Lauren Townsend, a Labour Milton Keynes councillor and cabinet member has been blocked from standing as a Labour MP for her own seat. This was allegedly done for showing support for an opposition party by ‘liking’ a tweet from Nicola Sturgeon on her -ive covid test. Aydin Dikerdem found that candidates who have been approved for the selection have also liked tweets from other party members. As he said, this should be a permitted act of free speech. The decision to bar Lauren is biased, probably improper, potentially based on unlawfully and unfairly obtained data and designed to create a chilling effect. She had been nominated by several unions which should guarantee her a place on the long list, how long will they put up with this?
Last night I was given the devastating news that I am being blocked from standing to be Milton Keynes North’s next Labour candidate & MP.
— Lauren Townsend (@LaurenJTownsend) October 22, 2022
Thank you to all those who supported & helped on my campaign. I feel crushed & will now be taking some time off to process.
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/5eknQvuVpl