Syd Rapson says southern Labour MPs fear the impact of party disunity

Syd Rapson says Labour members with big majorities in the north should be aware of the impact of disunity.

Such seats will be vital if Labour is to win the next election, said the Portsmouth North MP.

"Colleagues with larger majorities have to realise that in the south the seats are more vulnerable," he said.

Swing voters

He says that is because Labour MPs in the south of England tend to have smaller majorities - and it makes them more vulnerable to switches in public opinion.

And when the party appears to be divided, such as this week with the rebellion over tuition fees, it will be the southern Labour MPs who will suffer a "disproportionate effect", he says.

Mr Rapson also argues that voters do not like disunity and long after the issues of fees will have been forgotten, the impression of a split party remains.

"There are colleagues with larger majorities who have to realise that in the south the seats are more vulnerable," says Mr Rapson, who is standing down at the next general election.

Damage

"I've spoken to MPs in the south who are worried about this - and some who believe that the damage is already done - and MPs who divide the party should realise these risks.

"If you have a majority of 15,000 you can withstand a little voter disaffection - and you can be brave and look popular by being a rebel," he said.

"But if Labour is to stay in power it needs to retain sits in the south and south west," he says.

Mr Rapson says that the Labour party needs to re-gain its discipline and once a policy has been agreed, that MPs should show a united face in public.

Backing Mr Rapson's argument that Labour should not forget its seats in the south is the way that his own seat, Portsmouth North, has been a key indicator for who will win the general election.

In the last three decades, when Labour has won Portsmouth North, the party won the general election - and when it has lost in the constituency, it has lost nationally.