3,200 people have been excluded for not supporting Labour party aims, among them 400 Tories and 1,900 Greens

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Labour has provided examples of individuals it has barred from voting in its leadership election, including one who posted supportively about the Greens on Facebook and another who stated she was not backing her local Labour MP.

The details were released after the party said 3,200 people had been excluded from voting for not supporting the aims of the Labour party, including 400 Tories and 1,900 Greens.

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People who have been barred by Labour include:



“Jeremy” in London for being involved in the Socialist Alliance and saying he could not recommend supporting the Labour party. Evidence included articles written in 2001 and 2002.

“Rosie” in the south-west for posting support for the Greens on Facebook and saying of Labour on Twitter: “Mate, I will never trust the party that forced its voters to look elsewhere”.

“Francesca” in London for being a Green party supporter, campaigning for them and encouraging others to vote for them.

“Kerry-Anne” in the south-west for stating she would vote against the local Labour MP and the party nationally.

“Harriet” in Wales for being a member of International Socialist Network (a now defunct leftwing organisation that did not appear to stand electoral candidates).

“Linda” in the south-east who stood as an independent police and crime commissioner candidate in 2012.

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Harriet Harman, the acting Labour leader, told the party in May that “anyone – providing they are on the electoral register – can become a registered supporter, pay £3 and have a vote to decide our next leader”.

Subsequently, however, Labour tightened the rules because of fears that Tories and members of other parties were trying to sign up with the intention of influencing the result.

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The party is now checking that they are not:

Candidates from other parties in recent national or local elections

People who nominated candidates in those elections

Known members of other parties, including lists obtained from published sources

Known supporters of other parties, usually activists, identified by local Labour parties or elected representatives in those areas

People in the public eye who have made clear they do not share Labour’s aims and values

People who have made public statements, usually on social media, which make it clear they do not share the party’s aims and values

Some excluded people – many of them backers of the frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn – have taken to social media using the hashtag #LabourPurge to complain that they have been unfairly barred.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Acting Labour party leader Harriet Harman speaks in Stevenage on Tuesday after meeting the party leadership contenders to reassure them it will be a fair contest

Speaking after a meeting of the leadership candidates, Harman rejected claims that the party was unfairly excluding supporters of Corbyn.

She stressed it was not Labour staff taking the decisions to bar people, but two panels of the party’s elected National Executive Committee.