Labour frontbencher accuses activists of 'misogyny' over bid to unseat female MPs

Tracy Brabin says party should support MPs under challenge after speaking out over antisemitism

Tracy Brabin (PA)

A member of Jeremy Corbyn’s front bench has said there is “an element of misogyny” in efforts by grassroots activists to unseat four of the party’s female MPs.

And Tracy Brabin said that the party should support MPs facing deselection after speaking out about antisemitism.

Emma Lewell-Buck last night became the fourth Labour MP to lose a “trigger ballot” of local party branches, though the vote may be contested after a tied result forced a rerun.

Alongside high-profile Jewish MP Margaret Hodge (Barking), Hull North’s Diana Johnson and Roger Godsiff in Birmingham Hall Green , the South Shields MP must now must fight an open selection contest to retain her position as Labour candidate in the upcoming general election.

Another female Jewish MP, Louise Ellman, is the subject of motions from her local party calling for her resignation.

Ms Lewell-Buck said she had faced opposition from “an angry cohort of men” in her constituency since fighting the seat in a by-election in 2013, and said Labour women faced particular problems in areas where there is “a longstanding culture of misogyny”.

And shadow education spokeswoman Ms Brabin agreed hostility towards female MPs was an issue in the deselections.

The Batley and Spen MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that no MP had a “job for life”, and said there was “something very positive about working with your CLP (constituency Labour Party) and listening to their concerns”.

But she added: “I think there is certainly an element of misogyny that goes on, and certainly there are tensions within CLPs and their MPs.

“I would say, with MPs that have actually spoken out about antisemitism in the Labour Party, I think they need our support, because that is absolutely the way forward.

“We need to eradicate antisemitism completely from the Labour Party and they need our support when facing those challenges locally.”

Margaret Hodge is facing a deselection battle (Rex)

A change in Labour rules coming into effect this year has made it easier for grassroots activists to force a deselection battle, with the threshold to trigger an open selection process reduced from half to one-third of local branches and affiliated unions.

Ms Brabin – who won her own reselection ballot unanimously – said that trigger ballots could lead to unfairness.

“I think if it is pernicious and if it comes from a place that isn’t about Labour values and bringing communities together, then it is unfair,” she told Today.

Ms Brabin stressed she was not aware of local issues in the four female MPs’ constituencies.

But she said: “Some of these MPs have done extraordinary work and been MPs for decades.”