Vaz has been heavily leafleting in Leicester, sparking rumours of an attempted political come-back despite scandals

Deepak Bajaj, the (now-former) leader of Leicester Tories, has defected back to the Labour party, accusing the Conservatives of being “more interested in their own psychodrama” than the needs of local people. Bajaj is known locally as the ‘right-hand man’ of disgraced former Labour MP Keith Vaz, who resigned as Leicester East MP in 2019 after being secretly filmed offering to buy drugs for male prostitutes.

In 2021, Vaz was found guilty by Parliament of ‘sustained bullying’ – yet still allowed by Labour to run the party’s local campaigns, with often disastrous results.

In 2023, Vaz ramped up his personal campaigning and is said to have been leafleting heavily this year, sparking rumours that he intends to stand again for election, despite Labour having already selected a candidate in Leicester East, where incumbent independent MP Claudia Webbe is likely to defend her seat.

The immediate acceptance of another Tory by Labour leads to the obvious conclusions about the lack of difference between two parties really divided, under Starmer’s tenure, only by their rosette colour – but may also reinforce expectations that Vaz plans a comeback attempt despite his shredded political reputation.

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