Corbyn Faces New Selection Row Over Candidate ‘Parachuted’ In To Keith Vaz’s Seat

Leicester East last went Tory in 1983, when the SDP split the Labour vote. Vaz became its MP four years later.

Labour’s chair Ian Lavery has written a letter distancing the party from its recent conference vote, as other MPs warned of “foreign interference” by Indian nationalists in the general election.

Other internal party critics also highlighted Webbe’s record on anti-Semitism, pointing to a tweet from 2018 when she defended Corbyn by saying the “combined machinery of state, political mainstream elite” were pushing “false allegations pretend claims”.

Webbe, who staunchly defended Ken Livingstone when she worked with him as Mayor of London, has insisted there is no place for anti-Semitism in Labour.

She said this year that as chair of the disputes panel since July 2018, she has “worked tirelessly to develop fair and efficient processes”.

In a statement issued through the party, she said: “I feel honoured to have been selected as the Labour candidate for Leicester East and I will seek to build on the immense contribution Keith Vaz made during his 32 years as an MP for the people of Leicester East.

“Leicester is where I was born and grew up. The city is rich in its diversity and potential but it has suffered as a result of Conservative cuts to our vital services.”

In an interview with HuffPost after the 2017 election, she said: “I accept theoretically we didn’t win. But in a way we won an awareness. We won the opportunity for our manifesto to be heard.

“Jeremy, in a sense, didn’t lose, the Labour party didn’t lose. And the Conservatives didn’t win.”

Her supporters point to her long record in local government in London and her role in helping the police draft policy on gun crime.

Shadow cabinet minister Richard Burgon praised her last year.