Liverpool West Derby Member of Parliament Ian Byrne is facing a reselection battle.
The Labour MP was elected to serve the West Derby constituency at the 2019 General Election. Earlier this year he was named MP of the year.
During his time in office, Mr Byrne, who is one of the co-founders of the Fans Supporting Foodbanks group, has led on the campaign for a Right to Food to be enshrined in law to prevent people going hungry through poverty.
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Earlier this year, Mr Byrne raised concerns about how his reselection votes were being carried out. It has now been confirmed that he has not automatically been re-selected to be Labour's candidate for the West Derby seat at the next General Election following a series of votes amongst local Labour branches and affiliate groups.
On its website, Labour has posted details of all the seats which will now go to selection battles and the deadlines for when potential other candidates must apply for the positions.
The Labour website shows that anyone now wishing to challenge Mr Byrne to be Labour's candidate in the safe West Derby seat must register their application by Midday on Thursday, October 20. After any new candidates are shortlisted, the West Derby Constituency Party will vote for who they want to be their candidate.
And if the previous selection battle for the seat is anything to go by, this could now be a closely contested fight. In 2019, Mr Byrne narrowly defeated rival candidate, Liverpool Councillor Angela Coleman, by just three votes after two recounts.
The Liverpool West Derby seat is an extremely safe one for Labour. Mr Byrne's current majority stands at 29,984.
Mr Byrne has received support for his reselection fight from supporters who are dismayed at the situation. Former Sefton Councillor Dan Lewis said on Twitter: "How on earth anyone would want to remove Ian Byrne as MP. The guy has gone into Parliament with the aim to end Hunger. Solidarity Ian! You’re a hero & don’t deserve this."
News of Mr Byrne's selection fight comes after former shadow minister Sam Tarry lost a battle in London in what was the first deselection of a Labour MP for more than a decade. The vote by party members means that Mr Tarry will not be the Labour's candidate for the Ilford South seat at the next General Election. He was beaten by Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal.
The ECHO has approached Mr Byrne for a response.
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