Jeremy Corbyn's top aide is due to whip up activists at a rally in the London seat of a popular Labour MP dogged by rumours of deselection.
Left-winger Andrew Fisher, once suspended from Labour, will address the Corbyn-supporting Momentum group in MP Stella Creasy’s Walthamstow constituency next week. Ms Creasy faces a resurgent far-Left in the area, where some local party figures suspect plans are being made to deselect her.
Mr Fisher has caused anger in the past over his comments, including in 2014 when he referred to Tony Blair as a “scumbag” and to Ed Miliband’s frontbench as “complete shite”.
His suspension was triggered by a tweet in which he appeared to encourage voters to back a Class War candidate over a Labour one in Croydon South at last year’s general election.
He was later reinstated. Of his planned appearance at the Waltham Forest Momentum rally, a local Labour member said: “This is the leader’s office sticking two fingers up at moderate MPs.”
The Standard reported last year how left-wingers in the area connected to Momentum, from Labour and other groups, held a joint meeting at which deselection was discussed.
Left-wingers then won key posts in the constituency Labour party, while Ms Creasy was subjected to a protest for backing air strikes on Islamic State. She would not comment today, nor would Mr Fisher or the Labour party.
It comes as a leaked email suggested Momentum wants its meetings to replace those of the Labour party in another part of the capital.
An email from Lambeth’s Momentum branch to supporters suggested that as local Labour branches were not “effective”, the group should become a “replacement space” for activism.
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