Labour candidate Ed Murphy 'deselected' for NW Cambridgeshire seat
A long-standing Labour activist has been deselected as a parliamentary candidate hours before the ballot deadline.
Ed Murphy will no longer bid to become the MP for North West Cambridgeshire after an 11th-hour meeting of its national executive committee. A Labour Party spokesman confirmed the "difficult" decision was made on Wednesday night - but gave no reason. Mr Murphy had "made an energetic start to a positive campaign", he said. Cathy Cordiner-Achenbach, chair of Labour in Great Yarmouth, will now stand for the seat, the spokesman confirmed. Mr Murphy has been a Labour activist for more than 35 years and stood in several local elections, as well as seeking the role of police and crime commissioner. He has been the Peterborough city councillor for the Ravensthorpe ward since 2011. 'Difficult news' Mr Murphy was nominated for selection on 25 October. According to Electoral Commission guidelines, political parties had until 16:00 GMT on 14 November to submit their prospective parliamentary candidates for the general election on 12 December. Mr Murphy would not comment but said he remained "absolutely loyal" to Labour. The party spokesman said: "Late last night the National Executive Committee informed us that it had withdrawn it's endorsement of Ed Murphy. "This means he can no longer stand as a candidate representing Labour. "We are unsure of the reasons for the withdrawal of endorsement and we are told a new candidate will be found and nominated today." There are four prospective parliamentary candidates for North West Cambridgeshire: