Former PM Tony Blair saved Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn from a plot to have him sacked
The then prime minister blocked a move to have him de-selected over his continued defiance of Labour policy
JEREMY Corbyn was saved from a plot to have him sacked as an MP – by Tony Blair.
The former PM blocked a move to have him de-selected over his continued defiance of Labour policy.
Senior figures in Mr Corbyn’s local constituency met party bigwigs to seek backing to have the serial rebel removed.
But the then leader sprung to his defence and insisted Labour was a “broad church” that could tolerate different opinions.
The chance to remove Mr Corbyn came long before anyone dreamed he would ever land the leader’s job.
Mr Blair was at the height of his popularity, after his second election win in 2001.
Had he seized the opportunity, the party he transformed might never have been taken over by the hard Left.
Baroness Armstrong, who was government chief whip at the time, told how the then leader was reluctant to discipline Mr Corbyn, whom she described as “the greatest rebel ever”.
She said: “I had a couple of folk from Jeremy ‘s constituency come to see me and say ‘People are a bit upset with Jeremy always being against the Labour government. What if we try to de-select him?”
But she advised them: “You will get no support from the leadership, so don’t bother.”
Baroness Armstrong tells BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour tonight: “The PM was very clear about that when Jeremy was a backbench MP.
“And he was right. We shouldn’t have worked to de-select him.”
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She cited the tolerance shown to Mr Corbyn as she cautioned him against booting out moderate MPs and candidates.
Lady Armstrong said: “I hope that Jeremy will now reflect on that and I hope that he will be absolutely determined to make sure it doesn’t happen under his watch.
She added: “I know MPs where basically there is a process of harassment, where at every meeting they are criticised, they are challenged, they are told that they don’t represent the people in the room.
“And all this is meant to do is wear them down, and get them to believe they shouldn’t be in the Labour party any more.”
Calling for more tolerance towards different views in the party, she said: “Jeremy has the opportunity over the summer and at party conference to make it absolutely clear that he is not going to lead a narrow sectarian faction.
"He’s going to lead a broad church that is tolerant. And the real test for Jeremy is…is he up to it?”