Sheffield party opts for local councillor Abtisam Mohamed instead

Eddie Izzard will not be fighting the seat of Sheffield Central for Labour at the next general election.

Party members instead chose Sheffield City Councillor Abtisam Mohamed  to be their next parliamentary candidate followig hustings in the city yesterday.

Mohamed – who won 433 votes to second-placed Izzard’s 175 – said it was ‘the honour of my life’ to be chosen, but noted: ‘We have faced huge amounts of abuse, racism or transphobia throughout this campaign. It has been very difficult to sift through this and continue to run positive campaigns. Yet, we all managed it.’

Izzard said: ‘I want to congratulate Abtisam Mohamed on her victory in the Sheffield Central selection contest today. She will make a fine MP and I look forward to campaigning with her in the months and years to come.’

Izzard had previously said she had suffered a ‘torrent of transphobic abuse’  since announcing her candidacy. A photograph took a photo of her using the women’s toilet at a campaign event in September, while Labour MP Rosie Duffield said she would rather be arrested than refer to Izzard as a woman.

Current Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield had previously announced he will be stepping down at the next General Election, leaving a safe seat he held with a 27,000 majority

Published: 5 Dec 2022