Newham Labour Party members have won the right to vote on whether Sir Robin Wales will automatically be selected as the Labour candidate for Newham Mayor, following a long campaign.
The campaign group,’Trigger Democracy’, had threatened to take the Labour Party to court over the re-selection of Sir Robin Wales as candidate for Mayor of Newham in the upcoming local elections.
A previous trigger ballot was held to decide whether Wales would be the automatic candidate, or whether he would face an internal challenge.
Wales won this ballot 20 votes to 17, but the result was disputed as the votes of affiliated organisations
The trigger ballot was criticised as flawed, and campaigners called for a re-run of the ballot so that other candidates could stand against Wales.
The second trigger ballot be held from 29 January until 11 February.
Newham Labour Party members will have the opportunity to decide on whether they want other candidates to be able to stand against Wales.
A “no” vote in the new trigger ballot will mean members will be able to choose a different candidate.
In a tweet on 24 January, ‘Newham for an open selection’ said: “Let’s WIN the vote (again) for an open selection in the Newham Trigger Ballot… So Labour members in Newham can have a choice of candidates to decide who becomes the Labour Candidate for Newham Mayor”.
Let's WIN the vote (again) for an Open Selection in the Newham Trigger Ballot Re-Run kicking off from 29/1/18 to 11/2/18. So Labour Members in Newham can have a choice of candidates to decide who becomes the Labour Candidate for Newham Mayor pic.twitter.com/XifzALzYUM
— Newham For An Open Selection (@newhamselection) January 24, 2018
Sir Robin has run the borough since 1995 as either council leader or as mayor.
The Newham mayoral election takes place on 3 May 2018.