Labour attack new Southall Tory candidate (From Ealing Times)

Sharma and Singh at loggerheads over new position

9:40am Wednesday 10th December 2008 in News By Alex Hayes

TOP Southall Labour party members have accused the new Tory candidate of “divisive” politics.

Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma has accused Councillor Gurcharan Singh, who will stand for the seat at the next election after, of being a turncoat following his defection from the party during last July's by-election.

He said: “At the by-election Cllr Singh’s betrayal of local voters when he defected to the Tories had no impact on my election victory and left the Tories trailing in a miserable third place.

“Local people saw him as a turncoat, some one without credibility and whom they could not trust. Nothing has changed since then in that respect and I expect him to be defeated at the General Election whenever it is called.”

Gurdip Sahota, Chair of Ealing Southall branch, said: “He has no moral or political authority to stand on, when he has betrayed the voters of Southall by defecting to the Tories after being elected by them as a Labour Councillor.

“He refuses to stand before the electorate as a Tory council Candidate and continues to immorally pocket thousands of pounds of council tax payer’s money through his councillor’s allowance.”

He also accused Cllr Singh of being a divisive figure in the Tory party.

In defence Cllr Singh claimed Mr Sharma had also defected before.

He told the Ealing Times: “Mr Sharma himself defected from the Liberal party to join Labour before he was elected to the council.

“My track record speaks for itself, and I have nothing to prove to the Labour Party. I was selected at a meeting in front of 150 party members for this post, and I'm honoured and humbled to have been selected.

“I will be ready to fight for this seat whenever an election is called.”