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Jeremy Corbyn has postponed a planned visit to Coventry - citing a clash with a national hustings event.

But the planned visit has caused discontent among local Labour members who have accused Mr Corbyn’s leadership campaign of colluding with a rival party in an attempt to influence the result of the party’s leadership contest.

Mr Corbyn faces a challenge for control of the party from Labour MP Owen Smith.

The party leader was due to speak in Broadgate in order to drum up support and members of the rival Coventry Socialist Party had been encouraged to come along and show their support. Many socialist party members appear to have been notified about the event on Friday in an email from Coventry Momentum secretary Chris Jones - seen by the Telegraph.

Momentum is the organisation set up to garner grass-roots support for Mr Corbyn.

A rallying call was also placed on the Coventry Socialist Party website encouraging members to attend and show their support adding: “Let’s take the fight to the many local Blairite Labour councillors and MPs, who spend more time attacking Jeremy Corbyn than fighting the Tories and austerity.”

But senior local Labour Party members in the city insist they were not informed of the event in advance and accused the Corbyn camp of using opposition party members to try and sway the leadership election in Jeremy Corbyn’s favour.

However, the Coventry Socialist Party denied that it had been tipped off by the Corbyn camp and Mr Corbyn’s campaign team have also dismissed the suggestion as “codswallop”.

Corbyn and Smith clash at Labour leadership hustings

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One senior Labour councillor in the city, who did not want to be named, said: “Normally when the party leader comes to visit the local councillors and constituency MPs are notified - but that didn’t happen.

“It seems odd. And even more odd that our political opponents are encouraging people to come to a Labour leadership event.

“Can anyone explain why the Coventry Socialist Party, which is led by Dave Nellist (a former Labour MP expelled from the party), is telling people in another party how to vote in a leadership election?

“We knew there was collusion with the socialists and now it’s official. It’s like an episode of Celebrity Big Brother in the Labour Party at the moment.”

But a spokesman for Mr Corbyn’s team hit back at those accusations of collusion.

He told the Telegraph: “It’s not the case. All events are advertised in the campaign website.

“The socialists do not get a vote in the leadership election. They don’t have a role in this election.”

Lenny Shail, local organiser for the Coventry Socialists, also played down the suggestions.

He said: “What is clear is that local Labour councillors are quite paranoid.

“We have members who have been along to Momentum meetings in the past, as have Labour councillors, and are on the email mailing lists.

“Coun Mal Mutton was listed as a speaker at the event, so the idea no councillors were informed is absurd.

“We have people who support Jeremy Corbyn who still work for the Socialist party because they don’t like what local Labour councillors are doing.

“But we’re not involved in the organisation of Momentum.”

Asked if he thought members of opposition parties should seek to influence the result of another’s leadership contest, he said: “Yes. The Socialist Party is made up of many members who were expelled from the Labour Party on trumped up charges.

“Our leader, and representative in Coventry - Dave Nellist, was expelled in 1991. We have a long standing history with the Labour Party.

“We want a Labour Party that stands up for working people and socialist ideas. The Corbyn movement offers an opportunity for that.”