General Election: Cradley Heath union official selected for 'safest Labour seat'
A Labour union official from Cradley Heath has been handed the candidacy for what is considered to be one of the party's safest seats in the upcoming election.
Stephanie Peacock, a former chairwoman of Young Labour in the West Midlands, will contest the Barnsley East seat vacated by the retiring Michael Dugher.
The seat has been held by Labour since it was founded in 1983, with the party's majority from 2015 standing at 31.2 per cent.
Ms Peacock stood for Labour in Halesowen and Rowley Regis in 2015, where she came second to Conservative James Morris by 3,082 votes.
She is currently an officer for the GMB union. She thanked her predecessor Mr Dugher for backing her bid for the candidacy, and said: "I couldn't be more proud to be Labour's candidate in Barnsley East.
"The Tories have no idea what it's like to worry about paying the bills, to sit on NHS waiting lists for weeks wondering when you'll be treated or fret about how to care for a loved one as the social care system crumbles around us."
Ms Peacock pledged to work 'round the clock' for the people of the constituency and vowed to fight for change.
Labour is going through the process of carving up candidacies for vacant seats following a series of meetings involving Jeremy Corbyn, Tom Watson and leading trade union bosses.
It is understood that an agreement has been reached whereby each of the wings of the party and its union backers get their share of plum constituencies where MPs are standing down.
Ms Peacock is one of a number of key figures set to benefit from the arrangement, with others including Mr Corbyn's former campaign director Sam Tarry, who is director of Momentum.
Mark Ferguson, the former LabourList editor and aide to Liz Kendall, and Ellie Reeves, sister of Labour MP Rachel Reeves and wife of Labour MP John Cryer, are also expected to be handed comfortable passages to Westminster.
A total of 13 Labour MPs have decided to step down ahead of the June 8 poll, including former Home Secretary Alan Johnson, Wolverhampton South West's Rob Marris, Pat Glass and Gisela Stuart.
Meanwhile, Les Jones has been confirmed as the Tory candidate for Dudley North.
It marks his second attempt at winning the seat after he came second in 2015 behind Labour's Ian Austin, who will defend the seat with a majority of 4,181.
Mr Jones contested the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner election last year and is currently a Dudley councillor in the Pedmore and Stourbridge East ward.
He said he was pleased to have been named the party's candidate.
Mr Jones recently told the Express & Star that he believes he has an excellent chance on building on his performance from 2015.
