LABOUR are being accused of trying to "bounce their own candidate through" for deputy leader by one of their suspended MPs.
John McDonnell, a former shadow chancellor, has criticised the short time period for nominations, with them set to close on Thursday.
The position has become vacant following the resignation of Angela Rayner.
McDonnell, who has been an MP since 1997, says this gives no time for party members to meet in CLPs [constituency Labour parties] to discuss who their MP should nominate.
He claimed there was "deep seated insecurity" among Labour's senior figures, adding it was "almost impossible" for a left-wing candidate to get on the ballot.
He posted on Twitter/X: "Labour’s National Executive Committee tomorrow to decide timetable for deputy leadership election. Nominations close on Thursday. So no time for party members to meet in CLPs to discuss who their MP should nominate. Pretty clear leadership wants to bounce their own candidate thru.
"Rule changes brought in by current leadership doubling nominations threshold makes it almost impossible for left candidate to get on ballot paper but to exclude party members from having opportunity to influence nomination process smacks of deep seated insecurity in ruling circle."
McDonnell was suspended by Labour last July after voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap and has not had the whip returned.
Labour’s National Executive Committee tomorrow to decide timetable for deputy leadership election. Nominations close on Thursday. So no time for party members to meet in CLPs to discuss who their MP should nominate. Pretty clear leadership wants to bounce their own candidate thru
— John McDonnell (@johnmcdonnellMP) September 7, 2025
The National Executive Committee is to meet on Monday to decide the timetable for the deputy leader position.
The internal leadership elections process was changed in 2021 following Starmer and Rayner's victory. This was because of dissatisfaction among many in the party with the previous process, which led to the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader.
Under the current rules, candidates must receive a nomination to stand from 20% of their fellow Labour MPs.
This must be followed by a nomination from 5% of local Labour party branches, known as Constituency Labour Parties or CLPs, as well as three affiliates of the party, at least two of which must be trade unions.
Once candidates have secured these nominations, a ballot is held in which Labour members and affiliates can vote.
The ballot is preferential, and voters will mark in order of preference – 1, 2, 3 and so on – their favoured candidate to succeed Rayner.
Rayner resigned from her role as Starmer's deputy and as housing secretary last Friday, after the Government’s independent ethics adviser concluded she breached the ministerial code when she underpaid stamp duty on her seaside flat.
But she also resigned her post as Labour’s deputy leader, an elected position she won following a vote of the party’s membership in 2020, at the same time Starmer was chosen as Corbyn’s successor.
In her role as deputy PM, Rayner was widely viewed as a bridge between the more left-wing grassroots of Labour and the right of the party which has greater sway over Starmer's Downing Street operation.
The deputy leader contest could see the divide between different factions of Labour – and their positions on Starmer's track record in No 10 – brought into the public eye.
Labour MP Richard Burgon, who is on the left of the party, said the membership deserved a “proper election” to replace Rayner, and not a “stitch-up”.
Writing on social media site X, he said: “A vital role of the deputy leader is to be a strong voice for ordinary Labour members. Right now, members are desperate to see a bold shift in direction – one that can help prevent Nigel Farage from ending up in Downing Street.
“Labour members deserve a democratic Labour Party that treats them with respect. So there must now be a proper election for deputy leader, fully in line with the party’s rulebook — and not a leadership stitch-up.”
The Labour Party have been approached for comment.
