A British court on Friday barred new members of the opposition Labour Party from voting in a leadership election, upholding an appeal by the party’s executive committee against an earlier ruling.
The appeal court’s ruling allows the committee to deny a vote to people who had been Labour members for less than six months by July 12, when the leadership contest was announced.
Both supporters and opponents of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had encouraged new members to join the party and vote in the election.
However, many analysts believe the barring of up to 130,000 members could harm Corbyn more than his sole challenger, Owen Smith.
The High Court had ruled in favour of five new Labour members who challenged the executive committee’s decision on Monday.
Left-winger Corbyn, 67, has been forced to join a contest to remain in power after a revolt against his leadership by most of Labour’s 220 lawmakers.
Labour critics claim he is unsuited to lead the party into a general election and blame him for a half-hearted, ultimately unsuccessful campaign to keep Britain in the EU ahead of an in-out referendum.
However, Corbyn retains strong backing from several large trade unions and a majority of Labour members.
He won the Labour leadership in September with almost 60 per cent of the 422,000 votes cast, beating three other candidates.
A final result from the new contest is due to be announced on September 24.
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