This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37400280

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Jeremy Corbyn: Labour reaching out to voters across UK Labour shadow cabinet: 14 'would return' if Corbyn wins
(about 3 hours later)
Jeremy Corbyn has said Labour under his leadership is reaching out to voters across the UK, after ex-leader Neil Kinnock warned against his re-election. Fourteen Labour MPs who quit frontbench posts this summer in protest at Jeremy Corbyn's leadership have said they could return if the party re-elected him in the current leadership election.
Lord Kinnock told the BBC the party faced a "lifetime" out of power if Mr Corbyn wins the leadership contest. Five told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend they would do so if asked by Mr Corbyn; others said they would stand if shadow cabinet elections were revived.
But Mr Corbyn told ITV's Peston on Sunday Lord Kinnock should be "more optimistic", as he insisted Labour could appeal to the centre-ground. In June, 20 members of the shadow cabinet resigned, and one was sacked, over differences with Mr Corbyn.
It comes with under a week to go until the contest ends this Saturday. The party's vote concludes on Saturday.
Kinnock warns against Jeremy Corbyn re-election
Guide to the Labour leadership election
Mr Corbyn is being challenged for the leadership by Owen Smith, a former shadow work and pensions secretary.Mr Corbyn is being challenged for the leadership by Owen Smith, a former shadow work and pensions secretary.
The contest was sparked after Mr Corbyn lost a vote of no confidence by his MPs, following a series of resignations from his shadow cabinet in protest at his leadership. The contest was sparked by a vote among Labour MPs, in which 172 expressed no confidence in Mr Corbyn's leadership and just 40 backed him.
'Reaching out' Guide to the Labour leadership election
Speaking to the BBC's Panorama programme, Lord Kinnock said: "Unless things change radically, and rapidly, it's very doubtful I'll see another Labour government in my lifetime." Clive Efford, who resigned as shadow sports minister, said MPs who opposed Mr Corbyn had to serve under him.
The former party leader, who led the fight against left-wing extremism in the 1980s, when Labour was paralysed by faction fighting, added: "Not just in my lifetime but stretching back to the 1930s, by any examination this is the greatest crisis that the Labour Party has faced." "I've spoken to many members of the party who understand that Jeremy Corbyn is not seen by many people as a prime minister in waiting but are still going to vote for him because they felt there were parts of the parliamentary Labour Party that never gave him a chance, that we never really respected the vote that was given by party members and we don't deserve to be rewarded as a consequence of that," he said.
Responding to Lord Kinnock's criticism, Mr Corbyn told Peston on Sunday: "I hope Neil can be a bit more optimistic." "Whoever wins, they want to see the party back as an effective opposition so if there's a role for me in that, I would consider it."
Asked how he could appeal to centre-ground voters, he said: "Do we want an education service that works for all or works for the few? Mr Efford said he had not changed his views on Mr Corbyn's leadership but "the party has spoken".
"Do we want a health service that works for everybody, or a health service of last resort for those that can't afford to go private? Three-way election
"Do we want an investment strategy that builds railways and broadband communication over the whole of the country? The party's national executive committee meets on Tuesday and will consider a plan put forward by MPs to allow the parliamentary party - its MPs and peers currently serving in Westminster - to elect the shadow cabinet, as part of efforts to reunite the party as a whole.
"Do we want a government that actually works for the whole country and reaches out to those places that have been left behind? Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis, an ally of Mr Corbyn, confirmed that the party was considering allowing both Labour MPs and party members to vote on who should be in the shadow cabinet.
"It's reaching out to the whole country. That's what we're offering." Shadow cabinet elections were discontinued during Ed Miliband's leadership.
Newspaper reports suggested that, under the new plan, a third of Labour's top team could be elected by the parliamentary party, another third by the party membership, and the final third chosen by the leader.
Mr Corbyn has not given his support to the proposal but has indicated he would back members having a say.
Ian Murray, who resigned as shadow Scottish secretary, described the plan for MPs to elect the shadow cabinet as a sign that Mr Corbyn's opponents "are willing to meet the leader halfway if he is serious about uniting the party".
"He has to take that olive branch, he has to grab it with both hands and he has to try to unite the parliamentary party and the entire Labour movement."
Mr Murray said that - if elections for the cabinet were held - he "would be thinking about putting my name forward".
But he said there had to be "some kind of conditions attached".
"One of them is no deselection [of MPs]. The second one I think is clarity about what the party within a party, Momentum, is there for."
What is Momentum and why is it worrying Labour MPs
However, Lucy Powell, who resigned as shadow education secretary, said that allowing members to vote "misses the point".
"The issue is not that we have a competition for places, and therefore we need a very lengthy and competitive process," she told the World This Weekend.
"We've got vacancies so it's about how we can persuade people to come back to the table."
She said allowing MPs to elect some members of the shadow cabinet in exchange for accepting collective responsibility would be a compromise on both sides.
Asked if she would stand for election, Ms Powell said: "I will take soundings from colleagues as things move forward."
With just six days to go before the leadership contests ends, Owen Smith accused Mr Corbyn of seeking to "deepen divisions" between the party's membership - seen as overwhelmingly in favour of the leader - and its MPs - who are largely opposed to Mr Corbyn.
Speaking to Sky News, he said reports that party members could be given a role in electing the shadow cabinet and shaping policy "isn't a conciliatory gesture".
"It's an attempt to further cement his position and to use the membership as a means of driving a wedge between the MPs and his leadership."
AnalysisAnalysis
By John Pienaar, BBC deputy political editorBy John Pienaar, BBC deputy political editor
An extraordinary olive branch to hostile Labour MPs, after the rebellion of the summer and the failed attempt to force the leader's resignation, has emerged.An extraordinary olive branch to hostile Labour MPs, after the rebellion of the summer and the failed attempt to force the leader's resignation, has emerged.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell - Jeremy Corbyn's closest friend and chief lieutenant at Westminster - said the Labour leader and himself were willing to take lessons in leadership.Shadow chancellor John McDonnell - Jeremy Corbyn's closest friend and chief lieutenant at Westminster - said the Labour leader and himself were willing to take lessons in leadership.
"Tutorials" from former senior ministers and shadow ministers would answer accusations of incompetence, improve their performance in the House of Commons and improve relations with Labour colleagues at Westminster."Tutorials" from former senior ministers and shadow ministers would answer accusations of incompetence, improve their performance in the House of Commons and improve relations with Labour colleagues at Westminster.
"A bit of tutoring from some old hands?" I asked him."A bit of tutoring from some old hands?" I asked him.
"Well, why not?" he replied. "Why not?""Well, why not?" he replied. "Why not?"
More hereMore here
Meanwhile, James Schneider, organiser of pro-Corbyn group Momentum, has denied it is campaigning for deselection of Labour MPs critical of Mr Corbyn's leadership. Earlier, Mr Corbyn told ITV's Peston on Sunday Labour under his leadership was reaching out to voters across the UK.
In response to footage being aired by two documentaries - BBC Panorama and Channel 4's Dispatches - on Monday, he told BBC One's Sunday Politics: "We are not campaigning for mandatory selection." Asked how he could appeal to centre-ground voters, he said: "Do we want an education service that works for all or works for the few?
Asked whether there would be deselections, Mr Corbyn told ITV that many constituency Labour parties would have to make fresh choices due to the boundary changes. "Do we want a health service that works for everybody, or a health service of last resort for those that can't afford to go private?
The Labour leader denied that was a veiled threat, saying "it's not any kind of threat". "Do we want an investment strategy that builds railways and broadband communication over the whole of the country?
He added: "What it is, is simply describing the process. "Do we want a government that actually works for the whole country and reaches out to those places that have been left behind? That's what we're offering."
"There are going to be 600 new constituency Labour parties formed, as there will be for other parties, and they will go through a selection process." Ex-party leader Lord Kinnock told the BBC the party faced a "lifetime" out of power if Mr Corbyn won the leadership contest.
He added that sitting MPs would be automatically put forward if they had a substantial geographical claim to a seat. Speaking to the BBC's Panorama programme, Lord Kinnock said: "Unless things change radically, and rapidly, it's very doubtful I'll see another Labour government in my lifetime."
'Democratising Labour'
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis, an ally of Mr Corbyn, said that the issue of deselection of MPs "hasn't come up" but added that he felt it would be a "democratic choice" for party members.
Mr Lewis also confirmed that the party was considering allowing both Labour MPs and party members to vote on who should be in the shadow cabinet.
Newspaper reports suggested a third of Labour's top team could be elected by the parliamentary party, another third by the party membership, and the final third chosen by the leader.
Mr Lewis told the Marr Show it was "a genuine idea and something that should be discussed and reviewed".
He said he believed the idea would be considered on Tuesday at a meeting of the party's ruling National Executive Committee.
"I think it's about the ideas that are coming out about democratising our party, about allowing members, allowing people, to have a real say in how their representatives represent them and the policies that we have as a party and I think that's good."
'Deepening divisions'
However leadership contender Owen Smith accused Mr Corbyn of seeking to "deepen divisions" between the party's membership - which is seen as overwhelmingly in favour of the leader - and its MPs - who are largely opposed to Mr Corbyn.
Speaking to Sky News, he said reports that party members could be given a role in electing the shadow cabinet and shaping policy "isn't a conciliatory gesture".
He said: "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.
"It's an attempt to further cement his position and to use the membership as a means of driving a wedge between the MPs and his leadership."
Mr Smith added that if Mr Corbyn was serious about uniting the party, he should consider returning to the system under which the members of Labour's shadow cabinet were elected by a vote among its parliamentary party.
Panorama's investigation Labour: Is The Party Over? - including the full interview with Lord Kinnock - is on BBC One on Monday at 2030 BST and will be available on the iPlayer afterwards.Panorama's investigation Labour: Is The Party Over? - including the full interview with Lord Kinnock - is on BBC One on Monday at 2030 BST and will be available on the iPlayer afterwards.