The Labour conference will not vote on whether to introduce mandatory reselection of local MPs, after the motion was rejected by a party committee.

The decision, which will be seen as a glimmer of hope for future party unity, came on Tuesday as Labour MPs voted overwhelmingly to return to a system of shadow cabinet elections, with 83% voting in favour.

A return to the election of shadow ministers, abolished by Ed Miliband, was proposed by MP Clive Betts at Monday night’s parliamentary Labour party (PLP) meeting, though neither Jeremy Corbyn nor Owen Smith were present at the meeting as they were at a hustings elsewhere.

With a turnout of 88%, 169 MPs voted in favour of the elections and 34 against, with one spoilt ballot.

The proposal will not automatically be accepted and will need to be approved by Labour’s national executive committee. Corbyn has not backed the idea, suggesting instead that the shadow cabinet could be chosen by Labour members, who are likely to be far more supportive of those loyal to Corbyn than those who would be selected by the PLP.

The deep divisions between party members and the PLP had prompted wide speculation that mandatory reselection of MPs could be voted through at Labour conference this month.

That possibility was scuppered on Tuesday after the party’s conference arrangement committee voted not to allow the motion to be debated at conference. It is now extremely unlikely the motion will be brought to Labour conference, unless it is specifically brought by the NEC, a higher body.

The motion was submitted by South Shields constituency party, which was suspended until January 2017 after an investigation by the party’s compliance unit, which found there were problems of “bullying and intimidation”.

A Labour source said it was rejected due to its similarity to motions submitted in previous years. Labour rules say motions cannot be voted on more often than every three years, to avoid the same topics being discussed repeatedly.

It understood that at least one delegate from Unite voted in favour of the motion. The arrangements committee consists of five union delegates and two others selected by party members, MP Gloria De Piero and former MEP Michael Cashman.

The leadership campaign continues on Wednesday, with Corbyn set to launch an environmental manifesto in Nottingham that pledges to create 300,000 jobs in renewable energy and a target of 65% of UK energy from renewable sources by 2030.



Smith’s campaign will focus on housing, with the former shadow work and pensions secretary warning that the re-election of Corbyn as Labour leader would keep Labour out of power until at least 2025 and lead to an escalation in the housing crisis.

The Labour leadership candidate pledged to build 1.5 million new homes over five years, with a target of 50% social housing, paid for through government borrowing.

“Over the past six years the housing crisis in this country has deepened – we’ve not built enough homes, rents are sky-high, fewer and fewer people own their own home, and homelessness is soaring,” Smith said. “And yet, with a weak leader, Labour are allowing the Tories to get away with it.”

Another nine years of Conservative government would lead to a shortage of 1.8 million homes by 2025, Smith added.

“It’s a straight choice between protest and government, complaining about things or actually improving people’s lives. Labour will be culpable for what the Tories do if we choose the former.”