Corbyn survives leadership challenge

UK OPPOSITION’S CHANCES OF RETURNING TO POWER ANY TIME SOON GREATLY WEAKENED

Jeremy Corbyn was reelected leader of the bitterly divided Labour Party yesterday, just a year after his dark-horse ascension rocked Britain’s political world.

Corbyn, who has been described as “Britain’s Bernie Sanders,” proved once again he is overwhelmingly popular with the party’s grass roots, seeing off his challenger Owen Smith by winning 61.8 per cent of the vote.

“Let us work together for real change in Britain,” the 67-year-old socialist said after the results were announced at the start of the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool.

Corbyn also pleaded for unity in his party, which is engaged in a spectacularly messy internal fight.

“Elections are passionate, and often partisan, affairs, and things are sometimes said in the heat of the debate, on all sides, which we sometimes later come to regret,” he said. “Let’s wipe that slate clean from today.”

The result was widely expected despite a bruising contest that has cast a spotlight on the deep divisions within a party that has been shut out of power since 2010.

Elections are passionate and often partisan affairs and some things are often said in the heat of the debate that we later come to regret. We have much more in common than that which divides us. As far as I’m concerned, let’s wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we’ve got to do as a party together.” Jeremy Corbyn | Labour party leader

61.8% of the vote that Corbyn received, up from the 59.5% he got when he was first elected in 2015 550,000 opposition Labour party membership, up from just 200,000 18 months ago

Left-winger Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected British Labour leader yesterday, seeing off a challenge from his MPs but leaving the opposition party deeply divided, with its very future in question.

Supporters in Liverpool, north-west England, cheered the 67-year-old as results confirmed that he had defeated rival MP Owen Smith with 61.8 per cent of the vote among party members and supporters.

Corbyn, first elected this time last year, increased his share of the vote from then, when he received 59.5 per cent after putting an anti-austerity, anti-nuclear agenda at the forefront of British politics for the first time in a generation.

“Elections are passionate and often partisan affairs and some things are often said in the heat of the debate that we later come to regret,” he said after the result was announced.

“We have much more in common than that which divides us. As far as I’m concerned, let’s wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we’ve got to do as a party together.”

The result is a major blow to Labour MPs who launched a vote of no confidence against Corbyn after June’s Brexit vote, arguing that he failed to campaign hard enough to keep Britain in the European Union.

They complain that his leftwing views can never win power, and bitter rows, marked by allegations of intimidation and bullying by Corbyn supporters, have sparked fears of a split in the century-old party.

‘Hard Brexit’ fears

There are also concerns that without a strong Labour opposition, Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives may be heading for a “hard Brexit” that would take Britain not only out of the EU but also out of the European single market.

Corbyn claims his leadership has energised many people who felt left behind by mainstream politics, drawing comparisons with other anti-establishment movements across Europe. Labour’s membership now stands at more than 550,000, up from just 200,000 18 months ago.

But with the Tories up to 14 points ahead in some polls, and the Labour leader’s personal approval ratings at rock bottom, analysts warn the party will not be entering Downing Street any time soon.

“Labour is not going to win any elections in the near future,” said Anand Menon, professor of European politics at Kings College London.

The question now is how Labour MPs respond, with some calling for the party to unite.

Labour’s home affairs spokesman Andy Burnham told BBC radio shortly before the result that, while the “war of attrition” must stop, Corbyn must also build more support among the public, not just Labour activists.

“No one gets the right to take Labour down to a devastating [election] defeat,” he added.

He added that suggestions that Corbyn’s supporters are planning to push for the deselection of MPs critical of his leadership must stop.

Reports suggest more than a dozen MPs may be ready to return to Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

However, more than 40 resigned from the front bench in the rebellion earlier this year and many prominent figures are thought unlikely to return.

Fragile equilibrium

Corbyn’s victory “really puts the parliamentary Labour party in a very difficult position”, added Patrick Dunleavy of the London School of Economics.

He predicted a “fragile equilibrium” would now develop between the MPs and the leadership, adding: “A lot depends on how Corbyn behaves.”

The first test will come later on Saturday, when Labour’s National Executive Committee meets to discuss plans to give Labour MPs a greater say in choosing Corbyn’s front bench team in parliament.

However, Corbyn wants to involve party members in shaping his top team, a move which would benefit him. ■