LABOUR members and trade unionists are to protest outside a prospective parliamentary candidate selection meeting in Wolverhampton tonight against what they say is “another stitch-up” by the party’s leadership.

Wolverhampton South West Constituency Labour Party (CLP) members say that local potential candidates have been excluded and that three others, two of whom they have never heard of, have been imposed by the party’s national executive committee (NEC).

The CLP secretary said that members had been given just seven days’ notice of the meeting, at which one of the three imposed candidates will be formally selected.

Wolverhampton South West CLP secretary Di Weaver told the Morning Star that the NEC had originally suspended the selection process last October on the grounds that too few women had applied to be candidates.

Local potential contenders included Mish Rahman, a left-wing member of the NEC.

Ms Weaver said three local female candidates came forward, but they were not informed that the selection process was being restarted by the NEC.

“Last Monday, we got a letter from the region saying the NEC had now sorted out a list of three candidates, so there was need for branches to nominate anyone,” she said.

“One of the candidates was local and will have the support of the right wing. The other two are from down south and we have never heard of them.

“They are woefully weak candidates compared with what we had before.”

She said that Labour members had “just wanted a fair fight.

“So we are going to protest outside the hustings,” Ms Weaver added.

The Labour Party was invited to comment.