Why did Labour lose two of the three seats in Leicester in the middle of a landslide?

Leicester was an exception at last year's general election. Labour lost two of the city's three seats - one to the Conservatives and one to an Independent.

Alistair Jones. associate professor in politics at De Montfort University, looks at those results and at Leicester politics in general in the current issue of Liberator:

All three Leicester parliamentary constituencies have been treated akin to personal fiefdoms by previous Labour MPs, going back to the 1980s and 1990s. Consequently, the central and regional party had held little sway. In 2023 and 2024, the central Labour Party decided to reassert its authority, regardless of the short-term electoral cost. 

Leicester may be one city but it has three parliamentary constituencies which rarely communicate with each other, even – or is it especially – when all three MPs come from the same party. That local infighting has left a rather nasty legacy for the Labour Party, which is being exploited and exacerbated with allegations of racism. 

To read his article, download the current Liberator (issue 427) from the magazine's website - there's no charge.

I'm far too modest to point out that, in November 2023, I wrote:

The Conservatives have been gaining ground in local elections in this part of the city, which means that the seat [Leicester East] is less safe for Labour than it looks on paper. And that means the question of whether Vaz, Webbe or both of them will stand as an Independent at the next election really matters.

Labour demands probe into Leicester South Monster Raving Loony Party candidate

There's a new theory about how Labour's Jonathan Ashworth contrived to lose his Leicester South seat at the last general election. Apparently, it's all the fault of the Monster Raving Loony Party.

A report from The i explains:

Labour is demanding a police investigation into possible breaches of electoral law claiming an Official Monster Raving Loony candidate was used to help unseat a shadow cabinet member, i can reveal.

In one of the shock results of the election, Jonathan Ashworth who was tipped for a major role in Sir Keir Starmer's government, lost his seat to an independent candidate who campaigned against Labour’s policy towards Israel.

Mr Ashworth lost the Leicester South seat by fewer than 1,000 votes after a campaign by rival Shockat Adam focused on events in Gaza and Labour’s reluctance to demand a ceasefire.

An i investigation has learned that an occasional campaign volunteer for Mr Adam, Amaar Suliman, also ran against Ashworth as the candidate for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party under the name Mr Ezechiel Adlore.

As Mr Adlore, Mr Suliman spent almost £2,000 producing and distributing thousands of leaflets across the constituency during the election campaign criticising Mr Ashworth.

Mr Suliman’s fliers attacked Mr Ashworth’s 13-year record representing the constituency. They were headed "Missing MP alert" and asked voters "have you ever seen this man?".

Labour say they want the police to investigate the relationship between Mr Adam, now Leicester South’s MP, and Mr Suliman as they believe it raises questions over the accuracy of Mr Adam’s election expenses.

The i goes on to say that both Adam and Suliman deny any suggestion of wrongdoing and Adam has described any claim the two worked together as "bizarre and false".

h/t Mark Pack.

The Joy of Six 1268

In an article stuffed with quotes from unnamed 'senior' Lib Dems, Harriet Symonds looks for possible future fault lines in our larger parliamentary party. Nimby vs Yimby? Tuition fees? Gender? Maybe we should stop using terms like Nimby and Yimby (and Terf and Gammon) - giving your opponents nicknames does nothing for the clarity of your thinking or your ability to win over uncommitted voters.

Sienna Rogers talks to Shockat Adam, the pro-Gaza Independent candidate who defeated Jonathan Ashworth in Leicester South.

"The Government’s approach relies heavily on the private sector to deliver against its ambitions. But historically, direct public investment has been key: at the post-war housebuilding peak in 1968, nearly two-in-five homes were built through the public sector, compared to just under one-quarter of homes in 2023." The Resolution Foundation considers whether Labour will achieve its housing ambitions.

Anthony Burgess hated the Beatles but had more in common with them than he realised, argues Michael Shallcross.

Judy Stroud on the reintroduction of dormice to Rockingham Forest: "During the clearance of over 600 acres of the Purlieus between 1862 and 1868 dormice were sometimes found when men were grubbing up the tree roots.  No evidence of dormice was found there during the late 20th century but the wood met the criteria for a successful reintroduction. This took place in 2001 and monitoring by the Forestry Commission has shown a long-term success, with dispersal within the wood from the initial release site."

Bob Lynn introduces us to Mary Webb, the Shropshire novelist and poet whose work, steeped in nature and mysticism, found fame only after her untimely death.