Labour announces London PR expert as its candidate for Wednesbury and Tipton

Rishi Sunak's surprise General Election left constituencies without a candidate rushing to find a name to put on the ballot. In recent months Great Barr's Martin Bailey, who is a councillor in London, and former Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner Tom McNeil had been campaigning in Wednesbury and Tipton, hoping to convince local members to chose them to fight for a seat in Westminster.

However, just after 10pm on Thursday the Labour Party confirmed Antonia Bance as the candidate for Wednesbury and Tipton. The party also announced Gurinder Singh Josan CBE will be the candidate in Smethwick after long-standing MP John Spellar announced he was standing down on Monday.

The West Midlands Labour X, formerly Twitter account, declared: "Congratulations to Antonia Bance who has been selected as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Tipton and Wednesbury."

There had been reports former Unite leadership contender Gerard Coyne, who was beaten by another London candidate, Sarah Coombes, in the West Bromwich Labour selection, was going to be chosen, with commentators like Michael Crick saying it was "nailed on".

The constituency is new for this General Election after the Boundary Commission's redrawing of the political map. It is made up of the former West Bromwich West constituency which was won by Shaun Bailey for the Conservatives in 2019.

According to Ms Bance's X account she is a proud southeast Londoner, supports Crystal Palace and is a communications professional.

Currently the Trade Union Congress head of campaigns and communications, she previously worked at domestic violence charity SafeLives.

Ms Bance will be walking into a febrile political atmosphere in the left wing after pro-Palestine Independent candidate Akhmed Yakoob almost denied Labour victory in this month's West Midlands Mayoral election by clinching 70,000 votes. Any public comment by Ms Bance on the Gaza conflict will be scrutinised by her opponents.

The Independent candidate in Wednesbury and Tipton was Mr Yakoob's campaign organiser and former Labour Tipton Green Councillor Mohammed Yaseen Hussain, known as Billa.

He said: "Labour have not done their local activists and members any favours by imposing this Londoner on Wednesbury and Tipton. If they had chosen Sandwell Council leader Kerrie Carmichael or the candidates who have been campaigning for selection over the last year it would have shown some respect to the area.

"This is a massive boost to my campaign and I will look forward to debating Mrs Bance on our records of helping the people of Sandwell.

"I hope she has done her research and knows she is standing against someone who was born in Sandwell, spent most my life in Tipton and has spent years helping local people with their problems."

In Smethwick, retiring Warley MP John Spellar's ally Gurinder Singh Josan CBE has been chosen as Labour's candidate. A well known figure in Sandwell, Mr Josan is a governor of Holly Lodge High School, Smethwick, and chairman of the Victoria Academies Trust. He is a member of Labour's National Executive Committee, chairman of anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate.

He tweeted: "A real honour to be selected @UKLabour candidate in Smethwick, the seat I was born in & where I live & work.

"Keir Starmer has changed the Labour Party & will bring the change the country needs. Smethwick is in my heart and I will serve the people of Smethwick with dedication."