Labour activist who shared Theresa May gun picture is chosen as election candidate
2 min read
A Labour activist criticised for sharing an image of Theresa May with a gun pointing at her head has been chosen as a general election candidate.
Kate Osborne has apologised for posting the picture in the run-up to the 2017 election.
PoliticsHome revealed how nearly 30 female Labour MPs had written to party bosses demanding that she be blocked from standing for the party in the safe seat of Jarrow.
In the letter to general secretary Jennie Formby, they said: "If Kate Osborne is selected, it would undermine any claim our party makes to stand resolutely against the harassment and intimidation of women in public life.
"There is a danger of a pattern that affects our general election campaign with candidates that have been selected having abusive social media comments."
But on Saturday, a panel made up of members of Labour's national executive committee rubber-stamped Ms Osborne's candidacy.
Announcing her success on Twitter, she said: "Jarrow desperately needs a Labour MP to stand up for local people. I’m thrilled to have been selected as the candidate and we are ready to fight the general election. My main priority now is to be out and about talking to voters campaigning tirelessly to keep a Labour MP here.
"I feel it is such an honour and am very humbled that the Labour Party has put its faith in me. I have seen the worst impacts of Tory policies with cuts to vital public services throughout my life.
"This includes police being cut from our streets and neglect of our NHS which has been pushed into crisis. I know that only a Labour Government can bring the change we need to make people’s lives' better."
Ms Osborne, who tried and failed a week ago to be chosen as Labour's candidate in Blyth, is a member of Unite's executive council and is thought to have had the support of those close to Jeremy Corbyn.
In a statement to Huffington Post about the Theresa May image, she said: "I shared an image on social media of a film parody poster making light of Theresa May’s forced and robotic statements about her ‘strong and stable government’ in the run up to the 2017 general election.
"I unreservedly apologise for having shared this image. As a woman, I am extremely concerned about the abuse and threats that women in politics face and if elected I will work with colleagues to challenge misogyny, hate and division in politics and beyond."
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