A GRASS roots revolt against mainstream opposition candidates hoping to unseat Jeremy Hunt at the general election, resulted in Labour expelling three long-serving local members on Monday.

Dubbed ‘The Godalming Three’, Labour executive member Steve Williams, secretary of the South West Surrey Labour Party Kate Townsend, and Robert Park, were sacked by party HQ after publicly backing National Health Action party candidate Dr Louise Irvine as their preferred choice to stand against the Health Secretary, who has been Conservative MP for South West Surrey since 2005.

The three Labour activists are members of the local branch of the UK Progressive Alliance movement. It is calling for South West Surrey constituency opposition parties to collaborate and back a single candidate in a united bid to oust one of the government’s most powerful members.

At an action meeting on Saturday, the South West Surrey branch overwhelmingly voted for NHA’s Dr Irvine, who stood against Mr Hunt in 2015, to be the single progressive alliance candidate. It also proposed Labour, Lib Dems and Green parties should step aside and give her their full backing in June’s general election.

Mr Williams said: “Jeremy Hunt is a deeply unpopular MP among many of his constituents who hold him responsible for the current sorry state of the National Health Service.

“Jeremy Hunt is now facing a serious challenge from a highly capable and articulate GP who is well accustomed to taking on Jeremy Hunt and fighting for keeping our National Health Service as a high quality, well-funded public service, providing world-class healthcare for all, free to the user at the point of use.”

While hopes that Labour would support the cross-party bid spectacularly failed to materialise, triggering three expulsions, prospective Hindhead-based Green candidate Susan Ryland announced she would step aside and was backing Dr Irvine.

Confirming Lib Dem opposition to the Progressive Alliance, leader Tim Farron said there would be no pacts with other parties, and the Labour party nationally said it will have nothing to do with so-called “progressive alliances”, which see other parties standing aside to avoid splitting the anti-Tory vote.

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas, however, urged left and centre-left parties to get together to prevent “a massive Tory landslide”.

UKIP candidate Mark Webber, who also contested the 2015 election and came second with 5,415 votes, said Mr Hunt’s “massive” 28,500 majority at the previous election was unassailable by the progressive alliance.

“The left simply don’t have much traction at all in that part of the country, even if they band together,” he said.

Calling on Green voters to support the NHA, Susan Ryland said: “With her first-hand experience as a GP, Louise Irvine can hold Jeremy Hunt MP to account on his record as Health Minister.

“Louise Irvine is concerned with the health of our nation in its widest sense. She shares our values as a progressive alliance and will deliver a strong message on the environment, housing, social inequality and the need to work closely with our neighbours in Europe.”

Speaking to The Herald following his expulsion, Mr Williams said: “I was expelled after 46 years of membership by an email. What’s happening in South West Surrey is that people are coalescing around Louise Irvine, because she is uniquely placed to take on Jeremy Hunt.

“The Labour Party has never come within striking distance of beating the Conservatives in this constituency. Labour and the Lib Dems should get the wake-up call and come together and recognise this grass roots movement.”

Announcing her candidature on Tuesday, Dr Irvine said: “I have been overwhelmed by the support I have received from all areas of the country since I was selected last Saturday to represent the progressive alliance in SW Surrey against Jeremy Hunt. I promise that I shall do my very best to deserve it.

“I want to hold Jeremy Hunt to account for his treatment of the NHS and to alert people to the risks of another five years of Tory government, what it will do to the NHS and to society as a whole, which I think is extremely worrying.