Labour conference: Starmer's rules change likely to be shelved - Rayner

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has indicated that proposed changes to the way the party's leader is elected have been shelved.

Sir Keir Starmer had wanted to change the one-member-one-vote system and return to an electoral college made up of unions, affiliate organisations, MPs and party members.

But the idea faced strong resistance from many on the left of the party.

Labour bosses are meeting later to discuss a revised set of proposals.

But, with the party's annual conference about to get under way in Brighton, the left-wing Momentum group said Sir Keir's plans were "dead".

The row over Labour's constitution began earlier this week, when the leader proposed changing the way his successors would be chosen.

He said he wanted to return to an "electoral college" system - abolished under predecessor Ed Miliband - under which Labour members would only account for a third of the votes in a future leadership contest.

MPs and unions would also each have made up a third of the votes.

But many on the left of Labour argued that this would give MPs - most of whom back Sir Keir - too much influence.

And unions failed to give the proposals the backing to take them further.

The leadership is now putting forward a different set of plans, which will be discussed at a meeting of the NEC at 11:00 BST.

This is believed to include raising the number of MPs' nominations needed before a leadership candidate can enter the full contest.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm told that the electoral college is not on the order paper for the NEC."

Asked whether Sir Keir's proposals were likely to be voted on at conference, she added: "Some will, some won't because that's the natural rhythm of how conference works."

A source close to Sir Keir told the BBC: "The Labour leader will be putting a package of party reforms to the NEC that better connect us with working people and re-orient us toward the voters who can take us to power."

Another source said that the leadership election reforms had not been presented to the party as "a take-it-or-leave-it deal", adding: "That's how we've approached it and we're pleased with where we've ended up."

But Mish Rahman, a member of the NEC and Momentum's national co-ordinating group, said: "The central measure of Keir Starmer's attack on democracy has comprehensively failed. The electoral college is dead.

"Now to make sure all the other regressive rule changes concocted by the leadership share the same fate.

"From trigger ballot changes to increases in the MP nomination threshold ahead, they all need to go in the bin."