Alan Johnson: ‘Corbyn is safe, Momentum should disband’ Alan Johnson, the former Labour minister, has called for Momentum to be disbanded after Jeremy Corbyn’s surprising success in the general […]

Alan Johnson, the former Labour minister, has called for Momentum to be disbanded after Jeremy Corbyn’s surprising success in the general election.

Mr Johnson, whose 30 years in parliament ended this year, issued a warning again “the doctrinaire left” trying to take over the “broad church” of the Labour Party.

“Momentum, by now, should have disbanded. Jeremy Corbyn by now is very safe,” he told Prospect. “I don’t see the point of a separate organisation which is just a fan club for the leader.”

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Mass deselections

The left-wing organisation was founded in the wake of Mr Corbyn’s shock 2015 leadership victory to provide a base of support for him as Labour HQ and many MPs remained hostile.

Its members must also be members of the Labour Party, but it is otherwise not officially affiliated.

Mr Johnson warned against mass deselection of MPs perceived to be disloyal to Mr Corbyn, something figures on the left have threatened in the past.

The future of the party depends on “whether Momentum becomes a version of Militant, and starts to judge MPs on whether they’re fully-fledged Corbynistas,” according to Mr Johnson.

Having headed Labour’s Remain campaign in 2016, the former MP, now free to speak without fear of constituency backlash, told Prospect that he hopes Britain “reverses” its decision to leave the European Union.

‘I don’t blame Jeremy’

“All we’re doing is shooting ourselves in the foot,” he said, adding that Brexiteer hopes for others to follow Britain out is “absolute rubbish”.

But he no longer blames the Labour leader for a campaign that was criticised as lacklustre by more hardcore Remainers.

“I don’t blame Jeremy Corbyn for what happened,” he said.

“I think he should have taken some responsibility, but getting out there and giving speeches was as good as we were going to get from someone who has long been anti-EU.”