Labour would be 'stupid' to limit party appeal
Labour moderates could be hounded out of the party after allies of Jeremy Corbyn confirmed they would push for rule changes giving grassroots members a greater say.
Ian Lavery, who has replaced Tom Watson as party chairman, said Labour was currently 'too broad a church' and warned that no politician had a 'divine right' to be an MP.
His comments have been branded 'very stupid' by Warley MP John Spellar, while Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said Labour should be trying to broaden its appeal rather than sideline sections of the party.
It comes after shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon suggested that the left would try to change the rules later this year to give Mr Corbyn's wing of the party more say.
Mr Spellar, a leading figure in the Labour First moderates group that also includes Mr Watson and Dudley North MP Ian Austin, said: "Labour only ever wins elections when it has a broad appeal.
"This is particularly true now since the 2015 election and we have returned to a two-party system.
"I think he [Mr Lavery] has made a very stupid comment and Jeremy Corbyn should rein him in. It is quite outrageous for him to create unnecessary divisions at this time."
Mr McFadden, who was sacked as shadow Europe minister by Mr Corbyn in January last year, said: "We have just had an election where Labour did better than expected but still didn't win.
"The task now is to broaden our appeal further to try to put us in a winning position, not to narrow it or say that certain parts of the party are not legitimate."
Corbyn ally Mr Lavery, who helped to mastermind Labour's election campaign, said all internal structures would be reviewed and told MPs that if they were deselected by their local party 'there must be a reason for it'.
Prior to the Labour conference last year Mr Watson made it clear that he was wary of rule changes that would give the left more power.
He has also previously warned that an infiltration by 'Trotsky entryists' was putting the party at risk of a hard-left takeover.
The West Bromwich East MP now claims Labour can win a majority in the next election by reaching 'those people who doubted us or weren’t quite convinced'.
“If we can bring in these young voters, enthuse them to stay with us and then give greater reassurance to our traditional working-class voters, some of whom left us on issues like policing and security, then I think we’ve got an election-winning alliance and I think it is an unbeatable one," he said.
