Wigan MP amongst those criticising Labour Party over husting locations

The Labour Party has been criticised for not holding its leadership hustings in areas that it lost seats in at the last General Election.

Candidates in the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader have criticised the party's decision to ignore parts of the so-called "red wall" as locations for debates on who should lead the party next.

Hustings begin in Liverpool this Saturday, but the city is the only place in the North West to host one of the events.

However, Labour won every seat in the city but lost 12 seats across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire.

Leigh, Bolton North East and Burnley were amongst the seats that Labour lost to the Conservatives on 12 December, as the "red-wall" crumbled.

The decision has been criticised by Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who has secured the required number of nominations to be on the ballot paper to replace Mr Corbyn.

She has started a petition calling for hustings to be held in towns where Labour lost seats, rather just in major cities as currently planned.

The frontrunner, Sir Kier Stamer, who has 75 nominations from the parliamentary party, has written to Labour's general secretary Jennie Formby and the chair of the National Executive Committee Andi Fox calling for hustings in every region.

He said: "I am disappointed that the party has chosen not to organise leadership and deputy leadership hustings in every Labour Party region and nation.

"I am concerned that this decision does not reflect well on the party and will be a step backwards in the whole movement's determination to take the argument for a radical Labour government back to the country."