BBC News :

Disaffected Labour MPs are to be asked to join a new group within the party in a bid to avoid further resignations.

The move, led by deputy leader Tom Watson, is intended to give more of a voice to MPs from Labour’s social democratic tradition.

Nine MPs from that wing of the party left Labour last week, criticising the party’s leadership and direction.

Mr Watson claimed on Sunday that the new internal grouping was the only way to hold the party together.

He said it would give a platform to MPs whose views were not currently represented in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet and a chance for them to discuss and shape policy.

A source close to Mr Corbyn said more discussion about policy was a good thing and had been a hallmark of his leadership, but signalled there would be no major shift away from current policies which were popular with voters.

Nine Labour MPs quit the party last week, accusing Mr Corbyn of a “lurch to the left” and tolerating a culture of bullying and anti-Semitism in the party.

Mr Watson, whose close friend Ian Austin is among those who have left, warned there was a “crisis for the soul” of the party and urgent action was needed.

In creating the new grouping, Mr Watson insisted he was not stoking a rebellion against Mr Corbyn but standing up for pluralism within the party.