A NUMBER of sitting Labour councillors on Redcar & Cleveland Council face possible deselection ahead of next year’s elections, the council’s leader has confirmed.

The news broke last night (Thursday) and while it is not clear who it involves, George Dunning, who is also the leader of the Labour group, said some of those involved had more than ten years’ service.

A source told The Northern Echo five councillors were interviewed by the Labour Party’s North Regional Board members.

While they have not yet been de-selected they have been told they have not been recommended to go through to the next stage of the process.

While an appeal process is available to the councillors, if rejected then they would be unable to stand as councillors for the party in next year’s local elections.

Cllr Dunning, who said nothing surprised him in politics, said: “A certain amount of councillors have been in touch with me to tell me that they have been deselected.

“My advice to them would be to use the appeal process.”

Asked if he was happy about the situation, he said: “Certainly not. Some of them councillors have been serving councillors for more than ten years.”

He agreed the decision had created turmoil within the Labour group.

“I think it would throw any political group into turmoil,” he said. “Any political group that had sitting councillors deselected with more than ten years’ service in some of them it would create turmoil for.”

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Cllr Dunning said he had spoken with his deputy, Cllr Sheelagh Clarke, above, about the situation.

“I have already spoken to the deputy leader about it and she is of the same view that I am,” he said. “Obviously, it’s not good for the Labour Group on Redcar & Cleveland Council.”

Cllr Dunning said there had been one or two people deselected in the past, but nothing on this scale.

“We have had nothing in relation to long-serving councillors with more than ten years’ service,” he said. “I have never known it happen.”

While dissatisfied with the decision, Cllr Dunning denied that it meant that the national party wanted Redcar & Cleveland Council’s Labour Group to go in a different direction.

“Nationally, I have always supported the leader, Ed Miliband,” he said.

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“To answer directly, we support the national leadership. We are not going in a different direction.”

Redcar and Cleveland Council is made up of 29 Labour councillors and 30 others consisting of members from the Liberal Democrats (11), Conservatives (six), The Independent Group (11) and Independents (two).

A spokesman for the Labour Party said the party did not comment on internal procedures.