JEREMY CORBYN will automatically be on the ballot paper in the event of a leadership challenge, the Labour leader’s spokesman said yesterday.

The senior Labour official said he believes the party’s rules state the leader would not need nominations from MPs to stand.

“Our view on that is the leader of the party is already on the ballot paper if there’s an election,” he told journalists in Parliament. It deals a blow to the rump of right-wing Labour MPs plotting a leadership challenge if Labour performs badly in May’s local elections.

Labour rules state that a leadership election can be called before each party conference if a challenger is nominated by 20 per cent of Labour MPs and MEPs.

Mr Corbyn’s critics hoped he would not be able to attract enough support to get on the ballot paper again as some MPs only nominated him to widen debate in the party.

But the incumbent leader being guaranteed a place would kill their coup stone dead.

Mr Corbyn won 59 per cent in last summer’s leadership election, widely seen as the biggest ever mandate for a Labour leader.

And recent polling suggests he could win an even bigger majority in a new contest — YouGov found last month that 72 per cent of members support him. 

The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy is seeking to update party rules to more explicitly spell out that the incumbent leader does not need to seek nominations in the event of a leadership challenge.

The group has received legal advice that this is already the case. But spokesman Jon Lansman told the Star yesterday that an amendment was needed to “remove any element of doubt.”

“There’s no doubt in our mind about it but that doesn’t mean to say Blairites might not try it on,” he said. “These are people who claim to be extremely concerned about the European referendum but don’t seem to mind wrecking the campaign.”

The Star reported last week that Labour MP Dan Jarvis has accepted a £16,800 donation from hedge-fund manager Martin Taylor. And today he will further attempt to position himself as a future leader by giving a set piece speech on the economy to think tank Demos.