Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Leicester East Labour party branch suspended over operation concerns

It comes after what has already been a turbulent year for the Labour party in Leicester, following mass deselections prior to the local elections in May

Leicester East Labour party branch suspended over operation concerns

THE Labour party has suspended its entire Leicester East branch.

The national executive (NEC) is investigating the troubled constituency Labour party (CLP) over concerns around its operation, according to an email seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).


All branch and constituency Labour party meetings will be stopped “until further notice”, and all CLP and branch officers have been “relieved of their positions and duties” while an internal investigation takes place, the email said.

It has not yet been confirmed what specifically prompted the suspension. A Labour source said in reaction: “The NEC has a duty to safeguard the integrity of CLPs, to ensure they are properly run in line with the party’s rules and procedures and can operate fully, inclusively and democratically.”

It comes after what has already been a turbulent year for the Labour party in Leicester, following mass deselections prior to the local elections in May. The national committee purged 19 of its councillors ahead of the elections – a decision slammed as “undemocratic” at the time.

A majority of those deselected were from a black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background, which also led to criticism. Labour sources stressed that the newly-selected candidates were representative of all communities.

But the party lost a significant number of seats in Leicester East wards following the shake-up. Labour managed only 31 seats in the May local elections compared to 53 in 2019.

Rushey Mead, Belgrave, North Evington and Evington were previously Labour strongholds within the constituency. The areas had all-Labour councillors after the 2019 elections, but lost all seats to Conservative candidates this year.

At parliamentary level, current Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe was elected under Labour, but was expelled from the party in 2021 after her conviction for harassing Michelle Merritt, a friend of her boyfriend Lester Thomas, for more than 18 months.

Previous Labour MP for the constituency Keith Vaz, who served as an MP for 32 years, retired from parliament after being caught with male prostitutes and offering to get drugs for them. The city’s mayor, Labour’s Sir Peter Soulsby, told the LDRS the suspension had “been a long time coming.”

He said: “It has been very evident that in this constituency party, there were a number of concerns about the way in which it was operating and these were of course, exacerbated during the run up to the last city council election.

“It was clear the intervention the national party conducted more generally in Leicester was very much influenced by their concern about this particular constituency and its operation.

“Councillors, both Labour and in other parties, will continue to operate as effective representatives of the electorates during this time.

“I would be very surprised if anybody in the Labour party in Leicester will be in the slightest bit surprised at the news.

“The general feeling is the operation and the control of that party has been problematic for a number of years.”

He added: “I think it is a very healthy move.” A spokesperson for the East Leicester CLP said: “The regional Labour party suspended the local government committee of Leicester City this earlier this year. It then removed the right of all branches to choose their candidates for the elections in April across the city.

“This affected all three CLPs. As a result Labour lost 17 seats. No concerns were ever raised by the regional party.

“Many Labour CLPs are suspended in England – this is the method by which the national party takes control.

“It is undemocratic and wrong and taken from the Putin guide to politic.”

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less