Jeremy Corbyn set ‘to put Labour on general election footing’

Mr Watson confirmed the NEC would discuss the MP-only plans and the proposal to select the shadow cabinet by a mix of members, the leader and MPs.

For days his allies had been suggesting that he wanted the party’s 640,000-strong membership, which largely backs him, to play a role in selecting the shadow cabinet.

McDonnell was speaking as Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) chose to postpone a decision on whether to grant MPs the right to elect the shadow cabinet.

Asked if disloyal MPs should be anxious, he added: ” No, the disloyal MPs should remember that I’ve got a big heart, I’m very friendly and want to talk to them”. “We want to remove that and we also want to enfranchise more ordinary trade unionists in the new process”, Watson told the BBC today. “I think the idea that’s come out that the PLP potentially could elect a certain percentage of the shadow cabinet, the leader another percentage and the membership another percentage is a genuine idea and something that should be discussed and reviewed”, he said.

One proposal is that a third of shadow cabinet posts are elected by members, a third by MPs and a third chosen by the leader.

But despite Smiths plea, Corbyn, who secured nearly 60% of the vote previous year, is expected to win the latest leadership election.

By Sunday, Mr Watson’s position may have changed after Mr Corbyn failed to deny claims that he and his inner circle were plotting to oust him from his elected position as deputy leader. The NEC meets on Saturday and we’ll have further discussions at that point.

Jeremy Corbyn said he admires Israel’s “spirit and verve” at a highly charged Jewish community hustings in north London.Asked by Jewish News what he most admired about Israel and its achievements, the Labour leader told a packed audience at JW3: “I admire the verve and spirit of the towns and cities in Israel”.

“I think there has to be a widening of the franchise”, Mr Corbyn told Radio 4’s Today programme. The list included Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, and MPs Jess Phillips, Tristram Hunt, and Neil Kinnock.

The changes would then be debated at the party’s annual conference next week.

“He has to take the olive branch, grab it with both hands and try to unite the party”.

“I’d be very happy for someone else to take the onerous responsibility of trying to keep the Labour Party in order if that is the case”, he said.

“We have got to put the band back together”, he declared, insisting his plans would unite the party ready for the possibility of a snap general election.

Mr Corbyn said: “That means there’s an interest in politics and as you’d expect yourself, it’s a pretty diverse crowd”.

It’s not simply an attempt to extend democracy in the Labour Party – it’s an attempt to deepen divisions between new members and MPs.

Predicting that Prime Minister Theresa May could call an early general election, he said: “Our sole focus after Saturday must be on taking on the Tory government”.

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Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of leaving colleagues “hanging out to dry” after refusing to intervene in alleged attempts by Momentum activists to deselect disloyal MPs so they can not fight the next general election.