Jeremy Corbyn does not reject Paul Mason’s suggestion that Labour MPs should have the threat of deselection “hanging over them”. Quoted in a Guardian interview published yesterday, the Labour leader was asked directly about Mason’s comments and replied:

“Look, [we] will look at democracy within the party and look at the process of selections. We should all be accountable all the time. I’m accountable to my party, I’m accountable to my constituency and I’m quite comfortable with that.”

Corbyn has gradually changed his language on mandatory re-selection. He used to claim to oppose it, but has since hinted several times at ways of bringing it about (using boundary changes as a cover and openly discussing a rule change at conference). Implicitly endorsing Mason’s comments is a step further, and with the Corbynistas in the ascendancy again after the NEC result the issue of compulsory re-selection is yet again the subject of Labour chatter this week (Corbynista influencers are now calling for it more loudly than ever). The purge is only just beginning…