Labour troubles in Stoke as secretary quits to run as independent

More troubles for the Labour Party in Stoke, as the BBC reports:

The Labour Party secretary in Stoke-on-Trent has said he is going to stand as an independent candidate in the forthcoming general election.

Gary Elsby said he would stand against his party in protest at the selection of television historian Tristram Hunt as the city’s Labour candidate.

Mr Elsby said it was also a protest that there were no local names on the party’s nominations list.

You can read the full story here.

It’s not that long ago that the local Conservative Party had a big split.

Meanwhile happier news from the Liberal Democrat camp, where I hear that efforts to stand a much larger number of local election candidates than we’ve managed for quite some time are going well.

That’s particularly welcome given the efforts the BNP are making in Stoke and how the absence of proper competition between the main parties can create a vacuum for the BNP to fill.