Met is asked to probe claims of Unite vote-rigging in London seat

 
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The Met was today asked to investigate new allegations of union vote-rigging in one of Labour’s London seats.

A formal complaint to police was made by the Conservatives after claims that Len McCluskey’s Unite union was behind a sudden influx of new members at Labour’s Ilford North branch.

About 30 people joined weeks before voting among members to choose a Labour candidate to stand at the next general election. Labour is expected to win the seat, which means the votes could effectively decide the next MP. In another development, Mandy Richards, a London activist who has stood in recent selection battles, accused Unite of creating an “autocratic monopoly”. She put the spotlight on contests at Lewisham Deptford and Hornsey & Wood Green where she claimed Unite’s influence was blocking a “progressive Labour agenda”.

Unite paid membership subscriptions of new members in scores of seats under a scheme that was axed by Ed Miliband last week after concerns it was being used to sway selection contests. Labour called in the police over claims that Unite tried to sway a selection contest at Falkirk by signing up 100 new members, of which around seven were people who did not know they were being put forward.

In a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe, Tory Party vice chairman Bob Neill said: “I am concerned that [Falkirk] is just the tip of the iceberg, as Unite themselves admit they are targeting another 40 Labour Party parliamentary selections for similar treatment. Given that this constituency appears on a Unite target list along with Falkirk, I believe that the circumstances of this membership recruitment merit investigation.” He said the Lewisham selection contest should also be investigated following Ms Richards comments, and that the Fraud Act 2006 could have been broken in Falkirk.

A Labour spokesman said only seven of the new members at Ilford North were eligible to vote because the others had joined too late. There are 200 members in the branch. Mr Miliband will tomorrow promise reforms.

A Unite spokesman said it did not pay any of the new members’ subs at Ilford North. He accused the Tories of “a spurious complaint” adding: “The selection at Lewisham was open and transparent.”

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