Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell (L) is congratulated by the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn following his keynote speech | Leon Neal/Getty Images Corbyn told: For the sake of the party, sack McDonnell UK Labour leader’s closest allies have urged him to replace shadow chancellor John McDonnell to preserve party unity.

LIVERPOOL — Jeremy Corbyn has been urged to sack his shadow chancellor for the sake of party unity, according to a source familiar with conversations that have taken place between the Labour leader and his closest aides.

John McDonnell, one of Corbyn’s closest allies, is now the “major block” to the party reuniting behind the leader after this summer's bitter, protracted leadership campaign which aggravated divisions that had been simmering since his election last year.

After Corbyn was comfortably reelected on Saturday, defeating the challenger Owen Smith with the backing of 61.8 percent of party members, he pledged to reach out to disaffected MPs and bring the party back together.

Many of the “moderate” MPs who backed Smith’s attempt to remove Corbyn from power indicated at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool that they would accept the result and present a united front against the Conservatives.

If he wants the truce to hold, however, Corbyn will have to remove the controversial McDonnell, the senior source said.

The fiery, hard-left McDonnell remains a deeply divisive figure, despite attempts to moderate his image since his appointment as shadow chancellor following Corbyn’s victory last year.

Corbyn’s inner circle believe McDonnell is trying to position himself to take over as leader.

The shadow chancellor, who has publicly described his hobby as “fermenting [sic] the overthrow of capitalism,” and mocked Labour MPs trying to remove Corbyn as “f--king useless,” is held in contempt by many in the party who regard his regular outbursts of temper and historic sympathy for the IRA as an anathema.

Among the leadership's critics, there’s widespread agreement that Corbyn is, at least, a nice guy, said the source. There’s no such warmth toward McDonnell.

His appointment as shadow chancellor was seen as evidence that Corbyn would not compromise with his MPs.

The senior source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Corbyn had been urged to get rid of McDonnell but had refused. “We had the chance to reach out right at the start, but that fell apart when he appointed McDonnell.”

The source said Corbyn had “been told directly to get rid of him,” but said “he can’t.” The source added: “It would be the single best thing he could do to bring the party back together. It would immediately remove the major block stopping MPs from coming back.”

The source said Corbyn’s inner circle did not trust the shadow chancellor or his senior aides. “He acts like a Marxist in meetings, then goes on TV pretending to be a bank manager like he's the most right-wing person in the party. His nickname was 'the bank manager.'”

Leadership ambitions

Corbyn’s inner circle believe McDonnell is trying to position himself to take over as leader. “Don’t believe anything leaked from his team isn’t authorized. It always comes from John.”

The Labour leader’s team has spent the week trying to convince McDonnell not to give a “communist salute” at the traditional singing of the Red Flag, which draws the party conference to a close. McDonnell stood with his fist in the air during last year’s rendition of the Marxist anthem.

The revelations came as McDonnell gave a keynote speech to the Conference Monday in which he assured Labour supporters that a Corbyn government would unashamedly pursue socialist policies.

Labour would introduce a “living wage” of at least £10 an hour to ensure that “everyone will earn enough to live on,” McDonnell said. It would overhaul the tax regime to ensure that big corporations and rich individuals pay their fair share, and reverse the Conservatives’ cuts to public services, McDonnell said.

McDonnell spoke of growing up in Liverpool, the son of a dock worker and a cleaner. “We lived in what sociological studies have described as some of the worst housing conditions that exist within this country,” he said.

Under Corbyn, he said, Labour will restore “people’s faith in the future,” and return Britain to a "society that's radically transformed, radically fairer, more equal and more democratic."

The call for McDonnell to go comes amid increasing signs of division even within Corbyn’s inner circle.

"In this party, you no longer have to whisper it — it's called Socialism,” McDonnell said.

The call for McDonnell to go comes amid increasing signs of division even within Corbyn’s inner circle.

Shadow Defense Secretary Clive Lewis was reportedly furious Monday after Corbyn’s spin doctor Seumas Milne removed a line from his speech minutes before he was due to deliver it.

Milne changed the text on the autocue ahead of Lewis’ speech with the shadow defense spokesman, a Corbyn loyalist, informed via post-it note as he waited on stage to deliver his speech.

Lewis had been due to say that he “would not seek to change” Labour’s official policy of supporting the renewal of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system. Corbyn and his inner circle oppose Trident's renewal, but the leader’s stance is opposed by the influential GMB and Unite unions, which consider it a vital supplier of high-skilled jobs.

Lewis was reported to have punched a wall after delivering the altered speech at the party’s conference in Liverpool. A spokesman for Corbyn confirmed that Lewis had been informed of an amendment to the speech.