FAR LEFT PLOT TO HIJACK LABOUR

Senior MPs face challenge in 8 key seats

- David Williamson and Jonathan Walker

Hardliners to run for Rayner's job if she quits

LABOUR is facing a vicious civil war that could kill off Sir Keir Starmer's hopes of a landslide election victory.

Left-wingers are poised to launch a bid for the deputy leadership if Angela Rayner is forced to quit over her property dealings. It raises the prospect of a summer of bitter infighting to stop a "Corbynista" winning a seat at the top table.

MPs on the far Left of the party are said to have started discussions over who they can unite behind for the elected post. And in a further blow to Sir Keir, pro-Palestinian activists are to stand against Labour candidates in at least eight key seats at the next election.

Both Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Culture spokeswoman Thangam Debbonaire are high-risk targets.

Last night, a senior party source warned it was “an extremely dangerous moment” for Sir Keir.

They admitted Left-wingers have a “big chance” if the row over Ms Rayner’s council house sale leads to her resignation.

Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation into claims she broke electoral law over her former home.

She is confident she has done nothing wrong but has pledged to stand down if she has committed a criminal offence.

A senior Labour MP said: “Hard-Left activists  are not stupid. They are already organising. It perhaps explains why Keir is so keen to keep Angela in place despite all the media attention. He can’t afford the risk of having a hard-Left deputy, or even the damage that a long-running deputy leadership contest will cause.”