CHRIS WILLIAMSON announced yesterday that he is standing for election in Derby South to replace incumbent Labour MP Margaret Beckett.

Mr Williamson is deputy leader of the Workers Party of Britain, whose leader George Galloway successfully ousted Labour from Rochdale earlier this year over its failure to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Posting his announcement video on X, Mr Williamson said: “Help me land a blow against the genocidaires, the warmongers and the privatising rip-off merchants who are backed by Labour and the Tories.

“The Workers Party is the resistance to the political status quo.”

Mr Williamson served as the Labour MP for Derby North from 2010-15 and again in 2017-19.

He resigned from the party in 2019 following his suspension over his comments on the botched Labour investigation into anti-semitism.

Mr Williamson will face Derby City Council leader Baggy Shanker, running for Labour and Conservative city councillor Jamie Mulhall for the seat.