Labour MP urges party to pause new seat selection process

An MP has called on Welsh Labour's ruling body to "pause" the process for selecting a candidate for the new seat of Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon.

Beth Winter's Cynon Valley seat is due to disappear under the new UK election boundary changes.

Ms Winter said the current process has "been pushed through and rushed".

She urged Labour's Welsh Executive Committee (WEC) to listen to calls for a longer process with in-person hustings.

The calls had come the first minister, party members and trade unions, she told BBC Wales.

The party must pick between her and frontbencher Merthyr Tydfil's Gerald Jones for the new seat - which will combine areas of both constituencies to create the new Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon seat.

A special meeting to approve the selection process was held by Labour's Welsh Executive Committee on Saturday, with party officials proposing a 14-day contest period with online hustings.

BBC Wales was told by four members of WEC that First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford, who sits on the committee, voiced support for amendments for a longer contest and in-person hustings.

The committee eventually settled on a 16 day contest period but, since Saturday, that timetable has since been extended to 22 days.

But Ms Winter says "serious concerns" remain about the process, saying it will "disenfranchise local members" due to the online only hustings and the short campaign period.

"At this moment in time, due to the way it's been pushed through and rushed, I think it needs to be reviewed, there is confusion in the process and in the interim we need a pause on the process in its entirety," she said.

"The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, in the WEC on the weekend supported Unison's amendments for a longer period of contest and in-person hustings.

"I urge the WEC to listen to the calls of the first minister, members and trade unions. Put a halt to the process now and undertake a review."

Responding earlier this week to criticism of the selection process, Welsh Labour said: "The Welsh executive committee [on Saturday] met and agreed the process for selecting candidates in contested seats.

"All members in the new constituency will shortly receive details on how to take part and how to vote."

Under the UK government's boundary proposals the number of MPs in Wales would fall by eight from 40 to 32.

Plans to redraw parliamentary boundaries date back to when David Cameron was prime minister.

In November 2020, Ms Winter was one of 18 Labour MPs who signed a letter calling for Jeremy Corbyn to be reinstated to the Labour Party.