Reports in a leading British newspaper, the Murdoch-owned Sunday Times, alleged on January 21 that supporters of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were planning a purge of the party by plotting to deselect prominent opponents of his, preventing them from standing in future elections.
Among the alleged targets of the purge are Hilary Benn and Chris Leslie. Benn, who chairs the Exiting the European Union Select Committee which scrutinizes the government's negotiations with the EU, is among the Labour Party's most prominent "Remain" supporters. His position on remaining in the EU Single Market is in marked contrast to Mr. Corbyn's refusals to guarantee that a future Labour government who lobby to stay in the body.
The Labour Party's grassroots activist wing "Momentum" which has been widely accused of garnering support for the alleged "purge" responded on Twitter, criticizing The Sunday Times for allegedly contacting it only half an hour before publication and its citing of an anonymous source in support of its claims.
Many reacting on social media to the story have alleged that the mainstream print-media is more threatened by the Labour Party's recent rise in membership and popularity as compared with the reputed mere 70,000 members of the Conservative Party.
The use of the word 'purge' to describe the recent changes in the Labour Party is misleading and intentionally inflammatory — people are not being 'purged', they're just losing elections because the majority of voters prefer different candidates with different views. pic.twitter.com/gaKOkoUgty
Accusations of Corbyn supporters "purge" their opponents from the party have been made since his winning the leadership of the Labour Party in September 2015 but have intensified since the Party's elections for its National Executive Council. The results which were announced on January 15 were a sweeping victory for the Labour leader's supporters as all three top positions were taken by grassroots activists, including the founder of Momentum, Jon Lansman.