Top Labour MP warns mass deselections will lead to civil war in the party
2 min read
A senior Labour backbencher has warned that a wave a deselections of Labour MPs will lead to civil war in the party.
John Cryer, who is chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, said members who want to boot out their MPs should be "very careful what they wish for".
Speaking to Radio Four's Westminster Hour programme, he said: "If you start deselecting people on a widespread scale it will lead to the Labour party turning in on itself, because the arguments are going to be about deselections, not about winning power and getting into government. You’ll see splits occurring."
He added: "There are people who think deselection is a marvellous thing and should be carried out on a widespread basis. They ought to be very careful what they wish for, because you’ve got to deal with the aftermath for a very long time."
Mr Cryer, the husband of Labour MP Ellie Reeves, also said the attempt to have her deselected was "beneath contempt".
PoliticsHome revealed last week how a party member in her Lewisham West and Penge constituency called for her to face a trigger ballot for putting her name to a statement criticising the decision to let suspended MP Chris Williamson back into the party.
Mr Cryer said: "To do it with a woman who’s five months pregnant, who’s a relatively new MP and has clearly worked really hard – I think it’s beneath contempt."
The PLP chair meanwhile said he had made it "pretty clear" to leader Jeremy Corbyn that "there’s got to be tolerance at the top of the party."
He added: "I think he [Jeremy Corbyn] personally is, but perhaps there are people around who take a less tolerant point of view.
"But across the party, whether you’re elected or not elected, you’ve got to have a tolerance for people with different views.
"What drives the Labour party forward is debate and disagreement and dissent. And if that’s no longer the case then it’s not the Labour Party.
"If it is the case that people are going to be driven out on the basis of differences of opinion then it’s not going to be the Labour party that I’ve always known."
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