Election called to fill vacancy

A NATIONAL Assembly by-election to fill the vacancy caused by Carl Sargeant’s death will be held in Alyn and Deeside on the first Tuesday in February.

Presiding Officer Elin Jones said: “I have announced that the date for the Alyn and Deeside byelection will be Tuesday, February 6, 2018 and have written to the Returning Officer asking him to arrange for the poll to take place on that date.

“February 6 is statutorily the last possible day on which the byelection can take place.

“Although elections and byelections, by convention, have taken place on Thursdays, there is no statutory compulsion to do so. In these circumstances I believe that this date provides all political parties and candidates with the maximum opportunity to prepare and also enables the local authority to make the necessary arrangements.”

Mr Sargeant was first elected as the constituency’s Labour AM in 2003. In May 2016 he had a majority of 5,364 over the secondplaced Conservative candidate.

Party sources have told us that Welsh Labour’s Party Development Board – a subcommittee of the Welsh Executive Committee – will meet tomorrow to decide on the process and timescale for selecting a candidate.

It is understood that – contrary to speculation – Welsh Labour will not impose an all-women shortlist on the local party and that the nearly 700 members will be able to select a man or a woman.

A senior Alyn and Deeside Labour source said: “We intend the by-election campaign to be run very much by the local party. We wouldn’t put up with Welsh Labour trying to impose a candidate or anything else on us.

“There are some exceptional potential candidates in the constituency itself, but it will be up to the members to decide who they want to select.”

The source said the by-election was being fought in tragic circumstances, which would make things difficult for all involved.

The source said: “A lot of us just don’t feel like going knocking on doors. There’s a sense that, in a way, we’re being disloyal to Carl by campaigning for somebody else. But of course we will go out to make sure the Labour candidate wins.”

One potential candidate is Bernie Attridge, a lifelong friend of Mr Sargeant’s who is deputy leader of Flintshire County Council and has called on Carwyn Jones to resign.

Yesterday Mr Attridge implied in a tweet that he might stand as an Independent if he’s unhappy with Welsh Labour’s candidate.