Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn’s successor to be named on 4 April

National Executive Committee decision sparks row over candidates’ access to membership lists

A row has blown up within Labour over the rules for the contest to find a successor to Jeremy Corbyn.

The party’s ruling National Executive Committee announced on Monday that the new leader will be named on 4 April, with Mr Corbyn remaining in post for almost four months after taking the party to its worst general election defeat since 1935.

But the NEC sparked controversy by deciding that candidates will not be given access to membership lists until after the nomination process is completed on 14 February.

Supporters of centrist contenders such as Jess Phillips fear this will give a campaigning head-start to left-wingers like Rebecca Long Bailey and Ian Lavery backed by the Momentum organisation, which has its own lists of sympathisers dating back to Mr Corbyn’s initial election in 2015, who make up a sizeable portion of the party’s total membership.

Phillips supporter Wes Streeting told The Independent: “All candidates deserve fair and equal access so they can all talk to members. I don’t see any reason why all candidates shouldn’t be able to do that from the moment that they get enough MP nominations. Constituency parties for the first time have the right to nominate candidates in a way that will make a real difference and we should be making it possible for candidates to speak to them and listen to them.”

The NEC agreed that the postal ballot for the new leader and deputy leader should open on 21 February and end on 2 April, with the results announced two days later.

The date is slightly later than initially suggested by general secretary Jennie Formby, who informed colleagues in the days after the election that Mr Corbyn’s successor was expected to be in place by the end of March.

It means Mr Corbyn could have as many as 13 further appearances at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, with the last falling on April Fool’s Day.

Nominations open on 7 January and candidates have until 13 January to secure the backing of at least 22 MPs or MEPs – 10 per cent of the total – to enter the race.

They must then clear a second hurdle of winning the support of 5 per cent of constituency parties or three affiliated organisations, such as unions, by 14 February to get onto the ballot paper.

New members joining up to a “freeze date” of 20 January will be eligible to vote in the election, in a change from the system used in 2016, when a retrospective cut-off was imposed to prevent candidates from boosting their numbers with new recruits in the weeks before the ballot.

The move, which party sources said was designed to make the elections “as open and democratic as possible”, will be welcomed by centrist candidates like Ms Phillips, who are encouraging activists who quit during the Corbyn era to rejoin to have a say on the new leader.

People will also be able to get a vote by paying £25 to sign up as a registered supporter during a 48-hour window from 5pm on 14 January to 5pm on 16 January. The £25 fee is the same as in 2016, when Mr Corbyn fought off a challenge from Owen Smith, but increased from the £3 level in 2015, when his successful campaign was turbo-charged by a flood of new supporters.

Sir Keir leads the polls to replace Corbyn (Reuters)

Campaigns from both sides of the party were engaged in a struggle to sign up potential supporters for their favoured candidates by the time of the cut-off.

The centrist Labour First organisation issued an appeal on Twitter to those wanting to steer the party away from the left-wing direction it took under Mr Corbyn: “If you haven’t already, (re)join Labour and encourage everyone who believes in a decent, election-winning party to do so.”

And Momentum said in a statement: “The Labour leadership election will determine the future of the party. We know our mass movement is powerful, but we need a leader who shares that vision. Become a Labour member to vote for our next leader and keep Labour socialist.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Our National Executive Committee has agreed the timetable and process for the leadership and deputy leadership elections. The ballot will run from 21 February to 2 April, with the results announced on Saturday 4 April.

“We are by far the largest political party in the UK, with well over half a million members. We want as many of our members and supporters to take part, so it has been designed to be open, fair and democratic.”

Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, remained the bookies’ favourite following the announcement of the contest timetable, ahead of Ms Long Bailey, who has yet to declare whether she will throw her hat into the ring.

Rayner (right) declared she would vote for Long Bailey (left) if she stands (PA)

Long Bailey ally Angela Rayner gave a clear indication she expects the shadow business secretary to run, saying that she would be “voting for my friend Rebecca Long Bailey if she stands for the leadership”.

Announcing her own bid for the deputy leadership, Ms Rayner said that Labour must “win or die” after its catastrophic loss of swathes of its traditional heartlands in the north and the Midlands to Boris Johnson’s Tories.

Ms Phillips, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, economics spokesperson Clive Lewis and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy have all announced their candidacies, while party chairman Mr Lavery has said he is considering a pitch for the leadership.

But former minister Yvette Cooper announced she will not stand, telling The Guardian: “I recognise there are many in our party who won’t see me as the person to pull all sides of the party together following Jeremy’s departure. And rebuilding towards a Labour government is more important than any one person. So I am really grateful to everyone who urged me to stand again but this isn’t the time for me to do so.

“However, I’m not going anywhere – the next leader needs support and we all need to keep fighting for the Labour government our country so badly needs.”