Labour MPs to check membership lists for infiltrators

Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman today ordered Labour MPs to check their membership lists for infiltrators.

All MPs have been sent the names of those who have signed up in the last few weeks and asked to screen those known to be members of other parties or Labour opponents.

There are 232 out of 650 MPs and even excluding Northern Ireland thats a lit of Constituencies without a Labour MP


The move comes amid increasing fears that hard-left activists have signed up to back Jeremy Corbyn . Some Tories are also reported to have joined for £3 believing a vote for the left-winger will damage Labour.

In an email, Ms Harman said: 

 “As you know the Party has an absolute focus on ensuring that the rules agreed in 2014 for electing the new party leadership are complied with and the integrity of the process is upheld.

“That means extending the right to vote in the leadership election but ensuring it is not for those who support other parties and is only for those who support the Labour Party.”

She says anyone known to be a member of another party is “not eligible to vote.”

“Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) are asked to report to head office if they have any evidence or suspicions. All concerns raised are being acted on.

“As a Member of Parliament your local knowledge and information is important to uphold the integrity of the leadership election. Listed below are the new members, registered supporters and affiliated supporters that have joined since the election in your CLP,” she wrote.

The problem here is that such a move would clearly been undemocratic if MPs were still part of the electoral college would have be one-third weight given to the votes of the Parliamentary Labour Party (i.e., Labour members of the House of Commons) and Labour members of the European Parliament.

However even though Lenoir has moved to One Man One Vote MPs are still the only body who can nominate Candidates 
 
To be placed on the ballot, candidates for leader had to  obtain the nominations of 35 MPs. An MP who nominates a candidate does not have to subsequently support, or vote for, that candidate. Some MPs have stated that they nominated colleagues to ensure that candidate got onto the ballot paper.]
 
Candidate Constituency Nominations Share 



Andy Burnham Leigh 68 29.31%
Yvette Cooper Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford 59 25.43%
Jeremy Corbyn Islington North 36 15.52%
Liz Kendall Leicester West 41 17.76
 
Some of those who nominated Corbyn have since announced they regret doing so


Magaret Beckett — who is supporting Andy Burnham in the race — says she only nominated him as MPs were advised to widen the debate:

‘At no point did I intend to vote for Jeremy myself – nice as he is – nor advise anyone else to do it. We were being urged as MPs to have a field of candidates.’

So even some of the MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn are hostile to him.

Does this mean  Haman is relying on biased evidence?

And if they think they made a mistake in nominating a candidate  surely ordinary voters may feel they made a mistake in backing another party in May.

 Clearly this is a move to stop one candidate.If people join in order to vote for any other candidate I doubt no one in the current leadership or the media would give a toss.

Who are MPs rather than ordinary Labour MPs to judge?