Jeremy Corbyn‘s ‘unstoppable’ new party poses a threat to the future of Labour Cabinet ministers, it was claimed last night.
The Mail on Sunday understands that Mr Corbyn’s new movement has already reached more than 700,000 ‘sign-ups’ – nearly double the size of Labour’s membership.
The fledgling party is said to be piling up supporters in constituencies held by 11 leading Labour ministers – including Sir Keir Starmer‘s.
Last night, there were warnings that many of them will lose their seats if the former Labour leader’s party – which still doesn’t have a name – fields a candidate against them.
One Labour MP said: ‘A Corbyn-backed candidate doesn’t have to win – they just have to split the Left-wing vote and that’ll let Reform or other rival parties in.
‘It may not be a decapitation policy in name but that’s what it amounts to. And it’ll certainly be sweet revenge for Jeremy himself.’
Those at risk include the Birmingham Ladywood constituency of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, whose majority collapsed from more than 28,000 in 2019 to just 3,421 in last year’s general election after a pro-Palestine independent candidate stood against her.
Mr Corbyn has already formed a parliamentary group with four other pro-Gaza independent MPs.
Jeremy Corbyn ‘s ‘unstoppable’ new party poses a threat to the future of Labour Cabinet ministers, it was claimed last night
The fledgling party is said to be piling up supporters in constituencies held by 11 leading Labour ministers – including Sir Keir Starmer’s own
The Labour MP said last night: ‘Shabana’s a prime example of a Cabinet minister Corbyn’s party threatens – either by backing the existing independent or splitting the Labour vote with its own candidate.’
But the MP pointed out how even Sir Keir’s majority in Holborn and St Pancras was more than halved from over 27,000 in 2019 to just 11,572 after an independent candidate took over 7,000 votes and pushed the Tories into fourth place.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is also defending a wafer-thin majority of just 528 over a pro-Palestine activist in his Ilford North seat.
Only last week, a poll for the LabourList website said more than one in four Labour members could join Mr Corbyn’s party.
