Labour Party members have held a protest during a husting outside Cleator Moor Civic Hall. 

Due to new boundaries being set in place with the local authority a brand new seat has been created Whitehaven and Workington. 

The vote took place on Saturday, June 17, at the Civic Hall which lies within the Copeland area, the ballot excludes Workington members who will reside in the new constituency.

Those protesting had their own ballot box but this was refused to be accepted as was a motion to stop the process. 

It has determined who the next Labour MP candidate will be with Josh McCallister eventually winning later in the day when up against Marcus Campbell-Savours. 

Workington members believe that had their ballot box been accepted Marcus Campbell-Savours would have won the selection. 

Labour UK had threatened Labour members with expulsion if they continued to actively seek a vote. 

Newsquest spoke to those attending the protest to hear their thoughts whilst the voting was taking place. 

Mark Fryer, leader of Cumberland County Council, said: "I'm absolutely astonished really about the whole process, we're not into factions we've never been into factionalism we're Labour Party members. 

"All we wanted was a vote, we just feel that we've been disenfranchised by it all and it's just ridiculous. 

"There's about 200 of us who haven't been given a vote, I don't know what the reasons are for that, surely somebody will have an idea. 

"So we've carried our own ballot out and we're going to present our thoughts today to the hustings, there's been a really good turnout and it would've been an unbelievable turnout if we all had a vote, but there's about 20 to 30 people here now who were absolutely aggrieved that we couldn't take part in the democratic process."

Julie Wedgewood, who has been a Labour Party member for 37 years, said: "I'm absolutely so disappointed that we've been excluded from this process and what sickens me even more is the fact that the party will expect us to go out there and start canvassing once the election is called but we haven't even been given the opportunity to select who our next member of parliament is going to be. 

"My aim today is to try and influence fellow Labour Party members from Copeland to ask that this process be stopped and it is rearranged so that we can all be included, all of us that are in the new constituency. 

"I'm sad that it's come to this because all my life I've been passionate about the Labour Party and fought for them and I didn't think my party would do this to me and 200 other people from the Workington area. 

Bob Kelly, Millom councillor for Cumberland said: "I think it's a total mess that we're in a constituency which has already chosen a candidate for Labour and we had no say in it whatsoever. 

"We're now here in Cleator Moor able to have a vote in the selection for a candidate for the Workington and Whitehaven constituency of which we will not be involved. It's crazy, a waste of everybody's time and is undemocratic."