Labour MP ditched by local party
Labour MP Jane Griffiths – one of the original “Blair babes” – was deselected last night as the candidate for Reading East.
Local constituency party members voted in favour of Tony Page, a local councillor, despite Ms Griffiths delivering two general election wins.
It is thought local party activists were at odds with the Blairite loyalist’s unflinching support for the Iraq war in March last year and less than lukewarm to her views on the legalisation of brothels.
Controversially, 50-year old Mr Page was selected despite two convictions for indecency in 1989 and 1995.
In 1995, he was involved in an incident in a station toilet and was handed a 12-month conditional discharge.
Ms Griffiths, who was a linguist at GCHQ, is the first Labour MP for a decade to be deselected.
Helen Clark narrowly survived an ousting in Peterborough, scrapping through by 11 votes.
Stuart Singleton-White, chair of Reading Labour Party, said: “Local members have decided that Tony Page is the best candidate for Reading East at the next election.
“We want to thank Jane Griffiths for her hard work as an MP. I hope that Labour Party members can now put the selection process behind them and concentrate on the issues that matter to the people of Reading.”
