Corbyn supporters celebrate '˜takeover' in Leeds Central

Political allies of Mr Benn, the former shadow Foreign Secretary, have expressed concern about his future after elections to his Leeds Central constituency Labour party (CLP) were dominated by Mr Corbyn’s supporters.

The elections were described by one Labour source in the region as a “takeover” of the Leeds Central party by Corbynites.

The results have been celebrated by Corbyn-supporting activists on social media along with calls for other constituency parties with moderate Labour MPs to follow suit.

A post by one of those involved which has been widely shared on Facebook describes how meetings were held over three months as part of a concerted effort devoted to “getting the CLP under a Corbyn-led group”. Mr Benn’s decision in June to tell Mr Corbyn he had no confidence in his leadership and to say so publicly, a move which led to his sacking from Labour’s frontbench, has made him a target for Corbyn backers.

He is blamed by many Corbyn supporters for triggering the subsequent wave of resignations from the shadow frontbench team, which ultimately led to the no-confidence vote and leadership election over the summer.

Both Mr Benn and Mr Corbyn have called for party unity in recent weeks but some of the leaders’ supporters have called for action to be taken against MPs seen as disloyal.