Nick Bent says Labour changes could ‘mean the end’ of MP Helen Jones

Mrs Jones came under fire from Mr Bent – who has lost out in two Warrington South general election battles – on Twitter.

The Stockton Heath parish councillor tweeted: "New deselection rules cld mean the end of @HelenJonesMP in #Warrington North.

"Her bad behaviour & various scandals = deeply unpopular with longstanding members & new ones @wiremomentum.

"Orford & Birchwood voted to get rid before. More will follow."

Mrs Jones has now responded to the tweet.

She said: "Given Nick Bent's record of electoral failure in Warrington and the bitterness he has nurtured since, I am very glad he is not on my side.

"He's an irrelevance."

Changes will make it easier for party members to deselect sitting MPs.

Labour MPs faced a reselection contest if 50 per cent of a constituency's branches and affiliated unions voted for it.

However, a proposal to cut the threshold to 33 per cent won the backing of the party conference in Liverpool.

Mr Bent drew Momentum Warrington – a grassroots political organisation associated to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – into the row by including it in the tweet aimed at Mrs Jones.

However, Momentum has distanced itself from Mr Bent, but issued a statement in relation to the changes.

A spokesman said: "Warrington Momentum welcomes the changes regarding reducing the requirement for a trigger ballot for selection of candidates for elections.

"These changes are a move in the right direction, allowing Labour members and affiliates a greater say in the selection process even where the Constituency Labour Party (CLP) has a sitting MP.

"Elected officials need to be accountable to the party and their CLP members, as well as the electorate.

"The previous rules allowed some MPs to act against the wishes of those that campaigned to get them elected and even resulted in some MPs defying the whip and voting with the Tories.

"They could do this with impunity because previous rules had them automatically selected as candidates for the next election.

"It should also be noted that open selection is practised for candidates for local elections – all councillors must go through the selection process again when their tenure ends."

The Labour Party says the changes give members and trade union affiliates 'a greater say' in who represents them but doesn't move to automatic open selections.

A spokeswoman added: "Following the Democracy Review, the NEC and Labour Party members agreed rule changes at party conference to remove barriers to political participation and help transform our party into a mass movement for the many, not the few.

"The Democracy Review is one of the biggest democratic exercises undertaken by any political party, with over 11,000 submissions and hundreds of consultation meetings held across the country."