Among those selected are 28 candidates who were MPs until the dissolution of Parliament on the 3rd of May 2017, all of whom are re-standing and were automatically re-selected. They range from Co-operative MPs such as Barry Sheerman, who has represented the Party since 1979 (recently becoming our longest-serving MP ever), through to Gareth Snell who became a Member of Parliament just 72 days ago in the Stoke by-election on the 28th of February.

This group is joined by a team of 24 prospective parliamentary candidates. These candidates were selected following a process in accordance with the selection procedures agreed by the NEC of the Co-operative Party.

Newly selected candidates standing in seats held by retiring Labour MPs include:

• Anneliese Dodds MEP, who is standing in Oxford East, where current Labour MP Andrew Smith is retiring. As an MEP, Anneliese has worked on a range of issues important to he movement, including Fairtrade, Tax Justice and youth co-operative development.
• Cllr Jo Platt, who is campaigning to replace Andy Burnham MP (who on Friday was elected Labour & Co-operative Mayor of Greater Manchester). As a Labour & Co-operative Councillor and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People in Wigan, Jo was a speaker at our 2016 Local government Conference.
• Preet Gill in Birmingham Edgbaston, who is seeking to represent outgoing Labour MP Gisela Stuart’s seat, in a constituency that has been represented by a female MP since 1953. If elected, Preet will be the first female British Sikh MP in Parliament.
• Cllr Alex Norris, a Nottingham City Councillor and former member of the Co-operative Party National Youth Committee, who is standing in outing Labour MP Graham Allen’s seat of Nottingham North.

Alongside these candidates, the Party is also fielding candidates in non-Labour held seats across the country. We’re particularly pleased to see the return of several candidates who previously stood for the Party in 2015. They are:

• David Drew, who will be fighting to take back Stroud, where he served as Labour & Co-operative MP from 1997-2010
• Cllr Sharon Taylor, Chair of the Co-operative Councils Innovation Network who as in 2015 will be campaigning to win Stevenage, where she is council leader
• Luke Pollard, who in 2015 came within 523 votes of winning back Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, which was held by Labour & Co-operative MP Linda Gilroy until 2010.

See the full list of Co-operative Party candidates here 

Over the next month, our thousands of Co-operative Party members will be out on the doorstep campaigning to ensure a strong voice for our movement and our co-operative values in the next Parliament.

The full list of candidates selected is as follows: