LEEDS East MP Richard Burgon slammed the “mother of all stitch-ups” today as Labour revealed a truncated timetable for the deputy leadership election — with the party executive saying candidates must obtain 80 MPs’ nominations by Thursday afternoon to enter the race.

Mr Burgon joined the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group fringe meeting at the TUC Congress to discuss “restructuring the economy” — and said the rushed schedule was a bid to prevent a real debate on exactly that.

“MPs having only a couple of days to cast nominations is because they don’t want our politics on the ballot paper — they don’t want a wealth tax on the ballot paper, they don’t want sanctions on Israel on the ballot paper.”

Leadership and deputy leadership candidates need the backing of at least 20 per cent of the parliamentary party, a high threshold introduced to prevent a repeat of Jeremy Corbyn’s meteoric rise to the leadership in 2015 on the back of ordinary members’ enthusiasm despite a lack of support from MPs.

Mr Burgon said the contest needs a left-wing candidate — “and by a left-wing candidate I mean someone at the very least who voted for a ceasefire in Gaza, who voted against disability cuts.” He cautioned that the left should look at MPs’ records, not their pledges, citing Sir Keir Starmer’s dishonest leadership campaign.

Speaking to the Morning Star, the Socialist Campaign Group secretary said a campaign which involved real debate on the direction of the party — something also called for by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham — could renew hope among ordinary members, in their majority well to the left of the leadership. He pointed to the importance of grassroots campagns and street politics to turning things around — he welcomed plans for a Make Them Pay demonstration for a wealth tax on September 20.

“These are exactly the kind of mass movements we need, putting forward an alternative economic policy which makes clear that the minority that’s responsible for the degradation of our public services and the attacks on working people isn’t immigrants, but the richest at the very top.”

By contrast Labour’s stitch-up showed a “complacency and lack of willingness to listen that paves the way for Nigel Farage to get the keys to 10 Downing Street.”