Tony Blair has won the latest phase in his battle to purge New Labour of the remnants of its past.

BBC correspondent Guto Harri reports

In a heated meeting of the party's ruling national executive committee, he easily saw off a left-wing challenge to his plans to reform radically the way parliamentary candidates are selected.

The move, passed by 14 votes to two, will effectively give the party leadership the final say in who should and, more importantly who should not, be allowed to stand on a Labour ticket.

Under the new system, any would-be MPs will have to win their way on to a central list of candidates approved by a panel of the NEC.

They will be expected to demonstrate their willingness to toe the party line and not cause trouble if elected to parliament.

Voting records

In a separate move, the voting record of sitting MPs who have to be reselected annually will be circulated to their constituency parties by the chief whip.

Skinner: led attacks on rule changes

The overhaul of the complex, existing system has brought howls of protest from left-wingers who fear it will be used to dump rebellious MPs and undermine the authority of local constituencies.

The backlash was led by arch left-winger Dennis Skinner - backed by Ken Livingstone - who launched a "lengthy and passionate" attack on the proposals, claiming they were aimed at stifling all dissent.

He claimed the move was the latest attempt by the party leadership to centralise as much power as possible in their own hands at the expense of ordinary members.

More decentralised

But the prime minister brushed aside their claims, insisting: "We actually operate on a far more decentralised basis than in the past." And he stressed that constituencies and unions would still be able to nominate their own candidates.

"On the issue of a panel, we have to make it meaningful - but that is not to say constituency parties cannot accept people outside the panel," he added.

He also accused the left-wingers of "making a bit of a meal" of the issue of distributing MPs voting records to their constituency parties.

But there is little doubt that the new system will be used to ensure that future candidates will be in the New Labour mould.

Yes men

Graham: suspended from party

Party sources insist sitting MPs like Mr Skinner and Mr Livingstone will have nothing to fear and only those facing disciplinary action like Mohammed Sarwar, MP for Glasgow Govan, and Tommy Graham, MP for Renfrewshire West - who have both been suspended from the party - could be affected.

They said the changes would also prevent future cases like that of Liz Davies which severely embarrassed the leadership in the last parliament when the NEC overturned her selection by Leeds North East constituency because of her alleged attacks on party policy.

She immediately hit back at the NEC decision, declaring: "Under these proposals every Labour MP who is selected will owe their job to the patronage of the Prime Minister.

Davies: candidacy overruled

"That puts the job of an MP in a wholly different position. They will no longer be there representing their constituents, asking awkward questions. They will be there being the Prime Minister's yes-men and yes-women."

Austin Mitchell, Labour MP for Great Grimsby, also criticised the proposals: "There has to be a public ferment of ideas or it's dead. We're not a party which can naturally be led from the top down. Discussion and debate makes for better policy. Unquestioned obedience to a policy handed down from on high is always a dangerous symptom," he said.