Corbyn urged to end 'witch hunt' of moderate Labour MPs
Emma Reynolds has warned Jeremy Corbyn that Labour will never get into power if his supporters continue to 'pursue a witch hunt' against the party's MPs.
The Wolverhampton North East MP urged the Labour leadership to 'send out a clear signal' that the party's focus must be on winning the next election and not deselecting moderate MPs.
She has backed fellow Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who recently told Mr Corbyn to 'call off the dogs' in reference to hardline factions attempting to run centre-left MPs out of the party.
Ms Reynolds has co-written a new book, entitled 'Spirit of Britain, Purpose of Labour', which she says will ensure Labour is a 'whole nation party' and does not just represent the university-educated middle classes.
Asked if she felt that her position as a Labour MP was under threat, she said: "I don't feel under threat, but what I would say is that I do think the leadership needs to send out a clear signal that the overall mission of the Labour party is to get into government and get rid of this wretched Tory Government
"The objective of some of Jeremy's supporters seems to be to take control of local parties and to pursue a witch hunt against existing Labour MPs. We are not going to win an election if that is what people are going to spend their time doing."
She added that Mr Umunna was 'absolutely right' in his comments to Mr Corbyn, saying Labour will not win the next election by 'having a go' at existing MPs.
Ms Reynolds, a former shadow housing minister, has written a chapter on housing in the book, which is edited by Stephen Kinnock and also covers issues including education, social cohesion and health.
She said the book 'goes to the heart' of Britain's problems, addressing the failure to spread opportunity 'beyond London and the south east'.
"This is about building on the success of last year's manifesto, but it's also saying that it is not enough to win the likes of Kensington and Canterbury," Ms Reynolds said.
"We have got to win back those communities where we have lost support, places like Walsall, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, where we lost seats.
"It is not enough to appeal to the kind of graduate, middle class sections of society.
"We have got to make sure that in our heart lands, those areas where people tend not be graduates and tend to feel like they are the losers of globalisation, we have got to make sure that our values, our policies reach out to those people as well.
"This is about ensuring that Labour is a whole nation party."
