Labour leadership contenders Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey clash over MP selection

Two of the contenders vying to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader have clashed over the process by which MPs are selected as candidates ahead of national elections.

Speaking at the party’s second official hustings, Rebecca Long-Bailey, the left-wing candidate who is closest to Mr Corbyn’s leadership, reiterated her support for open selections.

Also referred to as “mandatory reselection”, the shift would make it easier for local Labour party branches to deselect sitting MPs before general elections.

Asked by the chair of the hustings on Saturday how she would make the party more democratic and empower members, Ms Long-Bailey insisted they should have an active role in Labour’s policy-making.

Speaking in Bristol, she added they should also have “the right to open selections so that they can hold their members of parliament to account”.

“We want to make sure that the talent we have within our party rises up,” she said. “But being an MP is not a job for life and that’s why we need to trust our members to make decisions on this.”

The shadow business secretary previously announced she would support the policy – to the cheer of party members – at a campaign event last month in Hackney, east London.

Under the current system, MPs undergo a “trigger ballot” process and only face a reselection process if a third of local Labour branches vote in favour. An open selection process, however, would mean all MPs automatically face a reselection contest every general election.

But referencing Ms Long-Bailey’s comments on open selections, Lisa Nandy said: “Let me just disagree with something that has just been said on this panel. The MPs I want to get rid of are Tories, not Labour.”

The Wigan MP added: “So let’s give our members the real power they want, to get the right candidates. No more parachutes, no more stitch-ups, no more imposing people who are friends of the leadership on to local areas. Let’s democratise the process properly.”

Sir Keir Starmer said he “celebrates” the fact Labour now has more than 580,000 members, making it the largest political party in Europe. “We need to be as transparent and democratic as possible,” he said.

“But the first thing we need to do is making sure the culture in our meetings is such that everybody feels they can be part of our party and part of our movement, that their voice is heard.”

Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, who is struggling to gather momentum in the contest, said local parties should have greater powers in selecting their candidates, rather than Labour’s governing body imposing a choice on them.

She added: “When Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the party people were full of hope and they thought there would be a greater democracy of the Labour Party and I’m afraid we have not seen it.”