70 Labour MPs including Yvette Cooper and Hilary Benn face deselection before next election MPs have until Monday to inform Labour executive whether they intend to stand in next election amid fears of a ‘purge’ of anti-Corbyn MPs

As many as 70 Labour MPs face deselection, including several loyal to Jeremy Corbyn, as a result of the party’s preparations for a general election.

MPs have until Monday to inform the Labour executive whether they intend to stand in the next election, opening up the prospect of members facing “trigger ballots” should their constituencies decide to replace them.

Deselection threat

The Labour general secretary Jennie Formby wrote to all MPs last week giving them just a fortnight to decide whether they wanted to stand for reselection at the next election.

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According to research by an internal Labour group, which refused to be named, as many as 70 MPs are at risk of being deselected.

It has sparked accusations that it is an attempt by party bosses to “purge” anti-Corbyn MPs.

One Labour MP told i: “Some people are worried, some are organising, we’re all thinking about it.

“It’s another example of how they aren’t going to take their foot off our throats until they’ve choked us.

“There’s nowhere to hide from the Corbyn project – not on the frontbench, not on the backbench, not by sending out sycophantic tweets. If you don’t share their worldview they will be coming for you.”

‘Hard-working MPs affected’

Another senior backbencher added: “People are really angry about it. It could mean a lot of really good, hard-working MPs are affected.”

It comes after activists voted in favour of making it easier to deselect sitting MPs during Labour’s annual conference in September last year.

Sitting members would have to go through a reselection process if a third of a constituency’s local branches and affiliated unions voted for it in a “trigger ballot”.

But the changes could backfire on several loyalists to Mr Corbyn amid concerns over the party’s Brexit stance and local internal issues.

Among the names mentioned are former shadow international development secretary Kate Osamor, shadow business minister Laura Pidcock and even Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, although it is not expected they would lose a trigger ballot.

Labour crisis

A shadow cabinet source said fears over potential deselections had forced Labour frontbenchers to put their cabinet briefs “on the backburner” in order to concentrate on seeing off local challenges.

Labour chiefs were forced to step in to prevent Ellie Reeves, who is heavily pregnant, facing a motion of no confidence.

Last week, dozens of MPs were given lessons on how best to challenge deselection through a group set up by the party’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, the Future Britain Group.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Under long-standing Labour Party rules, reselection processes are held within every Labour-held constituency in between each general election.”