Is Apsana Begum next to go from Labour?

It’s a busy day in Labour land, following the mishandling of the Diane Abbott disaster. But now Mr S hears of a fresh row brewing in another of Labour’s London safe seats. In 2019, the Corbynite candidate Apsana Begum was chosen to replace the moderate Jim Fitzpatrick for the Poplar and Limehouse constituency. Her first two years as an MP were dominated by her trial for housing fraud, of which she was cleared in court in July 2021.

She subsequently fell out with her constituency party to such an extent that in July 2022, the local branches and their affiliates voted for a full ‘recall’ process to determine who would contest the seat for Labour. Begum had been signed off sick the previous month, saying that she had been ‘subjected to a sustained campaign of misogynistic abuse and harassment’. Since then the situation has only continued to fester, much to the frustration of some within the local party.