The Labour candidate hoping to topple the Tories in a marginal County Durham constituency has been announced.
Members of the Sedgefield branch of the Labour Party selected Alan Strickland as their parliamentary candidate at the next General Election.
Mr Strickland grew up in Newton Aycliffe, the main town in the constituency, and currently lives in the area with his family.
The constituency is in line for change in 2023, with the Boundary Commission proposing changing the name to ‘Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor’.
But the selection process was marred by controversy just weeks before the candidate was chosen as dozens of constituency officials resigned from the Labour Party amid claims it does not want working class campaigners to contest for a marginal seat.
Read more: How political boundaries across the North East could change
Several members of Sedgefield Labour resigned amid accusations of a “stich-up” after the longlist for the next parliamentary candidate was revealed.
A scathing letter signed by members of the Sedgefield team was sent to Labour Party officials, accusing the party of taking decisions out of the hands of local constituents.
The resignations include former chairman of Sedgefield Constituency Labour Party (CLP) Paul Daly, who was not selected as a candidate in the process.
Speaking after his selection, Alan Strickland said: “A huge thank you to the local members for selecting me as the Labour candidate for Sedgefield. It is a privilege, and I will work hard every day to give the people of Sedgefield an MP who will fight for this brilliant place.
“Sedgefield has been let down by 12 years of Conservative rule. The Tories crashed the economy and they are going to make working people pay the price. Only Labour has a plan to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future.
“Sedgefield needs a Labour MP, and this country needs a Labour government. I will work tirelessly to make that happen and bring Sedgefield back to the Labour Party again.”
Read next:
- Dozens of Sedgefield Labour members resign over 'stitch-up' selection
- The part of North Yorkshire that could be about to lose Rishi Sunak as MP
- North East MP calls out troll on Twitter after ‘disgusting’ post
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