North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll has been blocked by Labour from standing as the party’s mayoral candidate for the proposed North East combined authority.
Labour said Mayor Driscoll had been blocked after he shared a platform with film-maker Ken Loach, who has been dismissed from the party for his position on anti-semitism.
The move comes after the national party’s intervention in the leadership of Birmingham City Council and accusations that it is blocking coalition deals following the local election.
In a letter to the chair of Labour’s National Executive Committee, fellow Labour elected mayors, Steve Rotheram in Merseyside and Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, demanded Mayor Driscoll be given a right of appeal.
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