Labour MP Beth Winter demands selection process review

A Corbyn-supporting Labour MP has demanded an independent review of a party selection process that saw her lose out to a party frontbencher.

Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney MP Gerald Jones beat Beth Winter to be the candidate in the new constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon.

Cynon Valley MP Ms Winter said information was withheld from her at "every stage of the process".

Welsh Labour declined to comment but has previously defended the process.

Ms Winter said she was not told the contest had started until after it began and accused Labour of allowing her rival to use party resources to campaign against her.

In a 17-page document, she raised questions of "trust in the party", calling the selection process "unfair, undemocratic and discriminatory".

After being beaten by Mr Jones in June, Ms accused Labour of placing "unacceptable obstacles" in her way.

The two constituencies the MPs currently represent are being scrapped under UK boundary changes.

Mr Jones is a frontbencher in Keir Starmer's Labour Party, as an opposition whip and newly appointed shadow Scotland minister.

Ms Winter is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group of left-wing Labour MPs and had been a supporter of former leader Mr Corbyn.

Party sources previously said this issue highlighted "left versus right" divisions within Welsh Labour.

Ms Winter's call for an independent review comes with 27 questions for the Labour's Welsh Executive Committee, including asking why her emails about the selection process had not been answered, the rationale "for such an unusually short selection process," and "why were trade unions excluded?"

She also said Mr Jones was permitted to use Labour Party resources in an internal selection campaign, "despite my repeated complaints".

Mr Jones has been asked to respond.

In the document, Ms Winter said she was "not given membership data to enable me to campaign until the evening of the second day of the campaign. I was given an unreasonable timescale to write my statement to be circulated to members".

She also said the short timescale "discriminated against older members (age discrimination)" due to the more time consuming process of sending postal votes and that "voters were disenfranchised".

Her calls for an independent review, she said, followed "repeated attempts to discuss the process with Welsh Labour representatives before, during and since the process".

She added: "Despite this, there remain serious unanswered questions and unresolved concerns."

BBC Wales was told that Welsh Labour would not be responding to Ms Winter's latest calls, but previously defended the process, saying "it is regrettable that the boundary review meant two sitting Welsh Labour MPs have been forced to stand against one another".

"The selection procedure was designed to give all members across the new seat a chance to take part in selecting their candidate and as a result we saw a very high turnout."