Sue Gray’s son picked as Labour candidate for Beckenham and Penge
Sue Gray’s son has been picked by Labour to run for a plum seat at the next election in a move that will spark a fresh row over nepotism within the party.
Liam Conlon won the selection battle for Beckenham and Penge, a newly created constituency in south-east London, and is now likely to become an MP.
His victory comes just months after his mother, a former civil servant who ran the partygate investigation, took up a role as chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer.
A report by the Cabinet Office later concluded that she had broken civil service rules by engaging in “undeclared contact” with the Labour leader over the job.
Sir Keir has previously denied targeting those on the Left of the party and using “due diligence” rules to block them from standing for election.
Bob Stewart, the incumbent for Beckenham, will retire at the next election and has surrendered the Tory whip after being convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence.
Mr Conlon beat Melanie Ward, the chief executive of Medical Aid Palestine, Marina Ahmad, a London Assembly member, and Luke Murphy, a former councillor, to win the selection battle.
He said: “The past weeks have shown the incredible potential of our new local party. Look forward to campaigning to win Beckenham and Penge together.”
Mr Conlon is chairman of the Labour Irish Society and has campaigned on the NHS, having suffered a “life changing” accident at 13 that left him unable to walk for four years.
“I know too many hard-working families are struggling with the cost of living, record NHS waiting lists, and soaring rents and mortgages,” he said after winning. “I want to change that, and be an active, visible local MP – and give our new constituency the representation it needs and deserves”.
But his selection is likely to spark controversy, given the role his mother played in the downfall of Boris Johnson.
Beckenham has long been held by the Tories, but boundary changes mean it will become a marginal seat that is expected to fall to Labour at the next election.
Mr Conlon’s selection is likely to further antagonise supporters of the former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who have claimed they are being driven out of Labour.
It comes following a major rebellion by predominantly Left-wing MPs over Sir Keir’s refusal to call for a permanent ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
His narrow victory came days after a selection contest in nearby Croydon had to be suspended over concerns about irregular online voting patterns. Questions were raised over whether a system used by Labour called Anonyvoter has been manipulated to ensure that preferred candidates are chosen.
It has been reported that almost a third of the 1,400 votes cast by party members in Beckenham and Penge were cast through the platform. Sources said Mr Conlon won by just eight votes.
Some activists in Croydon complained that they had been signed up to the electronic voting system without their knowledge, using fake email addresses. There has been no suggestion that the contest in Beckenham was similarly compromised.
Meanwhile, Imogen Walker, the wife of Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s campaigns director, has been picked to run for the party in Hamilton and Clyde Valley.
