MP will try to force leadership vote if Labour lose out in local elections

  • Politics
The MP for Rochdale has said he will stand as a "stalking horse" if Labour does badly in next May's polls Credit: John Stilwell/PA Wire

A Labour MP has said he will try to oust Jeremy Corbyn as leader if the party does badly in May's devolved and local elections.

Simon Danczuk, one of Mr Corbyn's strongest critics in Labour, said he would seek to stand as a "stalking horse" to force a contest.

He said the aim would be to allow colleagues such as Chuka Umunna, Dan Jarvis and Emma Reynolds to mount a challenge and "give us some chance of winning the next general election".

But any challenger would face an uphill struggle, given the large margin of Mr Corbyn's victory in September, especially among the new party recruits drawn to his anti-austerity message.

The Rochdale MP - who would need the backing of 46 of the party's 231 MPs - told the Mail on Sunday: "If the results for Labour in May are as dire as we all fear, then yes I would be prepared to stand as a stalking horse against Jeremy Corbyn.

"My only intention is to secure a better leader for the Labour Party and to give us some chance of winning the next General Election.

"At the moment, I and many of my fellow MPs simply cannot see that happening under the current leadership

"I do not have any expectation of winning myself, but would hope to open up the field for serious contenders such as Chuka, Dan or Emma."

Mr Danczuk's latest pronouncement against the leadership came as Jon Cruddas - Ed Miliband's former policy chief - announced the formation a new group aimed at ensuring the party builds "a broad coalition of support".

Mr Cruddas wrote an analysis of the party's defeat in May's general election and concluded that anti-austerity policies were a vote loser.

He nominated Mr Corbyn for the leadership contest to widen the debate but warned during the contest he could turn the party into a 1980s revival "Trotskyist tribute act" and said his diagnosis was "at odds with where the country is".

He said the new group, Labour Together - which also involves shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy, MP Steve Reed and the leaders of Leeds and Newcastle councils - would "work with members who supported any of the four leadership candidates and with organisations across the spectrum of the Labour movement."

He added: "The country needs a Labour party capable of boldness, but absolutely clear that what matters is building a broad coalition of electoral support. We didn't do that in 2010 and we ignored it in 2015," he wrote in The Guardian.

Mr Corbyn said: "I welcome Labour Together as a good initiative that explores a new kind of way to do politics. I am looking forward to working with them."