LABOUR activists have attacked the "shoehorning" of the sons and daughters of high-profile party figures into safe seats.
A Labour councillor said it was wrong that it appeared having the right parent could ease the passage to Westminster within Labour. He suggested that some of the so-called 'Red Princes' had the right celebrity and connections to get jobs for life.
A number of the offspring of senior Labour figures are hoping to become MPs in May, including Will Straw and Stephen Kinnock. Tony Blair's son Euan has been at the centre of speculation he will try to stand next year.
The surnames have drawn accusations that it is harder for ordinary people without connections to do well in the Labour Party. There have also been fears that the party itself could be damaged by charges of nepotism.
But some have defended the group, saying that they should be on their own merit, not of who their mother or father is.
Fabian Breckels, a Labour councillor from Bristol, called on the Red Princes to go into a different profession first before they try to enter parliament.
He told a fringe event at the Labour Party conference organised by the website Labour list: "We need to tackle the issue of 'Red Princes' in the Labour Party.
"The children of various MPs, Euan Blair and others, getting shoehorned into safe Labour seats because of who their parents are."
He also called for "real life experience shortlists" alongside all-women lists to increase MPs from more humble backgrounds.
Mr Breckels later said politics was about helping people, ''not about an entitlement to just go and be an MP because Dad was too".
He added: "I don't think politics is about that. It is about helping people and helping people's lives."
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