The pressure group Momentum said that Labour should open up its process for selecting parliamentary candidates to create “a new generation of MPs”.
The pro-Corbyn group said that the rules as they stood were outdated and prevented there being a level playing field.
Momentum said it planned to work with NEC members, the trade unions, and delegates to ensure “the best possible rule change” was passed at the party conference, which begins 23 September, in Liverpool.
A Momentum spokeswoman said: “Labour’s selection procedure should be democratic, give a fair chance to all candidates and encourage positive campaigning. This means ending the divisive practice of forcing activists to campaign against sitting MPs and replacing it with a process that is open from the start.”
The group said that under Labour’s present system there could be no British equivalent of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old socialist from the Bronx, who upset the odds and won the race to become the Democratic nominee for Congress, in New York.
Momentum’s call for reform is unlikely to be welcomed across the party, given that it has been accused of targeting anti-Corbyn MPs for deselection in the past.
The group has previously advocated changing the current selection system whereby the threshold for instigating a contest would be lowered. It said it was pleased that a number of different rule changes for selection had been submitted for discussion at party conference.
On Sunday the Observer reported that eight rule changes had been submitted, by 13 Labour branches, aiming to make it easier to remove sitting MPs. Most demanded a full reselection process, with members choosing from a shortlist that would include the sitting MP. Currently the MP requires a simple majority of local parties and trade union branches.
The Momentum spokeswoman said that opening up the selection process was essential to bringing MPs closer to Labour party members and “transforming Britain for the many, not the few”.
She said: “Recognising the groundswell of support from ordinary Labour members Momentum would like to affirm its commitment to the creation of a more open, inclusive, selection process which would open the door to a new generation of Labour MPs.
“Labour has to nurture the talent of its half a million members and we cannot let an outdated rule book hold back a new generation of MPs.”
