Labour turmoil over Momentum union plot

LABOUR descended into civil war last night after it emerged that Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters are plotting to take control of the party by joining forces with his union backers.

Jon Lansman, the leader of the Momentum campaign group that backs Mr Corbyn, was secretly recorded outlining that it plans to link officially with the Unite union. The move would give Momentum access to huge funding and institutional support.

Details of the plans led to a public row as Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, accused Mr Lansman of attempting to “destroy the Labour Party as an electoral force”. He wrote on Twitter: “You have to be stopped.”

Mr Lansman replied: “For 20 years the Left was denied a voice. We will deny a voice to no one. We face big challenges, and we need our mass membership to win again.”

In a recording obtained by The Observer, Mr Lansman tells a Momentum meeting: “Assuming that Len McCluskey wins the general secretaryship, which I think he will, Unite will affiliate to Momentum and will fully participate in Momentum, as will the CWU [Communication Workers Union].”

He went on to tell activists it was “absolutely crucial” that they secured a change to the party’s rules to ensure that whenever Mr Corbyn stood down, they were able to get a candidate on to the ballot paper to succeed him.

Currently, a candidate must obtain the support of 15 per cent of Labour MPs and MEPs in order to stand – a threshold a new Left-wing contender is unlikely to be able to meet.

Mr Watson said Mr Lansman’s comments made clear the threat of “entryism” into the Labour ranks by hard-Left activists was genuine. He said it was “a matter of great concern” that the Unite leadership was allegedly making “a private agreement to fund a political faction that is apparently planning to take control of the Labour party”.

Momentum insisted there were no current plans for Unite to affiliate and it had not received any funds from them.