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Sir Keir Starmer’s “purge” of the Labour left has created paranoia within the party, with candidates saying: I“Nobody feels safe.”
But Labour insiders denied there had been a formal purge of the left.
They said the decision about who can run was meant to prepare for the reality that if Labor wins the election it could win with a slim majority.
If that happens, MPs must be “on the same page” with the party leadership to ensure Labour doesn’t struggle to pass major legislation, the source argued.
The suggestion is that Starmer’s supporters will offer this if a small number of unwieldy MPs can block or derail a Bill.
This comes after many leftists were effectively barred from running in a move that reignited factional fighting.
The party’s governing National Executive Committee (NEC) contacted Faiza Shaheen, who was due to stand in Chingford and Woodford Green, on Thursday.
Shaheen was told she was no longer supported by the NEC due to her social media activity, which included liking posts about the “Israel lobby.”
She now plans to challenge the decision in court, claiming she faced a coordinated campaign of racism, Islamophobia and bullying.
She said in a statement: “This campaign of bigotry, bullying and spiteful behaviour has finally been paid off by Labour’s NEC. [national executive committee] And my name was added to the list of people who are not welcome in the candidates club. And it is not surprising that many of those excluded are people of color.”
One of the party’s left-wing parliamentary candidates said: I “No one feels safe at the moment,” one person said, while another said, “We’re all waiting for a tap on the shoulder.”
Sir Keir Starmer denied he was blocking candidates from the left and insisted he wanted candidates of the “highest standard”.
Several of these were selected as candidates in safe constituencies, including Josh Symonds, director of the Labour think tank Labour Together, Luke Akehurst, an NEC member and key figure on the party’s right wing, Heather Iqbal, Rachel Reeves’ former communications adviser, and Georgia Gould, leader of Camden Council.
Meanwhile Apsana Begum, who was selected to replace Jim Fitzpatrick in the Poplar-Limehouse constituency in 2022, said she was unsure whether she had a future as a candidate.
And the future of veteran MP Diane Abbott, who served as Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow home secretary and is respected as the first ever black female MP, is unclear with it yet to be decided whether she will be supported in Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
Following reports she might be blocked, she vowed to run “by any means necessary” and told a supporter rally she was “not intimidated” by Mr Starmer’s allies.
It is not clear whether she will follow Mr Corbyn’s lead and run as an independent.
Mr Starmer insisted no decision had yet been made on whether Mr Abbott would be allowed to defend the seat he has held for 37 years.
Asked whether he was blocking candidates from the left, he replied: “No. I have repeatedly said over the last two years that when it comes to choosing a candidate, I want the highest quality candidate. This has been my position for a long time.”
Darren Jones, Starmer’s ally and shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said he did not believe there had been a purge of the left.
“We have a number of colleagues in the Labour Party (PLP) who identify themselves as left-wing and nominate Labour candidates in their constituencies,” he said.
Momentum, the pro-Corbyn campaign group, accused the party of “institutional racism” and Mishu Rahman, a left-leaning member of the NEC, said Starmer was “hiding behind technicalities”.
Neil Lawson, director of the think tank Compass, said: “Starmer has promised a ‘crackdown on cronyism’ but he has already avoided proper scrutiny by parachuting allies into a small number of safe seats before he has even set foot in Downing Street.”
“This shows a further narrowing of views at the top of the Labour Party and will only make our politics more narrow and weak.”