Labour left-wingers warn Keir Starmer 'purge' of Marxists is doomed to fail

Labour left-wingers have vowed that attempts to “purge” them from the party will fail - and warned that they will demand a say in any government led by Sir Keir Starmer.

There is fury over the treatment of Diane Abbott, the first black female MP, who was apparently blocked from standing in next month’s election until the Labour leader bowed to pressure and confirmed she could still be a candidate.

It was seen as part of a deliberate attempt to force supporters of former leader Jeremy Corbyn out of the party.

But Labour moderates as well as figures on the left are warning that Sir Keir may need the support of Corbynites if he does become Prime Minister next month.

A source said: “It’s not true that the left has been marginalised. Far from it.”

A shadow minister warned Sir Keir would need the support of the left if he became Prime Minister with a small majority.

They said: “The Labour Left will then have the whip hand and they will have the power. They will decide what legislation goes through or doesn’t. Every vote is going to be on a knife edge.”

And the shadow minister insisted there is “no way on God’s green earth” that Labour will enjoy the type of overwhelming majority opinion polls are predicting.

Left-wingers say the Socialist Campaign Group of left-wing MPs, a body that includes veterans such as former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell as well as rising stars of the left such as Zarah Sultana, will continue to be a “significant bloc”.

A Labour candidate on the left said: “If it’s a hung Parliament or a small majority then the leadership will need the support of the Campaign Group.”

There is anger across the party at the treatment of Diane Abbott, the former Shadow Home Secretary.

One candidate seeking re-election as an MP said: “We are in a really dark place. The party is being ripped apart.”

She was just one of a number of left-wingers targeted. Corbynite Lloyd Russell-Moyle was suspended by the Labour Party, making him ineligible to defend his seat of Brighton Kemptown, and left-wing academic Faiza Shaheen was last week dropped as Labour’s candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green,.

At the same time, people close to the leadership have been confirmed as Labour candidates such as Luke Akehurst, a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee. He is Secretary of Labour First, which opposed Mr Corbyn, and will stand in the safe Labour seat of North Durham.

Josh Simons was selected for the Labour-held seat of Makerfield. He is Director of Labour Together, a think tank close to the party leadership co-founded by Morgan McSweeney, now Sir Keir’s campaign director.