Labour has apologised for calling one of its Manchester council candidates a 'councillor' in a campaign letter sent ahead of the local elections next week. The letter sent on behalf of new candidate Erinma Bell appears to jump the gun by telling voters in Moss Side that she is their 'local Labour councillor'.
However, the peace activist who has been recognised for her work tackling gun crime in Manchester, is not currently a councillor – and never has been. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she explained that the wording of the letter was based on a template which was left in by mistake.
She said: "It was an error and we apologise. If it has misled anybody, that was not the intention."
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The professor who has been awarded an MBE joined the Labour Party in 2011. She rose the ranks in her local Labour branch before putting herself forward as a candidate to become a representative for the Moss Side ward in Manchester.
At the last local elections in 2021, the Labour candidate mopped up more than 80 pc of the votes cast, making Moss Side a safe seat for the ruling group. But Prof Bell said she is not counting her chickens before they hatch.
She said: "People need to go out and vote and people need to know who their local councillors are. The reason I put myself forward is because I'm a community activist and I believe in those voiceless people.
"They need a voice and some people need to put their head above the parapet. I want to be able to represent local people in Moss Side who do have issues but feel they are not heard – I want to listen to them and represent them."
Deputy Labour leader Luthfur Rahman, said: "We select candidates, not councillors. The electorate who decides who becomes a councillor. On May 5, the people of Moss Side will decide who represents them."
The other candidate standing in Moss Side are Albie Mayo for the Greens, Samuel Stephenson for the Conservatives and Phil White for the Lib Dems. Polls open on Thursday, May 5, with the results to be declared the next day.
