Sam Tarry deselected after council leader wins vote to be MP candidate

Ilford South Labour members instead selected Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal on October 10 as their candidate for the constituency at the next general election, to be held by January 2025.

Following the vote, held at Ilford’s Coliseum, Mr Tarry said he was “utterly crestfallen” and raised suggestions of alleged voter fraud.

Mr Athwal won 499 votes and Mr Tarry 361, votes which a Labour spokesperson argued are fully verified.

Mr Athwal told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Ilford is “the only place” he would want to represent.

He added: “The opportunity to be the Labour candidate at the next election and be part of Keir Starmer’s winning team is a real honour.

“My family, my local party, has supported me through thick and thin in recent years. I could not be more grateful for their belief in me.

“Our positive campaign is what I will be taking into the next election.”

Jas Athwal at Redbridge Town Hall (Image: LDRS)

Mr Tarry said he was “extremely concerned” about the integrity of Labour’s electronic voting system, which he said “does not reflect” the feeling of his campaigners.

He added: “I am taking some time to consider what’s next.

"In order to be assured of the integrity of the result, I am asking the party to share with me the full information of who cast electronic votes, by what method, and when they were cast, which I understand is available in the ‘anonyvoter’ system.

“In the meantime, I will continue to represent the people of Ilford South the way I have done for the past three years – with integrity, generosity and inclusivity.

“Thank you to my amazing team of volunteers on the ground who are the best of Ilford.”

A Labour spokesperson declined to comment on Tarry’s suggestions of alleged voter fraud.

Mr Tarry was selected as Labour's candidate for Ilford South for the December 2019 general election after Mr Athwal was excluded from the process by Labour.

Mr Athwal was suspended by the party in October 2019 after "extremely serious allegations" were made against him but he was later cleared and reinstated.

Mr Tarry has firmly denied any involvement in the allegations that led to Cllr Athwal’s suspension from Labour between October 2019 and September 2020.

Ilford South’s ten Labour branches voted to “trigger” an open ballot this summer, meaning Tarry would not automatically be selected as a candidate in the next general election.

Following this, the branches unanimously voted for Mr Athwal to be one of four shortlisted candidates, who also included Redbridge councillor Niki Chahal and Slough’s deputy leader Pavitar Mann.

Before last night’s hustings, Cllrs Chahal and Mann pulled out.

Mr Tarry's deselection comes after he was sacked as shadow transport minister in July.

His axing came after he appeared with striking rail workers on a picket line though Labour said the move was because of comments he made during TV appearances.