Deselection: What is it and how could Labour supporters oust an MP?

Anti-war activists have called for local parties to oust the 66 Labour MPs who voted in favour of air strikes against Isis in Syria

Stella Creasy is among the MPs facing pressure from constituents over her vote (Getty Images)

Anti-war activists have called for the deselection of 66 Labour MPs who voted to allow air strikes against Isis in Syria.

MPs voted 397 to 223 in favour of an aerial assault on key targets in the war torn country.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was forced to allow his party a free vote after 11 members of his shadow cabinet threatened to rebel over his anti-war stance.

What does deselection mean?

For every General Election, an MP has to reapply to their local party for selection as a candidate.

Normally - if the MP is popular with local activists - this is largely a symbolic process, but the party can vote to refuse to reselect them as a candidate if they do not stand down at the following election.

How often does it happen?

There were a few cases of it during the last parliament.

Tim Yeo, the former Conservative MP for South Suffolk, was deselected over his part in a newspaper sting in which he was caught offering to coach businesses before they appeared in front of the select committee he chaired.

Former Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton - now Baroness - Anne McIntosh lost her battle against deselection by her local party in 2014 after a local party feud “spiralled out of control”.

She had also narrowly avoided deselection for the 2010 general election.

But this seems different?

It is. Previous deselection battles were usually small and locally focused.

The call to deselect the Labour MPs perceived to be on the right of the party is the first time there has been an organised campaign to oust sitting MPs.

London MPs, such as Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, are said to be particularly vulnerable as her constituency is home to a large number of anti-war activists.

It’s four and half years till the next election. Can’t I get rid of them sooner?

Not easily. In 2014, Conservative backbencher and London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith tabled an amendment to the Recall Bill to allow constituency parties to trigger a by-election if 20 per cent of the local party agree, but it was defeated.

The eventual Recall Act which did pass gave local parties the power to oust an MP if they are sentenced to less than 12 months in prison. MPs serving more than a year in jail are automatically banned.