Loyal member of ‘Newman’s Numpties’ is declared the selection winner less than half-an-hour after online voting deadline.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
Stitch-up: London Labour has not released the voting figures for its GLA selection ballot
The candidate selected by Labour to stand in Croydon and Sutton at May’s GLA elections had their name on the electronic ballot papers twice.
Within a suspiciously brief 25 minutes of its voting deadline at 5pm today, the London Labour Party declared that Croydon councillor Maddie Henson was the winner of its ballot of members across the two boroughs.
The voting was conducted entirely by Anonyvoter, the online voting system provided to the Labour Party by Henson IT Solutions Ltd, the same company where Maddie Henson is the co-owner.
Henson IT Solutions Ltd’s copyright mark even appeared on the bottom of every single remote voting form provided to members.
London Labour has failed to produce any voting tally for the supposedly democratic selection, the outcome of which will do nothing to calm concerns about ballot rigging in party selections.
Party members in Croydon receiving the express result declared their flabbers well and truly ghasted, even those used to the usual dodgy standards to which they have become accustomed to in dealings with Labour in the borough and across London.
Stitch-up: Maddie Henson had her name on the digital voting form…
London Labour had suspended the selection process for the GLA candidate in Croydon and Sutton in November, at the same time that it announced an investigation into allegations of voting fraud over the parliamentary selection in for the Croydon East constituency.
… twice, once as the candidate, and once as the owner of the suppliers of the online voting system
Last week, Labour admitted that it had found evidence of deliberate manipulation of membership data in Croydon East, while failing to state by whom nor what it was doing in respect of the perpetrators. The Labour Party has reported itself to the Information Commissioner over the episode.
And on Friday, it opened member voting for its Greater London Assembly election candidate.
The Conservatives have always held the Croydon and Sutton seat since London Assembly elections began in 2000, with Neil “Father Jack” Garratt the incumbent. In previous London elections, Labour has withdrawn campaign resource from Croydon and Sutton to avoid winning the seat, rather than risk reducing the number of its London-wide list candidates getting on to the Assembly.
With the London elections just a few weeks away, neither Henson nor the only other person to put themselves forward for selection, Merton councillor Martin Whelton, appear to have much chance of winning on May 2. Especially not with Henson’s track record in other campaigns outside her home ward in Addiscombe.
In her own publicity material sent out to Labour members across the two boroughs, Henson made great play of how she was a key member of Val Shawcross’s campaign team for Croydon Mayor in 2022, when with Labour holding a stonking lead in national opinion polls, in Croydon they still lost…
After Henson’s selection was announced today, one respected member of the local party said, “I’m not suggesting any Anonyvoter funny business, but I don’t know anyone in Croydon that voted for Maddie.
“How the hell did she get the GLA gig?”
Another said: “Maddie’s a member of the Newman Numpties – the councillors who bankrupted the borough and who are supposed to be banned from being candidates for higher office. So how was it considered appropriate for her to be allowed to go forward here?”
A third Labour member in Croydon simply said, “Fucking hell! I despair.”
Others pointed to the strange phrasing of the announcement made by London Labour, and wanted to know what the voting figures were for the two candidates, and for those who chose to abstain.
“I reckon ‘abstain’ was an outstanding winner,” said one cynic.
The London Labour announcement read: “The procedure to select constituency candidates for the London Assembly election in May is drawing to a close and we are pleased to announce that Maddie Henson will be Labour’s candidate in Croydon and Sutton.
“Maddie is a councillor in Addiscombe East ward and a commited [sic] campaigner with a track record of winning marginal elections.
“Commiserations to Martin Whelton, who ran an excellent campaign, too.”
Read more: Labour Party forced to halt second Croydon selection process
Read more: #TheLabourFiles: MP Reed, Evans and the Croydon connection
Read more: Questions asked over Town Hall Mayor’s business deal
Read more: Labour councillor’s leaflet causes anger in Addiscombe
Read more: Newman Numpty Henson allowed to run for Assembly selection
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