Official quits as new row breaks out over Labour candidate

Published on Monday 15 March 2010 22:09

LABOUR appeared to be embroiled in a second major dispute in Scotland involving the selection of a candidate.

With members of the East Lothian party this week voting on whether MP Anne Moffat should remain as their candidate, another row appears to have broken out in Airdrie and Shotts.

Pamela Nash, 25, a researcher for retiring MP John Reid and a native of the constituency, was selected as candidate last night. But this came after rancour over the way the party's National Executive Committee had imposed an all-woman shortlist.

Some warned the decision could result in the seat becoming a Scottish version of a Welsh seat won by an independent candidate – seen as a protest against Labour's all-woman shortlist there.

And yesterday it emerged that the constituency chairman, Brian Brady, had resigned. Some sources claimed that he had done so in protest against the all-woman shortlist.

He and constituency secretary Peter Sullivan had been highly critical of the NEC decision to impose an all-woman shortlist on the constituency.

However, last night party chiefs in Scotland said that Mr Brady had resigned because he had misjudged the mood of the constituency, pointing out that 80 per cent of members took part in the selection process.

In a statement released through the Labour Party, Mr Brady said: "As chair, I thought the majority of my members were against an all-woman shortlist, but clearly I misread the mood of the party members, who did not rally round that position.

"It is important the chair knows the mood of the party, so I have resigned as chair, but will be campaigning for Labour to win the election."

A Labour spokesman said: "It is nonsense to suggest that the local party was forced to take on any candidate.

"The days of centrally-imposed candidates are over."