200 Labour Party members were not entitled to vote in

candidate selection

RED-FACED officials have been forced to re-stage the ballot which knocked Lewisham's council leader Dave Sullivan out of the running to be mayor.

The embarrassing blunder means a jubilant Cllr Sullivan is back in the frame to become Lewisham's first directly-elected mayor.

Cllr Sullivan demanded an investigation after he was sensationally de-selected as a Labour Party mayoral candidate by his own party members.

The de-selection was particularly painful for Cllr Sullivan as he spearheaded the council's switch to a new cabinet-style of local government lead by a directly-elected mayor.

He was favourite for selection until Labour Party members chose outsider, Bellingham ward Councillor Steve Bullock in a closely-run ballot held last December.

Cllr Sullivan was defeated with 369 votes to Cllr Bullocks' 431, and he made an official complaint to the Greater London Labour Party (GLLP).

None of Cllr Sullivan's complaints were upheld but the subsequent investigation into the handling of selection procedures unearthed an entirely new problem.

The GLLP had sent ballot papers to the full list of 2,200 party members in Lewisham but 200 were either in arrears or their membership had expired.

And, because this blunder breached party rules, the party's National Executive organisation committee has ordered a re-run of the candidate selection ballot.

Cllr Sullivan said: "I am pleased General Secretary of the Labour Party David Triesman has conducted a thorough investigation which has unearthed more than 200 people voting who were not entitled to.

"This clearly made the result unsafe and I am grateful to the General Secretary for the apology he issued to all the members of the party in Lewisham."

He added: "I am confident that now Labour Party members understand the extent of the errors, they will certainly be willing to vote again to ensure the candidate selected is done so through a fair process."

Mayoral candidate Councillor Bullock said: "It's clear the issues which were raised by the losing candidate made no difference to the outcome and would not have led to a re-ballot.

"In the circumstances, I have faith in the common sense of local Labour Party members who have already made their choice of candidate clear."

The committee has also ordered an independent scrutineer be appointed to run the new ballot, with eligible members receiving more details as

soon as possible.

alaithwaite@london.newsquest.co.uk