CHRIS Vobe, the son of former Warrington North MP Helen Jones, has resigned from the Labour Party.

Mr Vobe held the Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft borough council seat between 2012 and 2016 before stepping down.

And he was announced as a candidate in the Rixton and Woolston ward ahead of the local elections scheduled for next May.

But in a shock move he has quit the party.

Mr Vobe or Labour did not wish to comment.

In an e-mail to Labour members seen by the Warrington Guardian, Labour North West’s deputy regional director Liam Didsbury confirmed the party is reopening the panel as an additional vacancy has arisen in Rixton and Woolston.

He asked: “Do you want to help put Labour’s policies into action? Could you represent your community?

“Have you already been playing your part during the coronavirus pandemic? The Warrington Labour Party is looking for candidates to stand for election to the council.”

In the e-mail, Mr Didsbury also said it is a ‘challenging time’ to be a councillor.

He added: “We need our members to stand for council to support our communities and to fight debilitating Tory cuts.

“A great deal has been achieved in Warrington, in spite of the cuts, but there remains much more to do.

“Labour is also determined to govern in new ways so that we are constantly renewing and strengthening our link with the people.

“This has meant changes to the way local government works, so that councils are more outward-looking and work in partnership with people.

“Labour councillors have been and continue to be at the forefront of these changes.”

Members were also told that anyone wishing to stand would need to live within the borough, have a 12-month membership and be a member of a trade union.

Nomination forms must be sent by 5pm on Tuesday, October 27.

Mrs Jones retired after 22 years as Labour MP in Warrington North ahead of last year’s general election.

MP Charlotte Nichols retained the seat for Labour, although the party’s majority over the Tories was cut to 1,509.