Labour party leader will step down in protest

Feb 5 2010 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

He added: “As the national Labour party have shown me no respect, after 28 years as an officer of the constituency I will not be standing for secretary at the AGM in February as I feel that I have been kicked in the teeth by the national Labour party and I will be seriously considering what role I play in the general election, if any.”

There was also a warning that Labour only has “a handful of active workers within the party” and that there was a risk many would not help in the general election “after the way you have treated us”.

Contacted by The Journal yesterday Mr Darke would only say the matter was not a complaint about all-women shortlists. He said any issues would be addressed by the party’s communication officer.

A Labour North spokesman said: “Eddie Darke is a long-standing and well-respected Labour Party activist who has served the party and his community well and I am sure will continue to do so.

“He remains CLP Secretary and fully engaged in selecting Labour’s next candidate for North Tyneside.

“Labour is working to increase the diversity of Parliament and has a proud record of increasing the number of women MPs. In working to achieve this we believe that members should play the key role in selecting their candidates, as they have and will continue to do.”