John McDonnell has said he is “worried and saddened” by the prospect of a split in the Labour Party, as a row over antisemitism rumbles on.
The shadow chancellor insisted there was open discussion within the party and appealed to MPs who are thinking about leaving to stay and try to “win the argument”.
His comments came days after veteran Labour MP Frank Field quit the party over what he described as the current perception of Labour as racist.
He will become the third Labour MP to sit as an independent, after John Woodcock and Jared O’Mara separately resigned the whip over the party’s handling of misconduct claims against them.
His resignation came amid reports of a potential breakaway by MPs angry at the party leadership’s handling of antisemitism.
Mr McDonnell admitted in and interview with the New Statesman that he thought there were people who were willing to leave the party.
“I think I’m saddened by that," he said. "I really am saddened and I’m disappointed.”
Referring to concerns over anti-Semitism and Brexit, Mr McDonnell said: “If those are the issues that people want to split on, these are all issues which can be dealt with within the party. And I don’t see them as fundamental issues that would encourage a split because there are opportunities for people not just to express their views but actually sometimes to win the argument as well.
“So, I don’t understand why there is this sort of pre-emptive move to split off. So, I’m worried and I’m saddened by that and I think that open door is always there to prevent that happening, because any split is automatically damaging.”
His comments came after Dame Margaret Hodge claimed the party's leadership had a "hatred of Jews" in a fresh all-out attack on Jeremy Corbyn.
The former minister told The Sunday Times: "All (the leadership) can think about is their internal Labour party and their hatred of Jews. Jeremy has allowed anti-Semitism and racism to run rife. He needs to renounce much of what he did."
Labour MPs are said to be poised to hold another vote of no confidence in Mr Corbyn's leadership, the paper reported. Mr Corbyn brushed aside a 172 to 40 defeat in a similar vote in 2016, insisting his mandate from grassroots members was more important.
Pressed on whether Labour would be better off without the MPs who are reportedly considering forming a new party, Mr McDonnell said: “I don’t think any split is good. My view is that this concept of the party as a broad church is a good thing. I’m a great admirer of Harold Wilson’s approach – it was robust, they had rows, but they came up with some good policies as a result.
“Sixties Wilson in particular, you’d have a situation then where you want people challenging you, and if you do it within the right terms that can be nothing but healthy. I lost a debate for 30 years, and I stayed within the party. There’s always that hope. I think the nature of Jeremy’s (Corbyn) politics. It’s not to alienate people, it’s to bring people in.”
Mr McDonnell warned MPs who quit would split the anti-Tory vote.
“If you’re having people like the [Social Democratic Party] standing in particular constituencies, it takes votes away from Labour. And as a result of that, where it could be very tight in individual constituencies, we could be in a situation where Labour don’t pick up those seats. And what does that mean? It means the Tories getting in.
“So the issue for me is I’d want to avoid at all costs a split if we can. That’s why I’m saying I don’t understand why people are more motivated in that way on any of these issues. There’s open democracy within the party. They may well win their arguments on some of these issues, and if it is about individual personal concerns, just come and see us because there’s a role for every order.”
The shadow chancellor added he wanted the anti-Semitism issue in the party resolved “as quickly as possible”.
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