The five challengers accused the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) of unlawfully “freezing” them and nearly 130,000 other Labour members out of the contest even though they had “paid their dues”.
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In a judgment that could severely weaken Owen Smith’s challenge to Jeremy Corbyn and threatens to prolong the contest, the court ruled in favour of five new Labour members who said they had a legal right to vote in the election.
The NEC decided that full members would not be able to vote if they had not had at least six months’ continuous membership up to 12 July – the “freeze date”.
The court action affects nearly 130,000 Labour supporters who are victims of the freeze.
He said: “Now many more members will have the chance to vote in the leadership election, I am today calling for an extension of the timetable so that all members have the opportunity to engage with Jeremy and me before making their choice”.
Mr Cragg told Mr Justice Hickinbottom, the High Court judge, that members who had recently joined – or anyone looking at the Labour pary rulebook – would have concluded, having joined the party, there was nothing to stop them from voting.
Four named members challenged the decision: Christine Evangelou, the Rev Edward Leir, Hannah Fordham and Chris Granger.
A spokesperson for Owen Smith argued some new members may not have been following the campaign as much as they would have done if they knew they would have a vote.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell had earlier urged his colleagues to end the ongoing dispute and move onwards with the leadership elections as newly amended.
While Smith has the backing of a majority of the party’s lawmakers, Corbyn retains strong support among grassroots members.
One Labour party source suggested to BuzzFeed News that in the region of 50,000 individuals could be eligible for the refund, costing the party around £1.25 million if they all asked for their money back.
So perhaps the biggest implication of this court decision is that it brings Labour a little closer to Ukip when it comes to shambolic leadership contests – which is quite a feat given the relative sizes and histories of the two parties.
“Our members can not afford years of principled opposition, with a Labour party divided and unable to secure the confidence of voters”.
Labour and its general secretary, Iain McNicol, argued the rules permit the July 12 freeze date and there has been no contractual breach or misrepresentation.
In a speech in Newcastle, Mr Smith also restated his demand for a second referendum to approve the terms of Brexit once negotiations on leaving the European Union are completed.
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“We should be nothing other than pleased that there are so many people taking part in what is an incredible democratic exercise”.
