Selection in Labour target seat at centre of Unite union candidate row suspended after accusations of postal vote ‘irregularities’

The selection in a Labour target seat at the centre of a Unite union “rigging” row has been suspended after accusations of postal voting “irregularities”.

Labour has postponed the final selection hustings in Watford, which were due to be held on Thursday, and ordered the postal vote to be re-run after a complaint from the union.

The decision has provoked anger from local party members who say the move helps the Unite and Momentum candidate, Mike Hedges, who has close links to Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Hedges, a taxi driver and Unite member, ferried Mr Corbyn around in the back of his cab during the 2015 Labour leadership contest.

His partner Jayne Fisher is a former Sinn Fein member of staff who previously worked in Mr Corbyn’s office.

Mr Hedges’s candidacy caused controversy earlier this month when Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee imposed him on the final shortlist after Unite complained when he was rejected by the Watford party’s selection panel.

The move led to complaints from local members that the selection was being “rigged” by Unite to ensure Mr Hedges made the shortlist.

Unite is one of Labour’s biggest financial backers and donated almost £2.4 million into the party’s snap 2017 General Election campaign.

Local Watford members told The Telegraph that Unite was intervening in the selection process again by using a “small beer” procedural error to buy time for Mr Hedges after canvassing indicated the race was going against him ahead of Thursday’s vote.

One said: “There are much bigger irregularities going on in other fights. This is small beer, not a reason to call off a hustings and delay a selection.

“This is wholly because Mike Hedges knows he is losing and not getting traction with local members”.

Earlier this week Unite wrote to the Labour East regional office complaining of “irregularities” with the postal vote, including that the original forms had been sent out without a space for members’ signature.

On Wednesday Labour’s Regional Director for the east of England, Cameron Scott, called off Thursday’s hustings saying the error could not be ignored and pushed it back to the new year so the postal vote could be rerun

Pauline Doyle, Unite’s Director of Campaigns and Communications, said: “Calling these developments ‘small beer’ shows a scandalous disregard for the party's rules and democracy.

“If it was small beer the Labour Party would not have seen fit to intervene to delay the process, re-run the postal votes and change the address of where the ballot papers go to.”

Watford is one of 76 target marginal seats Labour was aiming to have parliamentary candidates selected for by Christmas. The seat is currently held by Conservative MP Richard Harrington, who had his majority reduced from 10,000 to just over 2,000 at the last election.

Mr Hedges, who is from Islington, started campaigning as the Momentum candidate in Watford a few months ago and appeared with a well-funded website and backing from frontbenchers such as John McDonnell and Diane Abbott.

Local Watford sources said there had been a surge in emergency postal vote applications after Mr Hedges was imposed on the Watford shortlist.

The Telegraph understands that internal postal vote canvassing indicated the majority were going to another candidate, Chris Ostrowski, who stood for Labour in the seat in the snap election.

Another Watford member added: “Unite will stop at nothing to get their own way. It is David versus Goliath and the union steamroller is trying to crush us”.