With talk of a snap March 25 election electrifying the bars in Westminster and drawing extravagant yawns from Downing Street politicos, Labour members up and down the country are wondering which of Number 10’s favourites will strapping on the parachute with their constituency name on it. Take Leyton and Wanstead, for example. Sitting MP Harry Cohen announced last June that he was to step down from his 6,857 Labour majority at the general election. But every attempt by the local party appears to be mysteriously thwarted by one excuse and another by the London regional office, whose officials repeatedly fail to turn up at scheduled meetings. The party has been told its views cannot be taken into account because no official has been present to formally endorse proceedings. The constituency abounds with rumours of intense ripcord practice in the Harriet Harman household where husband Jack Dromey is said to harbour parliamentary ambitions.
