Labour’s core supporters are getting increasingly worried about the prospect of hard-line left-wingers joining the party just to vote in Jeremy Corbyn as leader.
But that’s not the only thing they have to worry about, as it emerged that rogue Tory MPs are also trying to get in on the act.
Tim Loughton, the Conservative member for East Worthing and Shoreham, said he paid £3 and signed up online to show Labour’s process for choosing its leader was a “complete farce”.
Read more: How to vote in the Labour leadership election
Jeremy Corbyn could be the next Prime Minister, says Ken Clarke
Corbyn tops Labour leadership vote of constituency groups
Andy Burnham 'would serve in Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet'
The stunt seems to have backfired, however, after he was outed by Labour’s press team on Twitter. “Thank you for your donation to the Labour Party @timloughton,” a spokesperson wrote.
“However as a Tory MP you will not get a vote in our leadership election.”
Mr Loughton told the Guardian, which seems to have been responsible for rumbling him as a would-be secret Labour voter, that he hadn’t exactly been subtle in his methods.
He said he used his parliamentary email address and real name to sign up and wrote that his reason for joining the party was “to vote Jeremy Corbyn and consign Labour to oblivion for a generation”, after which he received an email saying “welcome to the Labour Party”. Labour leadership: The Contenders
“If I’d got a voting paper I was going to tweet myself ripping it up, just to make a point about how ridiculous the whole open exercise is,” he added.
Harriet Harman has previously ordered Labour MPs to watch out for Trotskyist “entryists” signing up in their constituencies.
She sent a letter, which has been seen by The Independent, warning: “As an MP, your local knowledge and information is important to uphold the integrity of the leadership election.”
