Wakefield Labour candidate chosen after committee walks out

Labour has selected its candidate for the Wakefield by-election prompted by Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan's resignation after his sexual assault conviction.

NHS worker Simon Lightwood who was chosen to contest the seat urged the Conservatives to set an election date.

However, the executive committee which runs the local Labour Party walked out of the final selection meeting.

The group resigned last week after objecting to the way the final two candidates had been shortlisted.

The by-election was prompted by the resignation of Mr Khan after his conviction for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.

The seat is seen as a key target for Labour, which had held it for more than 87 years before the Conservatives won it in 2019 with a majority of 3,358.

Mr Lightwood, a member of Labour's National Policy Forum, had been shortlisted alongside Kate Dearden, who works for trade union Community.

Speaking after his selection, he said he was honoured to have been chosen.

"Twenty years ago I joined the Labour Party here in Wakefield, and for 10 years I lived, studied and worked in this great city," he said.

"Times are much tougher than they should be for hardworking people across our constituency," he said, promising to fight "tooth and nail" for the area.

At the hustings today, Wakefield's outgoing executive committee walked out, saying in a statement it "could not support the unfair and anti-democratic selection process" imposed on party members.

They said to have stayed and voted would have "condoned the processes" used and they did not want to take part in a process they believed breached Labour Party rules.

The group said turnout for the hustings had been low, claiming only 23% of members locally were there.

The BBC has asked the Labour Party for its reaction to the executive committee's comments.

A date for the Wakefield by-election has not yet been set.

Mr Lightwood said: "Wakefield has been without an MP and a voice at Westminster for over a year. The Conservatives now need to call this by-election so local people can finally get the representation they deserve."