Article provides step-by-step guide on how to register as supporter of Labour party and vote for ‘socialist voter-repellent’ in leadership contest

The Daily Telegraph has encouraged readers to register as Labour supporters and vote for the leftwing Jeremy Corbyn in a bid to “destroy” the party.

The piece by the Telegraph comment desk calls on readers to pay £3 and vote to ensure Corbyn becomes the next Labour leader. It was published online alongside a report on a poll that suggests the leftwinger is ahead in the race to succeed Ed Miliband.



Readers are provided with a step-by-step guide on how to sign up as a registered supporter and vote for Corbyn, who is 15 points ahead, according to private polling seen by the New Statesman.

“Sign up today to make sure the bearded socialist voter-repellent becomes the next Labour leader - and dooms the party forever,” the Telegraph article reads.



“A lot of people, both in the Labour party and outside it, think that would be dreadful for Labour, the sort of political disaster the party last suffered in 1983 when Michael Foot’s leftwing views saw the party lose by a landslide to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives.

“Not everyone thinks it would be a bad thing if that was to be repeated at the next general election in 2020.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The headline of a Telegraph article calling on readers to register to vote for the Labour leadership contest. Photograph: Telegraph

Darren Hughes, deputy chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, described the article as cynical and warned against undermining the democratic process.



“It’s a shame that as parties take steps in trying to open up politics to include more supporters and members of the public in sharing big decisions, it has not taken long for a cynical attempt to distort that and sabotage a genuine effort,” Hughes said.

“This is not party specific. It’s important you don’t undermine faith in the democratic process, whichever party is concerned.”

During the general election, the Telegraph took its support for the Conservatives a step further by using its marketing database to urge people to vote Tory via email in a missive signed by the newspaper’s editor, Chris Evans.



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Labour said it could readily screen bogus applications and had already rejected registration requests from Conservatives.



A Labour party spokesman said: “All registered supporters must be verified against the electoral register and will only receive a vote if they support the aims and values of the Labour party.”

Simon Fletcher, campaign director for Jeremy for Labour, said: “The Telegraph’s antics are not designed to help Jeremy Corbyn but to damage his campaign. That is how Tories behave towards progressive ideas and politicians. Though this a pure media stunt, Labour has in any case robust mechanisms to root out anti-Labour people from participating and we urge constituency Labour parties and members to shop anyone to the party who may have tried to sign up on this basis. If the Telegraph wishes to be taken seriously in its coverage of the leadership election it should consider whether this is the right way to go about it.”

The leadership election, triggered by Miliband’s resignation on 8 May, will happen under rules agreed by the 2014 Collins Review, which changed the way in which Labour elects leaders.



Under the previous rules, the electoral college system gave equal weight to three sections: members, parliamentarians, and trade union and affiliated societies.

Candidates will now be elected by members and registered and affiliated supporters, who will all receive a maximum of one vote – known as the one-member-one-vote system.

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According to the New Statesman, private polling leaked to the magazine gives Corbyn a healthy lead while another puts him in what a campaign staffer called “a commanding position”.

Andy Burnham is said to be ahead in first preferences, but Corbyn’s popularity among second preferences would allow him to claim victory under Labour’s preferential voting system.

However, caution has been urged following the inaccuracies of polls during the general election. According to “private numbers”, Labour was on course to be the largest party at May’s election and the Liberal Democrats would retain more than 30 seats.



The Telegraph Media Group has been approached for comment.