Labour has selected a new candidate for Barking, after Darren Rodwell withdrew following disputed allegations about his behaviour.
Rodwell, who was picked to replace Margaret Hodge in the east London constituency in October 2022, said he did not want to be a “distraction” in the election campaign, but “completely refuted” the allegations made against him.
In a post on social media, Rodwell said: “I have decided to take the incredibly difficult decision to withdraw my candidacy.
“I completely refute the allegations that have been in the press. I don’t want this issue to become a distraction to the campaign.
“The Labour Party has made clear that there is no active investigation into complaints about me. But I believe it to be in the best interests of my family at this time to step aside from the candidacy as I have to put my family first.
“This place means the world to me, and I will continue to fight for this borough, the community I love and lead the council.”
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It comes after The Independent reported that Rodwell had faced a complaint to Labour over a claim of sexual harassment.
Nesil Caliskan, Labour’s council leader in Enfield, has been picked as the party’s candidate to replace Rodwell.
She said: “I’m honoured to be the Labour candidate for Barking at this coming election on the 4th July. I’m excited to play my part in delivering a Labour government and I promise to work hard for every vote.”
Labour has been filling last-minute seats ahead of the deadline for candidate nominations on Friday.
Six pro-leadership members of the NEC itself have now been picked themselves for some of these seats; chair James Asser, Gurinder Singh Josan, Luke Akehurst, Nesil Caliskan, Unison’s Mark Ferguson and Usdaw’s Michael Wheeler selected, on top of former chair Joanna Baxter’s selection prior to the campaign.
It means seven of the 31 members of the NEC who are not already MPs – some 22.6% – have now been selected.
Mish Rahman, a left member of the NEC, said of Tuesday’s meeting of the committee where all candidates were endorsed: “I did ask whether it was normal practice for candidates in the meeting to approve themselves. I was told it was.”
A Labour spokesperson previously said: “We have selected a fantastic group of candidates in place for the General Election on Thursday 4 July. They will be campaigning across the country to bring Labour’s message of change to voters.”
A party source added that the Prime Minister calling a surprise summer election meant selections needed to take place through emergency procedures.
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