New Labour stitch-up as top Starmer aide is imposed on Cardiff West
Martin Shipton
A key aide to Keir Starmer who led the drive to discipline party members accused of antisemitism has been imposed as Labour’s general election candidate in Cardiff West.
The decision to select Alex Barros-Curtis as the replacement for retiring MP Kevin Brennan has been greeted with anger by a member of the constituency Labour party who tipped off NationCymru about the imposition. They described it as “the latest stitch-up”.
Mr Barros-Curtis, who has no known connection to Cardiff or Wales, is UK Labour’s executive director of legal affairs. In 2020 the Jewish Chronicle published a profile of him which said “This is the lawyer and former parliamentary assistant at the centre of Sir Keir Starmer’s efforts to tackle antisemitism in Labour.
Suspensions
Alex Barros-Curtis has spent the past two months in the role of Labour’s Acting Executive Director of Legal Affairs, overseeing the work of the party’s compliance unit – which has frequently been criticised for failing to act over complaints involving anti-Jewish racism.
“Party insiders say Mr Barros-Curtis has also been at the centre of high-profile decisions to recommend the suspension of Labour members and councillors over recent weeks – including over complaints about antisemitism that had previously not been acted upon.
“The marketing consultant had previously worked as Sir Keir’s head of compliance during his successful campaign to lead Labour. But in his latest role, which is confirmed on his personal Linkedin page, Mr Barros-Curtis was handed the power to manage the existing disciplinary complaints team – many of whom were appointed under Jeremy Corbyn.”
According to the Companies House register, Mr Barros-Curtis was the sole director of Movement for Another Future Limited – which was the name linked to Sir Keir’s website during his successful campaign to become leader of the Labour Party. Sir Keir also used the strapline “Another Future is Possible” throughout his campaign.
‘Trusted adviser’
Prior to working on Sir Keir’s campaign, Mr Barros-Curtis had a role in Owen Smith’s failed 2016 leadership bid, in which he was a “trusted adviser to Mr Smith and the campaign’s chair and vice-chair in the campaign’s final weeks”.
Mr Barros-Curtis has worked more recently for The Good Campaigns Company – an agency helping non-profit organisations with marketing and branding campaigns.
On the company website he is said to have worked extensively on derivatives and structured finance matters in Europe and Hong Kong; as well as formerly working for the Clinton Foundation.
The website adds Mr Barros-Curtis has worked ”managing compliance, finance and strategy covers two Labour leadership campaigns, the Labour Campaign for the Single Market, and strategic consultancy on the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.”
Shocking
The Cardiff West party member who told us of Mr Barros-Curtis’ selection said: “It is totally shocking that the local party has had imposed on it someone who has no known connection with Cardiff or Wales and is clearly a total Starmer loyalist.
“They succeeded in ensuring that Beth Winter [the left-wing now former MP for Cynon Valley] was deselected. She really cared about her community and about Wales. What we are going to have instead is a bunch of colourless careerists.
“Those running the UK party have shown that they have no respect for Wales or for local party members. This is a selection made in London and I think many members of the local party will not be prepared to campaign in support of him.
“This is the latest stitch-up and follows quickly on from the news that think tank chief executive Torsten Bell – again with no known Welsh connection – was imposed as the Swansea West general election candidate. The UK party has no respect for democracy. In the past, while there have been instances where the NEC excluded people they disliked from the shortlist of candidates, leaving local party members to make the final choice, they no longer bother with that at all.
“They have all angles stitched up. It is very depressing for those of us who have been in the party for decades.”
We have been told that the decision to select Mr Barros-Curtis was taken by a panel of five including three from the party’s right-wing dominated Welsh Executive Committee, together with two representatives of the local party.
Other applicants for the candidacy were said to have been Bethan Roberts, Jennifer Burke, Karen Wilkie, Ramesh Patel, and Steve Brooks.
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It’s not what they say, it’s what they do.
Arrogant party with arrogant leadership. Send them a message. Vote Plaid Cymru.
There was a time when the unionist Labour party used to shout from the roof tops that they were the “architect’s of devolution”. It appears now they have come full circle from that position & decided that devolution (to Cymru at least) may have been a bad move for them. Wasn’t it Tony Blair who was alleged to have once proclaimed ” those bloody Welsh” when something didn’t quite go to plan, my memory fails me on that one. It looks to me that Starmer & his gang do not intend to take any “nonsense” from this side of the… Read more »
I think it was a ruder word than that Alan.
It was the night of the Welsh devolution referendum when it looked as if the low turnout and nearly 50/50 vote meant devolution for Wales would pass.
I believe out of 1 million votes there were a few hundred which tipped the balance in favour.
Lets face it it would have saved a lot of time,money and everything else if it had gone the other way.
We know what we get with the tories and we know what we get with labour. Over the last 100 years, in Westminster that’s all we’ve had. If people are fed up, stop tactically voting and vote for who you want to win.
I suppose it’s necessary in order for us to get rid of the Tories as Welsh Labour stalwarts will soon be telling us.
Or is this the one that gets them hiding away with embarrassment
Or are Labour stalwarts just not capable of such a feeling.
Dictator Keir Starmer is trying to emulate Tony Blair. He too parachuted against party members Alun Michael into a position of First Secretary in 1999 against Labour party members who preferred Rhodri Morgan. Irony is. Old Alun Michael only lasted one year in office before being replaced by Rhodri Morgan. Also , talking about imposition. Who can forget Labour insulting Wales when we were given toothless talking shop Assembly with a First Secretary where both Scotland & NI had First Ministers and legislative Assembly & Parliament. But the similarity between Alun Michael and Barros-Curtis ends there. Where Alun Michael was… Read more »
If the electorate object to the candidate they obviously will not vote for him.
That’s 5he best joke in years but sadly sheep always follow something
Normally it the stink from the sheep in front that guides them. Much like Labour voters, would you say ?
Are these the electorate you would seek to convert to your cause?
Democracy is not even a once in five years event here.
c’mon Cymru, doing the same time and time again and expecting change is a fool’s errand, with the state of diktat from Starmer over the local labour parties selection processess,and the disrepute Vaughan Geithing has plunged Welsh Labour to, switch to a party with socialism at it’s heart, Plaid Cymru and make the change you want to see for the people of Wales
If the Labour membership are against imposed candidates from elsewhere, they should vote on masse for Plaid Cymru as a warning to London HQ.
If it wasn’t bad enough that an arrogant chancer like Geithing took over as First Minister using wads of dirty money, now we in Cardiff West have been presented with Labour’s Witchfinder General as our future MP. For the first time in a General Election since 1966 I won’t be voting Labour.
He is a bit slow on the uptake is old Clark of Kent…
Someone has to have a word with him, it may as well be us…
why are the people of Cardiff West moaning this is true Labour nothing more nothing less. He’s putting 2 fingers up to the people living in Cardiff West and silently telling them it’s my choice not yours. But these people will not moaning because like others Starmer is their Messiah , he’s come to save Labour followers. He’s yet again behaved with such arrogance that’s why Gething is Labour choice he has now shown the same arrogance.
If that is the case and the electorate agree with you he will not be elected.
If the members of the local labour parties of Gorllewin Abertawe and Gorllewin Caerdydd had any dignity, decency and principles they would go on campaign strike, do absolutely nothing to promote these imposed candidates and stand up for genuine democracy!
As a Labour voter in Cardiff West I am now looking around for a decent alternative candidate I can not only vote but also campaign for.
Libdem.
Hahaha – no!!!! 😂
Is she local? Asking for a friend.
The Plaid Cymru candidate doesn’t seem like much of a socialist or I might have gone that way. Disappointing.
Perhaps you should talk to her.
She is from one of the poorest estates in Wales. She understands deprivation. I have been n canvassing with her in Ely and she is meeting up with community volunteers. Appearances can be deceptive.
Unfortunately Pete,the party best place to beat them are the Tories,a fairly strong second.
Labour know most Swansea West voters vote for a party not a candidate,and as they saying goes stick a red rosette on a gatepost in S Wales,and it will get elected.
Reform likely a poor 3rd place.
Your only hope would be an Independent Labour candidate.
Lets face it Mr Bell is your new MP.
Appointing a Witchfinder who chose not to understand the difference between anti-semitism and genuine humanitarian concerns over Palestine and the people of Gaza and then expressing concerns that several constituencies with high Moslem populations e.g. Cardiff, could be at risk is foolish. This parachutist should stick to being a school governor in Islington.
is he on the electoral register for Cardiff? Was he fitted up with an address weeks ago? Same questions for the other London boy dropped onto Swansea West?