But Labour first said creating this organisation “looks divisive” and said it was concerned that its “warm words” on improving internal party democracy was a disguise to “mobilise factionally within Labour”.
It claimed the “veteran Bennite organisers” of the campaign group would use it to deselect MPs and councillors who “are not judged ‘politically correct’”.
Luke Akehurst, the secretary of Labour First, wrote: “We find it rather strange that the winning candidate in a leadership election would sustain the life of their campaign after winning, rather than seeing their role now as having a responsibility to unite the whole party, including supporters of all four of this summer's candidates.”
He added that Momentum, by saying it would organise in “every town, city and village to create a mass movement for real progressive change,” was the role of the Labour party and “not a parallel structure”.
The email ended with a plea to resist the Corbynite campaign group in order to protect a purge of moderates in the Labour party.
Mr Akehurst added: “Labour First is trying to build the broadest possible coalition of mainstream and moderate Labour activists to resist a Hard Left takeover of our party's internal democratic structures, and protect and support hardworking moderate councillors, MPs and CLP officers. We can't let "Momentum" have all the momentum.”
