MPs demand answers from McDonnell over Hilary Benn “deselection” risk

Labour MPs pressed John McDonnell over the risk of deselection to Hilary Benn at a turbulent meeting last night.

The shadow chancellor faced questions after he said at the weekend he would not intervene if local members tried to block Benn from becoming their candidate at the next general election.

Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn have won key positions on the executive of Leeds Central constituency Labour party (CLP) but McDonnell said he would not “interfere” if a threat emerged to Benn, the former shadow foreign secretary, whose sacking helped prompt the summer revolt against the leader.

Peter Kyle, MP for Hove and Portslade, criticised McDonnell for failing to condemned the possibility of deselection when he spoke at last night’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).

Some MPs grumbled when McDonnell repeated his description of Benn as a “friend”. Benn, now chairman of the Brexit select committee, is said to be “relaxed” about the changes in his CLP.

A spokesman for McDonnell told Politics Home: “John was asked about Labour party democracy. He pointed out that Hilary Benn is a friend of his, and the Labour leadership will not intervene in local party democracy.”

McDonnell also set out his “tests” for Philip Hammond ahead of Wednesday’s autumn statement, which is expected to include a significant rise in borrowing because of the economic slowdown forecast because of Brexit.

The discussion over Benn was triggered by McDonnell’s response to a Sunday Times story which reported a Corbynista “takeover” of his seat.

“Labour leadership doesn’t involve itself in local selections to the local party. That’s democracy,” the shadow chancellor told the BBC on Sunday.

McDonnell has said he is “not in favour” of mandatory reselection and, like all Labour MPs, is opposed to Tory efforts to “gerrymander” the Commons reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600.

“The boundary changes we’re opposing… and we’re hoping the government will start listening on that. But where there are, because of boundary changes, reselection – that’s dealt with at the local level,” McDonnell also said.