Ian Byrne defeats Anthony Lavelle to win Labour’s West Derby nomination

© Liverpool Echo Ian Byrne MP

Ian Byrne has defeated Anthony Lavelle to retain the Labour nomination for the Liverpool West Derby Parliamentary seat, multiple sources have confirmed.

Mr Byrne, who has represented the West Derby constituency in Parliament since the 2019 General Election, has faced a difficult reselection battle after being triggered by local branches earlier this year.

But today after a hustings event at De La Salle Academy in Croxteth, West Derby Constituency Labour Party members voted for Mr Byrne to once again be their candidate for the safe Labour seat at the next General Election. The vote had come down to a run-off between Mr Byrne and Cllr Lavelle after Hyndburn Councillor Kimberley Whitehead dropped out of the contest earlier today.

A tense meeting saw Mr Byrne defeat his challenger by 210 votes to 198. Earlier in the day supporters of both sides gathered and held placards outside the meeting, with large numbers queuing to get in and have their say.

Some reported denied access to the crucial vote, while others held up signs saying they had been silenced. It was also reported that security guards were in place on the doors of the meeting.

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Mr Byrne, who was voted MP of the year earlier this year for his campaigning work on food poverty and for a Hillsborough Law, was ‘triggered’ by local branches in the summer, meaning he would face a battle to be re-selected as the Labour candidate. Labour initially produced a long-list of candidates, which was then reduced to a shortlist of just Mr Byrne, Cllr Lavelle and Cllr Whitehead. This number was reduced to just two as Cllr Whitehead withdrew today.

Relations between the Byrne and Lavelle camps have not been good during the campaign and the situation reached a crescendo last weekend amid accusations of bullying and intimidation during campaign events.

Mr Byrne tweeted that he faced “shameful” intimidation at an event last Saturday and said he had blocked those “involved in this appalling behaviour”. Responding, Liverpool Council cabinet member Harry Doyle – a leading backer of Cllr Lavelle – said he had been blocked on twitter by the MP and urged him to withdraw his “baffling” claims, adding: “There was no intimidation from any of Anthony’s team.”

Earlier in the selection process, Mr Byrne made allegations of “multiple rule breaches” and said he was considering legal action. He claimed members had been unfairly excluded from nomination meetings in large numbers.

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