Critics of Jeremy Corbyn have won election to the party’s parliamentary committee, as the struggle between allies and opponents of the leader continues despite a new eight-point poll lead for Labour.
Among those elected to the influential backbench body, which has a weekly meeting with Corbyn, were Neil Coyle, Graham Jones, Angela Smith and Ruth Smeeth. They will now play a role in the committee’s work as shop stewards for the party’s backbenchers.
Clive Lewis, seen as a potential future leader from the left of the party, and Ian Mearns, a staunch supporter of Corbyn, did not have enough support from fellow MPs to make the cut.
The elections show that critics of the leadership in the parliamentary party are not ceding power lightly to Corbyn, despite the strengthening of his position after Labour performed beyond expectations in the general election.
A poll for YouGov and the Times has put Labour eight points ahead of the Conservatives on 46% of the vote, suggesting Corbyn could win a national vote.
Given Corbyn’s strong position, many in the centrist wing of the party are gearing up for a battle against the possibility of deselection by local members who do not feel they have been sufficiently loyal to the leadership.
Allies of the leader, including the shadow minister Chris Williamson, have been open about suggesting MPs should be better held to account by the party membership.
“Those MPs who are popular with their members, which may well be the vast majority, should have no problem getting reselected. But it’s unreasonable to think we as MPs can avoid any contest,” he said.
There was also a furore on Thursday after a new party officer in Wavertree warned the Labour MP Luciana Berger that she needed to “get on board” with the leader. Other local officials disavowed the comments but Labour MPs such as John Woodcock claimed it was an attempt to intimidate her while on maternity leave.
Momentum, the grassroots group, was also forced to play down a list of 49 Labour MPs who should “join the Liberals”, which was posted by a branch in South Tyneside. A spokesman for the movement said it had been taken down as it did not accord with its national values and that Momentum centrally is not supporting the idea of deselections.
Ian Lavery, the Labour party chairman, attempted to calm concerns among MPs yesterday, telling the Mirror: “I don’t see deselection as the way forward.”
He added: “What I believe is the existing trigger ballot system is the way forward. I do believe constituencies have the right to select their candidate and that’s the current system. I don’t see any need to drastically change the rules.
“We need to do what we did at the election: young people from the Progress side and the Momentum side joining forces together, enthused and wanting Labour to win.
“We took giant strides under Jeremy at the election just gone and we’re knocking on the door of 10 Downing Street. It’s not a pipe dream – we’ll win the next election and that’s why the Tories are running scared. We have to pick up the cudgel and run with the idea that we can be in office in a short period of time.”
