Former Hyndburn MP Graham Jones has had his suspension lifted by the Labour Party - but has still been replaced as its General Election candidate.
Sarah Smith, a charity leader and councillor from Blackpool Council, was yesterday named as the party’s new hope to win the constituency back from Conservative Sara Britcliffe. That came after a 48 hour period in which the Labour Party ended the ex-MPs suspension but refused to say whether he was eligible for selection.
Jones, who held the seat for Labour between 2010 and 2019, had long been lined up as the party’s prospective candidate but was suspended by the party in February. That came in response to comments made about Israel during a private party meeting.
When the General Election was announced, he remained suspended and the Hyndburn Constituency Labour Party (CLP) last week called for him to be reinstated.
Days later though, the party listed Hyndburn among the constituencies for which it was still seeking candidates.
The deadline for those applications was listed for 5pm on Monday and on Tuesday Jones revealed his suspension had been lifted. However, neither he or the party would comment on whether he was eligible to stand in the election.
When contacted by The Hyndburn Lead, Jones said he was “traumatised by everything that’s happened” and did not wish to discuss it any further. Meanwhile, a Labour source confirmed the suspension has been lifted but the party would not comment on his case. A spokesperson also refused to answer whether the suspension was lifted before the deadline for applications.
On Wednesday night, Cllr Smith was confirmed as the new candidate for Hyndburn. As well as representing Marton ward, she has worked with a series of charities, most recently the Right to Succeed which works to support children in deprived areas. She had previously applied to be the Labour candidate for Blackpool South, which would ultimately go to Chris Webb.
She said: “I’m delighted and honoured to be the Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate in Hyndburn.
“Hyndburn is a brilliant and amazing place but it has been let down by 14 years of Conservative failure. On the 4th July the people of Hyndburn have the chance to vote for change.”
Speaking to LabourList, Jones went further on his “traumatised” remarks and thanked figures such as Ed Balls and Tom Watson for their public support.
He said: “From the CLP who gave me unanimous backing last week to ordinary members of the public who’ve come into our office in huge numbers or stopped me on the street just to offer their support.
“I’m hugely thankful to everyone. It has been an awful experience and that personal support has got me through some dark days and I just wanted to say thank you once again.”
According to the publication, his comments received criticism on the basis Jones was said to be “behaving like he’s a victim here – he’s really not”. The source added that he should be “apologising, not acting like the injured party” for his reported comments.
The endorsement from Hyndburn CLP had been shared on its Facebook page in a post attributed to its chair Andy Tatchell.
It stated: “Graham has been a dedicated and passionate advocate for our party and our community, and we believe it's crucial to stand by him during this challenging time as he has done by us. Our collective support is a testament to the strength and unity of our local party.
“Thank you to everyone who participated in the meeting and contributed to this decision.
“Let's continue to work together to uphold the principles of fairness and justice within our party and beyond.”
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