The Labour Party has confirmed the removal of cabbie Trevor Merralls as its parliamentary candidate for the Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency over allegations of racism on social media.
A Labour press office spokesperson told the SKWAWKBOX:
Trevor Merralls has been removed as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Old Bexley and Sidcup. His replacement will be announced in due course.
Brief and to the point in the extreme, but clearly the matter still needs to be handled with some delicacy.
The statement rounds of a remarkable day in which the party has moved with commendable speed to remove a candidate who could not, in view of the short election timetable, be left in position while an investigation proceeds.
Mr Merralls appears – although final confirmation is awaited – to have short-circuited the process in any case by choosing to fight the election as an independent. Standing against a Labour candidate means automatic expulsion according to the Labour rulebook. The move was announced by a supporter of Mr Merralls in a video that some are describing as a ‘meltdown’, but has not yet been confirmed by the former candidate himself.
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Thank heavens for the LP’s prompt action. We can only hope that his replacement is more promising a candidate.