• I HAVE some difficulties with Martin Plaut’s comments on the fairness of the Labour candidate selection process, (Labour selection was fair, December 30).

When I became a councillor I attended training events explaining my role in scrutinising policies and how successfully they were being implemented, and that role is outside the whipping arrangement, so toeing the cabinet line at scrutiny, or not, should have no bearing on selection; and a new candidate has no record to be judged in the same way.

He goes on to talk about reports received from branch secretaries; actually some were from branch chairs.

Four years ago, as a branch chair, I was asked to report on sitting councillors. I could not possibly have commented on how well they had taken up the cases of local people as Mr Plaut states. That would have been most likely confidential between the resident and the councillor.

Reports made comment on doorstep canvassing and telephone canvassing which was, in one case I know of, incorrect and in another case made no allowance for the candidate’s long Covid.

The Milton Keynes councillor who reviewed the reports of the disgraced chief whip did not question the candidates as to their accuracy.

Mr Plaut says the reports were read and digested before the interview, and I hope they were. But the instructions to candidates at the start of the process were explicit that the panels would be searching social media, local and national press, and elsewhere, to find anything that might in any way deviate from the current party line.

And as I sat as a silent friend on two appeals of candidates, I know that any such deviation was ruthlessly exploited to challenge the candidate.

At those appeals members of the interviewing panel were called as witnesses to justify their decisions so they did indeed have an effect on the final outcome.

Mr Plaut says he personally likes some of the councillors who did not make it through. I wonder if he is prepared to say which ones he dislikes.

Lastly I should say it was perverse how the Local Campaign Forum, the Camden Labour body administering the process, selected some of its members to serve multiple times on interview panels; yet I know of one member, who could be described as left-wing, who was never asked to serve on a panel.

So regretfully Mr Plaut’s assurance of the fairness of the process has not reassured me. Camden residents will be deprived of the opportunity to vote for six of the finest public servants.

CLLR SIMON PEARSON
Labour, Swiss Cottage ward
Champion for Learning Disabilities &
Deaf & Hard of Hearing