LABOUR bosses have thwarted a fledgling rival party in Glasgow by registering its name for themselves with the elections watchdog.
Rebel Glasgow City councillors who quit the Labour Party earlier this month had planned to stand as "Glasgow Labour" in May's local elections.
However, they were pipped to the post by the UK Labour Party, which pre-emptively registered the description 'Glasgow Labour' with the Electoral Commission last week, denying it to anyone else.
Labour claimed it had "out-manouevred" the rebel councillors and protected its identity. However, the rebels, SNP and Tories said Labour's move smacked of panic.
Under Electoral Commission rules, each political party is allowed up to 12 different descriptions of itself to use on ballot papers.
Recent examples include the SNP registering "Alex Salmond for First Minister".
Until last week, UK Labour had registered 11 broad descriptions, such as Welsh Labour, Scottish Labour and Labour Party Candidate, but it had not registered a description with a single city.
Labour applied to use Glasgow Labour on ballot papers earlier this month, while the Commission was considering a bid by the rebel group to register Glasgow Labour as a new political party.
By securing the description, Labour ensured only its candidates can appear on ballot papers as Glasgow Labour, wrecking the rebel bid.
Labour in Glasgow has been in turmoil in recent months, since the Scottish Party HQ began a purge of its so-called "deadwood" by deselecting 17 of the city's 47 councillors, and introducing a host of new candidates to replace them in May.
The move led to angry accusations of unfairness and anger boiled over two weeks ago when six deselected councillors resigned the Labour whip and voted against the party on the city's budget.
Their rebellion reduced Labour's majority from 15 to two, and gravely undermined the credibility of Labour council leader Gordon Matheson.
Former Labour councillor Tommy Morrison, who applied to register the Glasgow Labour name for the rebels, said Labour was panicking.
He said: "Why are they so terrified of a minority group of councillors? It's extraordinary that all of a sudden the Labour party decides that it wants to register this name."
He also took a swipe at Johann Lamont, the Scottish Labour leader, whose Glasgow Pollok constituency is the epicentre of the rebellion, as that is where most rebels have their wards.
He said: "Why is the leader of the Scottish party not saying anything about this situation? Her silence is deafening."
Labour said the party had yet to decide whether it would use Glasgow Labour on ballot papers in May. A spokesman said: "We have used the name 'Glasgow Labour' for many years – on leaflets, online, and on posters – and will not permit others to mislead voters by falsely assuming our identity.
"Tommy Morrison was deselected by his own party members, and his sour-grapes tactics have come unstuck: last week he failed to prevent the budget, and this week he failed to register the name he wants."
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