Jeremy Corbyn urged Momentum leader not to stand for Labour party role
1 min read
Jeremy Corbyn urged the controversial founder of Momentum, Jon Lansman, not to stand for the post of Labour’s General Secretary, it has emerged.
BBC News understands the Labour Party leader urged Mr Lansman not to run for the post in a phone call on Tuesday.
Iain McNicol’s resignation from the role earlier this week has sparked a fight between Unite, the party’s biggest financial backer, and Momentum, a group of Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters.
The Labour leadership is said to back the Unite candidate, Jennie Formby.
Labour chiefs are worried Mr Lansman’s candidacy would split the already fractious party and damage relations between various parts of the left-wing
In a conference call with Mr Corbyn and the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Mr Lansman was urged not to run, as they feared he would split votes for left-wing candidates.
Mr McDonnell has publicly endorsed Ms Formby for the powerful role, saying she was a "fantastic" organiser and campaigner.
Ms Formby is a close ally of Unite leader Len McCluskey, and the union are said to be keen to elect a woman to the role.
In a statement released on Thursday, Mr Lansman said his candidacy would "open up the contest" and, if he won, he would prioritise the interests of party members, who he said should be "trusted, listened to and empowered".
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
