An ex-communist is now at the centre of Labour's general election campaign

A former member of the Communist Party of Britain has been appointed to a key post in Labour's general election campaign team, it emerged on Monday 15 May.

Unite fixer and Len McCluskey ally Andrew Murray, who quit the communists for Labour in late 2016, is apparently "heading up" Jeremy Corbyn's campaign team.

"Murray's appointment surprised some Labour HQ staff, but allies of Corbyn insist that he has been brought in as 'a grown up' who has long experience of managing Britain's biggest union," the HuffPost UK reported.

Murray, an ex-Morning Star journalist, is the former chair of the Stop the War Coalition and has opposed Western military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.

As chief-of-staff for Unite, the UK's largest trade union, Murray has also been a member of the Trades Union Congress' general council.

"This is total madness, what have we become," said Richard Angel, the director of Labour's Progress group. The development comes to light just over three weeks before the general election on 8 June.

Labour have enjoyed a bounce in the opinion polls after a draft copy of the party's manifesto was leaked. The policies included re-nationalising Britain's railways, the Royal Mail and energy firms.

The latest ComRes poll, of more than 2,000 people between 10 and 12 May, put the Conservatives on 48% (-2), Labour on 30% (+5), the Liberal Democrats on 10% (-2) and Ukip on 5% (-2).