Fresh calls to allow Jeremy Corbyn to stand as Labour candidate at next election
The former Labour leader remains a party member but sits in the Commons as an Independent MP.
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir Keir Starmer has faced fresh demands to pave the way for Jeremy Corbyn to stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election.
Former Labour leader Mr Corbyn remains a party member but sits in the Commons as an Independent MP after having the whip withdrawn due to his response to an Equality and Human Rights Commission report into antisemitism in the party.
But some party delegates have forced a vote on a proposed rule change in a bid to allow Mr Corbyn (Islington North) to be re-selected as a Labour candidate.
Supporters say it is focused on allowing a Constituency Labour Party (CLP) to be in control of who their candidate is rather than the parliamentary Labour party (PLP).
But the party believes the proposal represents a āsignificant legal risk to itā.
Peter Talbot, of Islington North CLP, said: āWe need a range of Labour candidates. We need to demonstrate that the Labour Party truly is a broad church. And thatās particularly important in relation to the thousands of young people that Jeremy brought into supporting Labour.ā
He added: āIf we donāt change the rules and Jeremy canāt stand for Labour at the next election, well that would just be a disaster for us frankly, it would not end well.
āIt would be a gift to the Greens, to the Lib Dems and the Tories.ā
Explaining the proposed change, Mr Talbot said: āIt will ensure that the Parliamentary Labour Party cannot disqualify a sitting Labour MP from standing in an election by simply withdrawing the whip.ā
Rachel Garnham, Mid Bedfordshire CLP, said Labour would be āfar betterā going into a general election āas a united party rather than attempting to make Jeremy grovelā.
She said: āI feel like as a party weāve got ourselves into a bit of a mess.
āInstead of turning our collective fire on this horrendous Westminster Government it feels like too much time and energy is sadly going into fighting the left of the party ā and weāre not going away.ā
She added Labourās āpolitical enemiesā include Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, adding: āOur political enemy is not Jeremy Corbyn.ā
Thomas Glasman, of Hackney North and Stoke Newington CLP, said: āThe issue at hand on the selection of MPs is not necessarily one of whether you personally like or dislike Jeremy Corbyn or what he stands for.
āItās a principle of whether CLPs have a democratic right to select who they wish to have as an MP.ā
Samantha Niblett, from Erewash CLP, spoke against the āflawedā proposal before adding: āThe public donāt care about our internal arguments.ā
Michael Wheeler, vice-chair of Labourās national executive committee (NEC) organisation sub-committee, said: āThe rule change represents a significant legal risk to the party.
āIn order to successfully defend legal claims the party must be able to show there itās applying its rules consistently and fairly.
āChanging the fundamental rules midway through a parliamentary cycle leaves the party open to legal challenge from candidates that may be put at a disadvantage.ā
A card vote on the proposal took place at the end of Sundayās session in Liverpool.