies said: “Delighted and deeply honoured to have been selected as Labour’s parliamentary candidate. Thank you to all the members who put their faith in me – I won’t let you down. Let’s show Jason McCartney the door!”

Lincoln

Members in Lincoln chose Hamish Falconer as their next candidate. Falconer worked as a diplomat with the Foreign Office between 2014 and 2020 and previously led the department’s terrorism response team. Prior to that, he worked as a team leader at the Department for International Development. He is the son of Labour peer Lord Falconer. His endorsements included the GMB, ASLEF, Community, TSSA and NUM.

LabourList understands Falconer beat rival Naomi Tweddle, a local councillor, taking 82% of the vote. Falconer tweeted following the meeting: “It’s the greatest privilege of my life to be selected as Labour’s candidate for Lincoln at the next general election. I love this city, and it will be my honour to represent it in Westminster. I’d like to thank my team from the bottom of my heart, you are the best of Lincoln.”

Monmouth

Monmouth CLP selected Catherine Fookes. She is a councillor on Monmouthshire County Council, representing Town ward and serving as cabinet member for equalities and engagement. She is the director of the Women’s Equality Network Wales and chair of the Welsh Fabians. She contested Monmouth at the 2016 Senedd elections, coming in second behind the Tory candidate. Her endorsements included the GMB, Community and UNISON.

LabourList understands Fookes won on the first round of voting. Commenting following the result, she said: “Thank you so much to all the [Monmouth CLP] members who voted for me today, to the other brilliant candidates who ran a sisterly campaign [and] to all in my team [and] my family who supported [and] helped me. It’s time for a stronger, fairer, greener Monmouth constituency.”

Worcester

Tom Collins was picked as the next candidate for Worcester. Collins is a former councillor on Worcester City Council, who represented Rainbow Hill ward from 2018 to 2022 and served as vice-chair of the environment committee. Outside of politics, he has worked for Bosch for 17 years and currently leads on the company’s work developing hydrogen-ready boilers for the UK market. His endorsements included the GMB, Unite, Usdaw and ASLEF.

In a tweet following the meeting, Collins said: “I am absolutely delighted that [Worcester CLP] have chosen me to stand to be Worcester’s next MP. The people of our city are looking for a real alternative to Conservative chaos. [Labour] can deliver. I am offering us an MP rooted in our city and a voice for us in Westminster.”