Attempts to oust Labour councillors ‘not a way forward’, says Angela Rayner

Concerns have been raised by some that Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters and Momentum are engaging in an 'purge' of centrist councillors in order to install left-wing figures

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner (PA)

Angela Rayner, the shadow Eduction Secretary, has claimed that attempts to oust Labour councillors ahead of next year’s local elections are “not a way forward”.

The comments from the senior Labour politician come as the party chooses its candidates before the local elections in May 2018, in which council seats across the country are up for grabs, including in 32 London boroughs.

But accusations have been raised by some that Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters and Momentum are engaging in a “purge” of centrist councillors in order to install left-wing figures, who are supportive of the Labour leadership.

Momentum, however, has defended the democratic right of local parties to hold elections for council seat nominations ahead of next year’s elections.

“Any factionalism in the Labour Party will damage us and remove us from getting near power, which ultimately damages the people that need our support,” Ms Rayner told The Times when asked about the reports.

Ms Rayner continued: “Trying to deselect and get rid of people’s voices is not a way forward. We have disagreements. There’s not been a Labour leader with whom I agree on everything ... but [Mr Corbyn] has an absolute right to lead our party and our MPs have an absolute right to be there and to have their voices heard and so do our councillors”.

It was reported earlier this week that around 10 councillors in the London borough of Haringey have decided not to stand again due to “narrow factionalism”. One of them, Tim Gallagher, said he and his colleagues had been written off by Mr Corbyn’s supporters as “zombie Blairites”.

But a Momentum spokesperson earlier this week said it was “fantastic” that hundreds of thousands of people “new to politics have felt so inspired that they’ve joined” the Labour Party. “We should trust local members to be the best judge of who should represent their community,” they added.

Ms Rayner also gave more details of her upbringing and the mental health issues suffered by her mother when she was young. “If my mum had a row with my dad he would storm out for a day or two and my mum would be left curled up in a foetal position sobbing her heart out,” she said.

“I was the eldest daughter so I was the carer. From the age of ten I was pretty much the mum and she was the child.” She added that because her mother couldn’t read, she “used to bring dog meat home from the supermarket”.