Mosquito swatted, but sting could prove fatal

Ms Mahmood, a 27-year-old barrister who as far as anyone is aware has never before held public office, managed to get 118 votes from local party members against 99 for the far more experienced Mosquito.
This could be seen as odd, even extremely unwise, on Labour's part given that Ladywood has the second highest proportion of African-Caribbean voters of any UK parliamentary constituency. Voters who now, it could be argued, may be less inclined to vote Labour.
Allegations put forward by Coun Mosquito's supporters, in no particular order of prominence, include:
•West Midlands Labour officials, supported by senior city council members, did everything possible to ensure the selection of Ms Mahmood, who happens to be the daughter of Birmingham Labour Party chairman Mahmood Ahmed.
•Labour councillors replaced Coun Mosquito as vice-chairman of the West Midlands Police Authority in an effort to destabilise her and make it less likely she would win the Ladywood nomination.
•Selection procedure rules were changed to benefit Ms Mahmood. In particular, anyone with less than 18 months' membership of the Ladywood party was banned from voting at the selection - effectively costing Coun Mosquito 30 to 40 votes.
•Postal votes were accepted until hours before the selection meeting, some sent direct from Pakistan, contrary to normal procedure. Most of the late-arriving votes benefitted Ms Mahmood.
It is impossible to say with certainty whether some or any of this is true.
West Midlands Labour officials issued a strong rebuttal, blaming "disappointed" supporters of Coun Mosquito who had misunderstood the way party rules operate at selection meetings. Candidates were asked by the regional office a day before the meeting took place whether they had any concerns about the procedure, but no adverse comments were received.
Unusually for the regional party, a spokeswoman was fully briefed and armed with appropriate information and explanations when contacted by the media on Sunday morning. Labour was getting its excuses in early and there was also evidence of Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne, the West Midlands Minister, becoming involved in briefing selected journalists on Ms Mahmood's behalf.
The spokeswoman put forward what might be termed the sour grapes defence: "Whilst it is understandable that members who supported the losing candidate were disappointed, it's clear that these allegations are untrue."
Labour's problem now is all about perception in Birmingham.
Ladywood is not the safe fortress for the party that it once was and a glance at the 2005 General Election result indicates that Ms Mahmood has a tough battle on her hands regardless of any back-biting over the way she was selected.
Clare Short's share of the vote fell by 17 per cent in 2005 while Liberal Democrat candidate, Birmingham city councillor Ayoub Khan, managed to post a 23 per cent increase in support for his party. Short's majority fell to 6,801, leaving Khan requiring a 5.3 per cent swing to take the seat at the next election.
It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Labour could lose Ladywood in 2010, when the next election is likely to be held.
Labour could yet regret the day it stamped on the Mosquito, while Ayoub Khan must be rubbing his hands in glee.