Ed Miliband's 'north London set' must be demolished to save Labour, say critics

Former minister Frank Field said the flag incident was 'the most serious thing that has happened' to the party

Frank Field said the ‘north London set’ within Labour were like ‘a Berlin Wall’ (Justin Sutcliffe)

Labour is dominated by a “north London set” who must be “demolished” if the party is to reconnect with its core support, a senior backbencher warned today.

The recriminations follow the furore over the sacking of Emily Thornberry as a shadow minister after she tweeted a picture of a house draped in three England flags. It was widely interpreted as evidence of a patronising view of working-class voters.

The former minister Frank Field said the flag incident was “the most serious thing that has happened” to the party.

He added: “It’s the north London set we’ve got to control. They are a Berlin Wall trying to prevent us reaching out to our voters, and like the Berlin Wall they’ve got to be demolished. Ed’s trying to move us on immigration and welfare and with one blast of a tweet she wrecks that and puts us back to square one.”

Another former minister, David Lammy, said the party was “culturally adrift” from its traditional supporters. He said politicians from “liberal, professional backgrounds” found it hard to identify with ordinary working people.