Labour MPs hit out at ‘purge’ after Chris Leslie loses confidence vote

Labour MPs have rallied around Chris Leslie, describing him as the latest victim of a “purge” after he lost a no-confidence vote brought by local party members.

On Friday night Mr Leslie, a vocal critic of party leader Jeremy Corbyn, became the latest parliamentarian to be censured and the first since the party’s annual conference in Liverpool.

Similar action has been taken against Labour Friends of Israel chairwoman Joan Ryan, Luton South MP Gavin Shuker and the Labour Brexiteers Kate Hoey and Frank Field.

Mr Leslie, who has been MP for Nottingham East since 2010 and was briefly shadow chancellor in 2015 before Mr Corbyn took over as leader, told PoliticsHome: “If the party pushes away people like me on the centre left for voicing different opinions to the leadership, then that says more about the direction of Labour than it does about me.

“I’m not going to stop speaking up for all my constituents when there are so many massively important challenges, especially the threat of a disastrous Brexit.”

Those MPs targeted by local party votes have either been critics of Mr Corbyn on subjects including anti-Semitism, or hardline Brexiteers who voted with the Tories on key legislation.

The votes carry no official weight in the party but local members can hold a “trigger ballot” for an open selection process ahead of the next general election.

A compromise deal making it easier for constituency parties to remove MPs was passed by conference in Liverpool, reducing the threshold for triggering an open selection contest from 50% to 33% of local party branches or affiliated unions.

Centre-left MPs were quick to rally around Mr Leslie, with Mrs Ryan saying on Twitter: “Disgrace that Chris Leslie is next victim of purge with no confidence motion.

“He is a brilliant MP (and) has been key to opposing damaging Brexit and pursuing People’s Vote.

“We certainly have confidence in him in PLP!”

Chuka Umunna, who has previously urged Mr Corbyn to “call off the dogs” targeting Labour MPs, quoted the party leader’s words in his speech to conference on Wednesday.

The Streatham MP tweeted: “Jeremy Corbyn, 26.09.18: ‘Real unity is based on the freedom to disagree and debate… so we need to foster a much greater culture of tolerance … we must learn to listen a bit more, and shout a lot less. To focus on what unites us.’

“Not sure everyone got the memo, so to speak.”

And Mitcham and Morden’s Siobhain McDonagh described Mr Leslie as “an anti Brexit warrior for UK Labour and the whole country”.

Jeremy Corbyn has previously refused to intervene to prevent local activists targeting his internal party critics

Earlier this month he told the Parliamentary Labour Party it was “not his role to interfere” in local “democratic accountability” after Rosie Duffield briefly faced a motion brought by members of her Constituency Labour Party in Canterbury, a spokesman for the leader said.

The action against the MP, who took the Kent city seat at the 2017 election with a majority of just 187 – after 99 years as a Tory stronghold – was later dismissed following an outcry from fellow MPs.