Momentum boss Jon Lansman warns Labour MPs they will be ousted if they back Brexit deal
2 min read
Momentum boss Jon Lansman has warned Labour MPs that they will be deselected if they back Boris Johnson's new Brexit deal.
The senior Jeremy Corbyn ally - who is a member of Labour's ruling NEC - said MPs voting for the new-look Withdrawal Agreement on Saturday would be replaced with "new, socialist" candidates ahead of the next general election.
The votes of rebel Labour MPs are likely to be crucial in the crunch vote after Mr Johnson's confidence and supply partners, the DUP, vowed to vote against the deal.
A small group of Labour MPs, including Ronnie Campbell, Caroline Flint and Ruth Smeeth have suggested they could back the plans, while veteran MP Graham Stringer, who voted three times against Mrs May's deal, said he would "consider whether, if this deal goes down, we won't get Brexit at all".
But Mr Lansman said the NEC would have "no choice" but to replace rebel MPs with new candidates if they defied Mr Corbyn and backed the PM.
In a tweet, he said: "Johnson's deal will be a wrecking ball through the lives & well-being of ordinary people across Britain.
"Labour MPs cannot and must not vote for it. If they do, the NEC will have no choice but to replace them with a new, socialist Labour candidate at teh next election."
Fellow NEC member Huda Elmi said any of the party's MPs who backed the plans had "no right" to stand in the next election.
"It’s pretty basic," she added. "Being a Labour MP means opposing the Tories when they try to destroy our country.
"This reckless sell out deal is even worse than Theresa May's, and any Labour MP that sides with Boris Johnson has no right to stand at the next election."
The comments come after Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said there would be "consequences" for MPs who broke the party whip.
"This is a three-line whip and the chief whip, in the normal way, will determine the consequences for anyone who doesn't vote for it," he told the Radio 4 Today programme:
But asked whether rebel MPs would have the party whip removed, he said he prefered a "carrot over the stick approach".
He added: "I'm not the chief whip thank goodness. I've got enough on my plate."
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