The shadow chancellor has urged Labour party members to have respect for councillors.

It comes after 12 of the 22 Labour councillors sitting on Brighton and Hove City Council were targeted for deselection by the local Momentum group.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell is currently touring coastal towns including Hastings.

Asked by The Argus whether the Momentum move was a hostile takeover of the local Labour party by the 2,000 or so members of the pro-Corbyn movement, he said: “I have nothing but respect for our Labour councillors and when it comes to selections that respect should be given to them as well.

“The issue about our party is that it’s thoroughly democratic so anyone can stand for election and then the local members will decide.

“Sometimes it’s rumbustious but often then you’ll hone down the arguments, you’ll test the walls to destruction with that sort of debate.

“It’s part of the nature of politics and part of the nature of democracy.”

Shortlisting meetings for next year’s Labour candidates take place until July 31.

Of the 12 councillors targeted by Momentum, nine are already standing down before the 2019 local elections.

Last week a source told The Argus that Momentum members receive emails of the names of applicants ideologically aligned with their movement.

Mr McDonnell said: “If they’ve decided it’s not for them, that’s fair enough but the most important thing is that all of our processes have got to be thoroughly democratic.

“We’ve always been a party which is a broad church left, right and centre and that’s the best way as well, you get better debate.

“Labour councillors have endured eight years of hard austerity imposed on them from central Government on a scale we’ve never seen before.

“Local government have had to endure that – they’ve worked really hard.”

In March this year, the previous leader of the city council Warren Morgan announced he was stepping down from the post stating that he no longer recognised the party of which he has been a member for 25 years.

The longstanding centrist councillor quit the role after smears, accusations of lying and attacks on social media from left-wing activists.

Councillor Tony Janio is the leader of the Conservative opposition.

He said: “I completely agree with the openness of the democratic process, I just don’t feel as though they’re being open with the city.

“The public are not being told what the consequences of a Momentum council would be. We’ve heard things about raising council tax.”