TRADE unionist and political campaigner Tosh McDonald is to stand as a Workers Party candidate in the general election.

Mr McDonald, former president of train drivers’ union Aslef, will stand in Doncaster Central in South Yorkshire.

The seat was held by Labour’s Dame Rosie Winterton, not standing for re-election, before parliament’s dissolution on May 30.

Mr McDonald, 63, became a Labour councillor in Doncaster after retiring from his job as a train driver.

But in 2020 — with his wife Nikki, also a Labour councillor — he became an independent “in disgust at […] sackings, suspensions and the demonisation of Jeremy Corbyn” in the Labour Party, from which he was suspended. 

Mr McDonald said he has been attending Workers Party meetings and working with Chris Williamson, former Labour MP for Derby and the party’s deputy leader.

Mr McDonald has appealed for donations to his election campaign at: tinyurl.com/ToshMcDonald.

The Labour and Co-operative Party candidate in Doncaster Central is Sally Jameson.