SUPPORTERS of Jeremy Corbyn have moved a step closer to being able to remove a centrist Labour MP re-elected last month by two thirds of his constituency.

In a dramatic manoeuvre at a meeting on Thursday, which “blind-sided” supporters of Hove MP Peter Kyle, left-wing Labour members secured backing for a plan to empower activists to deselect MPs.

The move was mirrored elsewhere in the country and will the plan will now be considered for discussion at the national Labour Party conference in Brighton this autumn.

If discussed and passed by conference, the change would mean all prospective Parliamentary candidates – including sitting MPs – would be subject to a reselection vote by local activists.

A vote by a relatively small number of Labour activists, many of who in Brighton and Hove are to the political Left of the MP, could block his reselection as a candidate.

Mr Kyle, who increased his majority from 1,200 to 19,000 on June 8, said: “With the unprecedentedly increased majority comes an unprecedented set of expectations to deliver and that’s all I’m focused on.

“If other people have a different approach to politics, then so be it.”

A source close to Mr Kyle admitted the unscheduled motion at the Hove Constituency Labour Party (CLP) meeting, held at Bhasvic on Thursday evening, had “blindsided” the team.

Several centrist party members could not attend the meeting, which passed the proposal by 34 votes to 26.

Under the current system a sitting MP only faces deselection if two thirds of local members vote to consider the MP’s position.

The proposed change would mean MPs required a positive reselection vote by two thirds of members – across two thirds of eligible organisations – to be safe from a reselection battle.

Such a change would imperil Mr Kyle’s chances of defending his seat at the next election.

A Hove CLP delegate told The Argus: “He got 30,000 Labour votes, and 34 people voted for something to try and deselect him.

“It’s ridiculous”