The Leaders of Labour movement Momentum say they are ready to defend Jeremy Corbyn if he should face a leadership challenge in the aftermath of the May elections.

 

It is estimated that Momentum has up to 100,000 supporters, and the movement's leaders say it will use their volunteer base to attempt to make a difference.

 

Jon Lansman, one of Corbyn’s closest advisers and a driving force behind Momentum, said: “We campaigned to elect him and we will most certainly defend him and support him if there is a challenge. We absolutely have the machinery to run another leadership campaign if we have to and we are absolutely equipped to do that. And we will if necessary and I am confident we will win it.”

 

There is an unresolved standoff over whether Corbyn could automatically stand again. Opponents said he would have to secure the support of a quota of MPs, which he might struggle to get. An alternative way to try to unseat him would be to hold a vote of no confidence, but this would require a majority of the PLP, 116, which might prove harder to achieve.

 

At a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday night, Corbyn attempted to face down his critics, calling for an end to “back-biting, public attacks and constant sniping”. But there was little sign he succeeded in quelling the potential revolt. In the increasingly febrile atmosphere, the Barnsley Central MP Dan Jarvis is still being touted as a potential leadership challenger.

 

Corbyn and his team are ambitious about Momentum, hoping to turn it into a mass movement, mainly of the Labour party but with part of its footprint outside to attract new supporters.