This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

David Prescott, the son of the former deputy prime minister John Prescott and a key aide to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has failed to be shortlisted to fight a vital swing seat.

Prescott said he was “obviously disappointed” after he failed to reach the final stages after a tight race to be selected for Labour in Mansfield.

The Labour aide lost the endorsement of the GMB trade union in his bid for the parliamentary seat after allegations of inappropriate behaviour were made against him last year.

Prescott was suspended from his role in the Labour leader’s office in November after unspecified allegations were made but returned to his role a fortnight later and was not the subject of a formal complaint.

The would-be MP did have the backing of the Unite union and the Co-operative party, as well as several branch nominations.

Candidates set to be shortlisted include solicitor Neil Clayton and councillor Sonya Ward, the leader of Mansfield’s Labour group, who has the backing of the leftwing grassroots group Momentum.

Mansfield fell to the Conservatives’ Ben Bradley in last year’s election, having been held by Labour since 1923. The nomination will be highly coveted, as Mansfield is seen as a winnable seat and has not been allocated an all-women shortlist.

In a message to his supporters after the decision by the local selection panel, Prescott said: “I’m obviously disappointed to hear I’ve not been shortlisted for Mansfield. But I’d like to thank Mansfield West, Warsop, Unite, the CWU and the Co-operative party for nominating me.

“It was an honour and a privilege to have their support and I thank all the members who came out to branch meetings to vote for me. You’ll never know how much that meant to me. As I said during my campaign, towns like Mansfield desperately need a Labour government. So I promise to do all I can to help Labour win back Mansfield.”

Before last year’s election, Prescott launched an unsuccessful bid to become the Labour candidate for the safe seat of Hull West and Hessle, formerly the constituency of the ex-home secretary Alan Johnson.

Prescott is a key member of Corbyn’s inner circle, credited with improving the Labour leader’s image and taking the lead in handling communications for the shadow cabinet.