Labour centrists with links to former Prime Minister Tony Blair are planning a new, breakaway party if allies of hard-left leader Jeremy Corbyn attempt to purge the party of his critics.
After Labour’s gains during the general election, rumours are swirling that emboldened supporters of Mr. Corbyn could be gearing up to change party rules at the party’s conference in September, allowing them to deselect centrist MPs.
Ian Lavery, who was in charge of Labour’s election campaign, hinted at the new de-selection policy as it emerged the move could accelerate plans for a new party.
Speaking to HuffPost, Mr. Lavery said: “We are a broad church. Some might argue, and I would be one of them, that we might be too broad a church.
“Being an MP, I haven’t got the divine right to be an MP for Wansbeck. I’ve got to work very hard on behalf of every single member of that constituency.”
A former minister familiar with the proposals for a new party told The Times Mr. Lavery’s comments were “incendiary”, adding:
“The trigger point [for the formation of a new party] would be Corbyn trying mandatory de-selections and turning the Labour Party into a thoroughgoing hard-left organisation.”
According to the paper, former donors have been approached about backing a new party and some hope to enlist liberal celebrities such as author JK Rowling and former footballer Gary Lineker to back it.
The source also said David Miliband, the former foreign secretary tipped as a possible leader, was a “very credible guy” and signalled that Tony Blair is likely to make an intervention on Brexit soon to rally support for an alternative.
Referring to the new party, a source close to Mr. Blair said: “If rule changes go through at conference in September, that will make a big difference to how people perceive the whole thing.”