Sam Tarry’s de-selection has inflamed Labour’s factional divisions

Labor divisions have flared up again after Jas Atwal defeated sitting MP Sam Tarry in the race to be the party’s candidate in Ilford South at the next general election. Atwal, the leader of London Borough Council Redbridge, emerged victorious in the local members’ vote last night (October 10) after a tense campaign. The battle was a mix of the personal and the political and got to the heart of the dividing lines in Keir Starmer’s party. Tarry will remain an MP until the next general election, which is expected to be in 2024.

First, the personal. The win is a triumph for Athwal after he was suspended as a member of the Labor Party over a sexual harassment complaint the night before the 2019 selection contest, which Tarry won. Athwal believed the complaint was malicious and was cleared of all charges against him in 2020, after which he was reinstated as a member. He described the year spent clearing his name as “torture” and revealed in an interview with guard that he was considering suicide.

Speaking last night, he said: “Ilford is my home, it’s where I live, I went to school and where all my children went to school. This is the only place I would ever want to represent. The opportunity to be Labour’s candidate at the next election and to be part of Keir Starmer’s winning team is a real honour.”

Tarry, meanwhile, is a partner of Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner and on the left of the party. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, co-chaired Rayner’s 2020 deputy leadership campaign and was director of Jeremy Corbyn’s 2016 leadership campaign. He was sacked as shadow transport minister in July after giving media interviews from the picket line – a row that has fueled tensions between unions and the Labor leadership – with Starmer saying he had “invented politics on the hoof” over pay.

The consequences of the selection clash can be explosive. Tarry, who is the first MP to be stood down under Starmer, said he was “totally gutted” and described the race as a “made-up political circus”. He is “extremely concerned” about the vote, which he says “does not reflect the feeling my campaigners got on the ground talking to members every day, or the extensive, meticulous data we collected on the campaign.”

The MP added: “I am taking some time to consider what comes next, but to be sure of the fairness of the result, I am asking the party to share with me the full details of who voted electronically, how and when they were elected, which I understand is available in the “anonymous voice” system.

But other Labor sources appeared to be expecting a challenge last night, with one saying: “Now Sam Tarry is going to act like Donald Trump and claim the vote was rigged. Fortunately, the Labor Party has closed the door on conspiracy theorist geeks.

Athwal, meanwhile, was backed by moderate Labour, most notably shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, who are in power under Starmer. Tarry’s ouster will leave other left-wing MPs looking nervously over constituency boundary changes due next year. The unions were also divided over the contest, with GMB and Unite backing Tarry and Unison, Community and Usdaw backing Athwal.

Finally, the campaign has created tensions in the shadow cabinet, most obviously between Starmer and Rayner – a relationship that has improved in recent months after a failed 2021 reshuffle in which the leader tried to move the deputy. But other members of Starmer’s top team, namely shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband and shadow economy secretary Tulip Siddique, publicly backed Tarry, despite the Ilford South MP calling the leader “irritable” in an interview with A new statesman.

Some Athwal supporters were furious with Miliband, whose endorsement appeared alongside Corbyn’s in a Tarry campaign brochure. It was not clear today whether Miliband had signed the leaflet in advance. Other leaders are also said to have aided Tari’s campaign. In an indication of how nasty the feud could become, one Labor Party source said: “MPs who supported Tari and turned a blind eye to the despicable attacks on Jas Atwal will have to live with this on their consciences, knowing that everything it was for nothing. “

The race has been a harrowing experience for the left of the party and with Tarry missing the application deadline for the Dagenham and Raynham constituency – the nearby seat of his long-time ally John Cruddas, who is standing down at the next election – his base will remain angry.

[See also: Labour’s left needs a serious strategy for the Starmer era]