Labour urge Brexit-backing working-class northerners to pay up to £25 to vote for new leader
TWO top allies of Jeremy Corbyn have urged Brexit-backing working-class northerners to pay up to £25 to join the party so they can vote for the new leader.
Party chairman Ian Lavery and Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Jon Trickett made the demand after claiming the party had been taken over by remain-supporting metropolitan elite members.
Membership can cost as little as £3 a year, but "registered supporters" can also vote in the leadership by paying £25.
The call is a clear move against the current leadership favourite Sir Keir Starmer, who backed a second referendum and lives in London.
In an attempt to stop the millionaire lawyer in his tracks, they have now issued a call to arms.
Writing in the , they said: “When Labour wins, it is because a coalition of working and middle class people believe in our party to make Britain a better place.
“However our membership is now disproportionately one that voted to Remain in the referendum and drawn from the South, mainly from metropolitan areas and from the middle classes.
“To win again the coalition of working and middle class people within our own party must be rebalanced.
“That is why we are calling for Labour supporters from working class backgrounds and from the North to join the party by January 20 and have their say in the upcoming leadership election.”
A Labourlist/Survation poll of Labour members
The members votes on first preference for leader:
Rebecca Long-Bailey- 42 per cent
Sir Keir Starmer- 37 per cent
Jess Phillips- 9 per cent
Lisa Nandy- 7 per cent
Emily Thornberry 1 per cent
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The final five
Sir Keir Starmer: The former director of public prosecutions was elected in Holborn and St Pancras in 2015, and is a staunch remainer who has been accused of being too middle-class.
Rebecca Long-Bailey: The shadow energy secretary has been labelled as "continuity Corbyn", and has made clear she will keep going with the party's radical agenda.
Lisa Nandy: A former charity worker, the Wigan MP has repeatedly bashed the Labour leadership, and most recently gone viral with a flurry of memes about towns.
Jess Phillips: The Birmingham Yardley MP is a committed campaigner on domestic abuse, but has irritated members by questioning Mr Corbyn's leadership.
Emily Thornberry: The Islington South and Finsbury MP was considered close to her constituency neighbour, only to be shunted aside after calling for a second referendum
Mr Lavery has already voiced his support for far-left contender Rebecca Long-Bailey, while Mr Trickett is also believed to support her.
Emily Thornberry, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips are also vying for the top job.
Yesterday Ms Nandy turned on the current Labour leader, accusing him of failing on Russia over the Salisbury terror attack.
She said: "We stood with the Russian government, and not with the people it oppresses, who suffer poverty and discrimination. We failed the test of solidarity."
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