Labour MPs who repeatedly defy Jeremy Corbyn will have to become more left-wing or face "inevitable" de-selection, Ken Livingstone has said.
In a growing row over the possible removal of anti-Corbyn Labour MPs, the former mayor of London told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme that people in the party will have to change to be "more in Mr Corbyn's image" and reflect the opinions of thousands of new members who were attracted to Labour during Corbyn's leadership campaign.
“If your local MP is undermining Jeremy Corbyn, opposing the policies, opposing the anti-austerity measures that we want, people should have a right to say ‘I’d like to have an MP that reflects my views'," said Livingstone. "It shouldn’t be a job for life."
“If you’ve got 1,000 new members joined your local party because they supported Jeremy Corbyn’s policies, you’ve got an MP completely undermining them, that’s fine, they should have the right to challenge that, it doesn’t meant to say they will necessarily win.”
Proposed changes to parliamentary constituencies before the 2020 election could reduce the current number of MPs, 650, down to 600, which would see the future of many MPs coming into question.
Livingstone said it's "inevitable" that Labour MPs who defy Corbyn on a regular basis would face deselection when candidates are being chosen in the future due to the huge influx of new members who will support those who are left-wing and pro-Corbyn.
“And why not? That’s inevitable. If you’ve had a doubling of the Labour party membership because people see there's a real chance of change, and if Jeremy Corbyn looks like he is doing a good job, you wouldn’t expect… if people say ‘every day I see my MP undermining the Labour leadership, opposing the policies we came into politics for'.
"I mean, people must have the right to have an influence over these things.”
Labour MPs Frank Field and Jess Phillips said on Sunday that deselection of their colleagues could lead to a revolt in the party, and could even see them supporting de-selected MPs as independent candidates in future by-elections.
Field told the BBC's Sunday Politics: "There will be a large group, I would hope, of MPs who will, if colleagues are unfairly treated, encourage their colleagues to stand in by-elections, stand as 'Independent Labour' candidates and then a large number of us, including me, would go and campaign for them.
"It is capital offence to campaign for somebody standing against an official Labour candidate but if enough of us go, they can't pick us all off and expel the lot."
Field was supported by Phillips, who told Five Live: "If I thought someone had been genuinely picked off unfairly, then yes I would go and help them."