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A row erupted in the Labour Party today as it emerged that senior officials will impose a shortlist of candidates for a byelection in a safe Labour seat.

Critics said the role of the National Executive Committee in the process to select potential successors for Heidi Alexander in Lewisham East amounted to a “stitch-up”. They claimed it excludes local members.

Ms Alexander, a Labour front-bencher who secured a 21,123 majority in last year’s 2017 election, resigned as an MP on Tuesday to become Sadiq Khan’s deputy mayor for transport.

The by-election will be held on June 14, with a shortlist of up to five nominees chosen by senior Labour officers in the NEC over the next four days. Local members then get to choose their preferred candidate from the list on May 16. Richard Angell, director of Labour centre-Left group Progress, said: “It’s a total stitch-up. Factional interest over public interest. A shameful way to take advantage of local voters that bulldozers local party members.”

Lewisham East Constituency Labour Party (CLP) chair Ian McKenzie wrote to members last night urgently asking them to contact the central party to demand locally-chosen candidates.

He claimed Labour’s ruling body —dominated by Jeremy Corbyn allies — is trying to “take away our party democracy”. He said: “We understand none of the CLP has been consulted on this process and the shortlist will be imposed on the local party, and not decided locally. I joined the Labour Party because it is a democracy and that I would have a say on who my MP will be. Don’t let the NEC officers group take away our party democracy.” Labour usually shortlists candidates centrally for by-elections because of the short timetable.

But local members had hoped Mr Corbyn’s drive towards the grassroots having more of a say would mean local branches could nominate who they wanted to stand.

The final list for members to consider is expected to be all female and all black and ethnic minority.