Unite union accused of ‘rigging’ selection for Jeremy Corbyn ally in Labour target seat 

Mike Hedges Jeremy Corbyn Unite union Watford 
Unite member Mike Hedges has close ties with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn Credit: PA/Twitter - MikeHedges

The union Unite has been accused of “rigging” the selection for a key Labour target seat in favour of its Momentum-backed candidate, who has close ties to Jeremy Corbyn.

Local members of the Watford Constituency Labour Party (CLP) have reacted angrily after the central party overturned its selection committee’s decision not to add taxi driver and Unite member, Mike Hedges, to its parliamentary shortlist.

The decision came after Unite wrote to Labour’s general secretary, Iain McNicol, saying Mr Hedge’s union backing had not been given “full consideration” by the local party.

A source in the Watford party told The Telegraph: “Unite are rigging the democratic process in favour of their candidate. It’s just unbelievable.”

Unite is one of Labour’s biggest financial backers and poured almost £2.4 million into the party’s snap 2017 General Election campaign.

Pauline Doyle, Unite Director of Campaigns and Communications, rejected the accusation saying: “It is ridiculous to suggest that Unite can 'rig' the system. Adding to a shortlist is not undermining democracy, it is broadening it.”

She added: “There is clearly an organised briefing operation against Mike which is out of order. The party members in Watford will be the people who decide and should be allowed to do so without interference.”

Mr Hedges, who is backed by seven other unions as well as Unite, ferried Mr Corbyn around in his cab during the 2015 Labour leadership contest.

His partner Jayne Fisher, is a former Sinn Fein member of staff who has previously worked in Mr Corbyn’s office.

Mr Hedges, the chairman of Unite’s London and Eastern Political Committee, has also been endorsed by senior members of the Shadow Cabinet including Shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott, and Shadow First Secretary of State, Emily Thornberry.

Watford is one of Labour's target seats for which the party aims to have parliamentary candidates in place before Christmas. It is currently held by Conservative MP, Richard Harrington, who had his majority cut from almost 10,000 to just over 2,000 at the last election.

Multiple sources in the Watford CLP claimed Mr Hedges, who lives in Mr Corbyn’s borough of Islington, only started actively campaigning in the constituency around two months ago and appeared with a well-funded campaign and website, alongside his backing from senior frontbenchers.  Mr Hedges’s Twitter first starts making references to campaigning in Watford in early October.

Due to Labour rules, he was automatically included on Watford’s parliamentary longlist after being nominated by the CLP’s two affiliated unions - the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and the Communication Workers Union.

The Labour rule book stipulates that local parties have to give “full consideration” to candidates nominated by an “affiliated organisation” when determining the shortlist.

On Sunday November 26, the eight longlisted Watford candidates were interviewed by the CLP’s selection committee, the members of which were voted for by the Watford members.

Mr Hedges did not make the shortlist of four after the panel decided other candidates had performed better.

A Watford member who was at the interviews said:  “He interviewed quite poorly and that’s what the majority of the selection committee felt and there were other candidates who performed much better than he did.”

Four different sources told The Telegraph that the representative of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) at the selection interviews confirmed Mr Hedges had been given “full consideration” at the Sunday meeting.

The next day Unite's Political Director, Anneliese Midgley, sent a letter co-signed by seven other unions to Mr McNicol asking him to review the selection as the union felt Mr Hedges had not been given “full consideration”

She also argued the selection should be reviewed saying local Watford party branches were not allowed to select their own candidates to go forward for the shortlist.

The Telegraph understands that Watford’s six local branches were dissolved eight years ago in favour of all-member meetings, and that Mr Hedges requested they be reformed ahead of the selection process so they could nominate candidates.

On Tuesday November 28, the NEC representative who had overseen the selection told the Watford CLP the party’s ruling body informed local members it had been ruled that Mr Hedges had not been given full consideration and was being added to the shortlist.

CLP sources said Watford members were now receiving multiple calls from Unite asking them to support Mr Hedges when members vote on shortlisted candidates on December 14.

A Watford member said: “There’s a lot of anger around the CLP. They [Unite] are trying to impose a candidate on the local constituents using their massive resources.”

A Spokesman for Labour said: “The shortlist was decided in line with Labour's procedures and it is Labour's members in Watford who will choose their candidate.”

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