Steph Booth,the wicked stepmother, of Tony Blair won the candidacy after the previous candidate for deselected by Labour’s high command for failing to disclose being cautioned for criminal damage.

Steph Booth is accused by some members of the local Labour party of being instrumental in the removal of her predecessor.

For full background and the latest unedifying bout have a sneaky peek at http://www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/forum/index.html

It leaves me asking one question:

SHOULDN’T YOU LOT BE FIGHTING AN ELECTION!!!

Our Hilary Myers and the Tory’s Craig Whittaker certainly are.

Considering I’ve reported and commented on some of the recent furore in the PPC selection and not always in a flattering terms, I must say both she and Tony were genuinely polite and friendly towards me.

Credit where credit’s due.

That’s not to say I won’t be watching the press for more news on Labour’s Calder Valley woes.

With friends like these, who need enemies.

Coming just a few weeks after the McBride email debacle, it looks like the Cherie Blair’s wicked stepmother has been reading The Little Labour Book of Dirty Tricks.

Following accusations of selection voting irregularities, this latest story will do the Labour Party no favours in the Calder Valley.

Update:

Just read the comments concerned on the Halifax Courier website:

anjustarks, calder valley 15/01/2009 16:46:47

Lucas B. It’s exactly this kind of stubborn insistence that only you and people that think like you are right that puts the ordinary voter off. Why on Earth would anyone in this consituency bother to vote at all let alone vote Labour? Think I’ll just stay at home on voting day

In an article in the Yorkshire Post members of the Calder branch of the Labour Party are alleging postal voting irregularities including that Mrs. Booth’s supporters directly helped party members to fill in their postal voting papers.

Of the votes 95 cast for Mrs. Booth in the selection, 73 were postal votes.

Of the 52 votes cast for Cllr. Susan Press, 17 were postal votes.

The other votes were made in person at the hustings on April 9th.

Effectively; the selection of Steph Booth was a done deal before the hustings began.

It could be that Mrs. Booth fought a better all-round campaign or, as suggested by some local Labour Party members, it could be a little more sinister.

This latest episode comes on the back of the Labour Party NEC’s ousting of the previous Labour candidate, Janet Oosthuysen, for receiving a police caution for scratching an ex-partner’s car. Janet narrowly beat Steph Booth by a handful of votes last July.

This could well be a space that needs to be watched.

This is second time lucky for Mrs. Booth having been previously beaten for the PPC by local town councillor Janet Oosthuysen by just five votes.

Janet went on to be vetoed by the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee in January following revelations that she had received a police caution for damaging her ex-partner’s car.

It is widely rumoured and believed in the Calder Valley that close supporters of Steph Booth briefed the press with these and other revelations in what was ultimately a successful attempt to unseat Janet and install Mrs. Booth.

It looks like the Steph Booth faction got their way in the end but will the Labour Party unite behind Steph Booth – We’ll see!!!

Hat tip to the fallen (this blog also makes interesting reading for a view of internal machinations of the Labour Party): http://grimmerupnorth.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-lost.html