Labour Party chiefs have been accused of ‘fixing’ the selection of a Southwark councillor candidate after just one name was left on the final shortlist.
Youcef Hassaine has been chosen to replace Alice Macdonald as Labour’s Newington Ward candidate following her recent resignation – and ahead of a by-election on June 29.
But an inside source claim senior party officials hijacked the process – taking it out of local hands and giving rival candidates a narrow window to apply for the position.
This meant that Youcef Hassaine was the only name on the shortlist for the safe Labour seat when local party members voted on Tuesday, May 30.
Some Labour members say Hussain is to the centre of the party, stoking long-running fears that Labour is deliberately blocking left-wing candidates.
A Labour spokesperson insisted the selection process was “run in line with our rules and procedures” and that they were “really pleased” with their chosen candidate.
The controversy has come about as a result of Labour Cllr Alice Macdonald’s recent resignation.
She is Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Norwich North and officially resigned from the council two weeks ago – prompting a scramble to select a new candidate ahead of the by-election.
The process to replace her would normally be overseen by the local Labour group but, in a shock move, the London Regional Office took over.
A Labour spokesperson said in a “perfect world” the process would have been run locally but that time pressures had necessitated a “truncated” timeline.
But an anonymous Labour source was unhappy with the process. They said: “I suppose people were worried before the by-election was announced that there’d be a fix-up.
“We were even more concerned when London Region took the process over.”
“People had a short timetable to apply for it – 48 hours, perhaps even less. We could have had a bit more notice. Some would say it was so the regional office could put its fix in.”
The selection panel ultimately produced a shortlist of just two names. This was reduced to one name – Youcef Hassaine – when the other candidate dropped out.
According to his LinkedIn, Youcef Hassaine is a diversity and inclusion manager for Transport for London. He is understood to be a Camberwell and Peckham Labour member.
Labour stormed to victory in Newington in the 2022 local elections, taking 65 per cent of votes.
It will face competition from the Liberal Democrats who candidate is local resident and magistrate Vikas Aggarwal.
The Conservatives’ candidate is Lewis Jones.
Labour has often been accused of deliberately blocking ‘left-wing’ candidates from standing for election. Harriet’s Harman MP’s succession was, for example, fraught with controversy – with accusations that Labour was engineering the process to push their preferred candidates.
A Labour spokesperson said: “The selection process was run in line with our rules and procedures. We’re really pleased to have a good local candidate who will be a hard working champion for the people of Newington.”
