Corbyn ally stokes moderate MPs 'purge' claims
A left-wing ally of Jeremy Corbyn says Labour MPs deserve to face de-selection if they are not supported by party members.
Thursday 6 July 2017 22:28, UK
Jeremy Corbyn is facing accusations of a plot to purge moderate Labour MPs after one of his leading allies backed a new round of re-selections.
Left-wing MP Chris Williamson, newly appointed as a shadow minister by Mr Corbyn, said Labour MPs deserve to face de-selection if they are not supported by party members.
His comments, which threaten to reopen the wounds between Mr Corbyn and those MPs who before the election wanted to remove him as leader, comes in a week when:
:: Labour MP Luciana Berger, currently on maternity leave, was told by a Momentum activist in her local party in Liverpool to "get on board" and apologise for criticising Mr Corbyn;
:: The Labour leader was said by a leadership source to be ready to back rule changes which would "democratise" the party and mean the mandatory re-selection of MPs;
:: Another Corbyn ally, new party chairman Ian Lavery, called for "different ways and means" of selecting MPs and suggested the Labour Party was now "too broad a church".
Mr Williamson, a teetotal vegan who was once a market trader and a bricklayer, recaptured Derby North for Labour in the 8 June election after losing it in 2015. On Monday he was appointed shadow fire minister.
In comments which have angered many Labour MPs, he said: "There are interest groups and individual MPs in this party who think it's their God-given right to rule.
"No MP should be guaranteed a job for life and it's crucial that we all get with the times. MPs elected in earlier phases of this party run the risk of failing to understand what is really going on out there in society.
"Although this party's hundreds of thousands of new members were once demonised, the election has shown that the political instincts of these members are in line with popular opinion. For our party to succeed these members must be listened to."
He added: "Those MPs who are popular with their members, which may well be the vast majority, should have no problem getting re-selected. But it's unreasonable to think we as MPs can avoid any contest."
Ms Berger, who had a baby shortly before the General Election, appeared to be under threat after a Momentum takeover of her local Labour party in Liverpool Wavertree earlier this week.
The MP, who is Jewish, has previously spoken out about being the victim of vile anti-Semitic abuse and once received 2,500 abusive tweets in three days.
After the far-left takeover, leading Momentum activist Roy Bentham told The Liverpool Echo: "Luciana needs to get on board quite quickly now.
"She will now have to sit round the table with us the next time she wants to vote for bombing in Syria or to pass a no confidence motion in the leader of the party she will have to be answerable to us.
"We would like her to come out publicly like other MPs have done and apologise for not supporting him in the past."
After the Momentum takeover, Ms Berger issued a statement insisting that she now wants Mr Corbyn to be PM.
"The Labour Party In Liverpool Wavertree is a vibrant, democratic organisation with around 1,800 members," she said.
"Quite rightly, the members elect officers of the party to oversee its work.
"We are united in wanting to secure a new General Election and the return of a Labour government under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn as soon as possible."
The secretary of the Wavertree constituency party, Angela Kehoe-Jones, tried to distance the branch from Mr Bentham's threat to the MP.
"We must disassociate ourselves from remarks made by one of our officers who did not speak on behalf of the executive," she said.
"The views he expressed do not in any way represent the position of the CLP (Constituency Labour Party) officers."
The MP also won backing from Labour MP John Woodcock, a fierce critic of Mr Corbyn, who posted on Twitter: "Luciana Berger a brilliant MP and lovely person. Real Labour people would back her while she is on (maternity) leave, not try to intimidate her."
In another de-selection move, Momentum's South Tyneside branch published a list of more than 50 Labour MPs they want out of the party.
Listing the MPs they do not approve of, the group stated: "These usual suspects should join the Liberals if they don't want us to hold onto millions of working class votes."