Lloyd Russell-Moyle Blocked From Standing for Labour

The Labour party is blocking a leftwing Brighton MP from standing at the general election.

On Tuesday, the member for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven Lloyd Russell-Moyle received a letter notifying him of his “administrative suspension” from the party.

In a message to Novara Media, Russell-Moyle said he believes that the suspension is the result of “a vexatious and politically motivated complaint about my behaviour eight years ago” and “was designed to disrupt this election”.

Since there is not enough time to contest the anonymous complaint before the 4 June cutoff for party candidates, Russell-Moyle will be ineligible to stand as a candidate at the election.

“I’m gutted,” said Russell-Moyle. “I’ve spent the last decade of my life building one of the best campaigning CLPs in the country.

“I aim to cooperate with the investigations process to clear my name, but will now take this opportunity to contribute to public life in different ways under what I hope is a Labour government.”

Starmer is currently on a mission to oust the few remaining leftwing Labour MPs from the party ahead of the snap election. On Monday, Labour sources leaked to the Times that Diane Abbott would not be permitted to stand as Labour’s candidate in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, despite having had the whip restored.

Amidst intense backlash, including from Tony Blair’s former director of communications and Starmer’s own party racism inspector, Starmer appeared to backtrack, denying to the BBC that Abbott had been barred from standing for Labour.

In Poplar and Limehouse, Abbott’s fellow Socialist Campaign Group member Apsana Begum is facing continued challenges to her parliamentary candidacy from associates of her abusive ex-husband Ehtasham Haque, who, although expelled from Labour, remains influential in the local party. This is despite a domestic violence advocate telling Starmer directly in 2022 that a trigger ballot process overseen by Haque’s friends amounted to “a further extension of the abuse that she has already endured”.