Labour civil war deepens in storm over Brexit voters
LABOUR’S civil war was raging last night as leadership contender Emily Thornberry furiously denied accusations that she branded northern Brexit voters “stupid”.
The shadow foreign secretary, a likely challenger to replace Jeremy Corbyn following his election disaster, said Caroline Flint’s claim that she had told an MP from a Leave-voting area, “I am glad my constituents aren’t as stupid as yours” was “a complete lie”.
She is starting legal action against former colleague Ms Flint.
The bitter war of words came after Ms Flint, 58, said anti-Brexit frontbenchers like Sir Keir Starmer, Hilary Benn, Yvette Cooper and Ms Thornberry were responsible for sacrificing dozens of Labour seats in the election.
The former MP represented the Leave-backing Don Valley from 1997 until she was booted out by Tory candidate Nick Fletcher at last week’s election.
Ms Flint repeated her remarks yesterday, telling Piers Morgan on ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I stand by my comments but I don’t want to comment further because there may be legal proceedings. But I said what I said.”
Later Mrs Thornberry, 59, hit back, telling reporters she had asked Ms Flint to “please withdraw… And she hasn’t. So I’ve had to go to solicitors.
“People can slag me off. As long as it’s true, I can take it on the chin.
“But they can’t make up **** about me.”
The bitter spat came as senior figures raged that Jeremy Corbyn was “in denial” when he argued that his leadership and hard-Left platform was not to blame for Labour’s worst performance at the ballot box since the 1930s.
He insisted media attacks and Brexit were responsible for the 80-strong Tory majority.
In a brutal verdict on her former colleagues Ms Flint warned that the next leader must not be “Corbyn without a beard”.
The Labour leader has already been accused of trying to “stitch up” the selection of his replacement by limiting the group which will set out the process to a “cabal” of his supporters. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said officers of the party’s National Executive Committee – a sub-group of senior members of Labour’s ruling body – will meet to decide the timetable for electing the new leader.
Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey, 40, was last night emerging as the anointed leadership candidate of Mr Corbyn’s allies on the Labour left.
The Daily Express understands
that 39-year-old Angela Rayner – another Labour MP tipped to run for leader – could step aside and stand as Ms Long-Bailey’s deputy if she is elected.
As the leadership race intensified Labour modernisers last night rallied behind Jeremy Corbyn critic Lisa Nandy.
Ms Flint said she believed the 40-year-old Wigan MP was someone to “watch out for”.
She told Good Morning Britain: “We need somebody who can lead
our party in the right direction. We’ve had too much of the cult of the personality.
“I do think it should be someone north of the Watford Gap, who understands where Remain voters were coming from, but importantly Leave voters.”
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock called for a “clean break from the disaster of the last four years” and recommended Ms Nandy and Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips, 38.
He blamed Mr Corbyn’s “weak and incompetent” leadership for the defeat, adding: “Also the utter failure to apologise for anti-Semitism was deeply damaging.”
Heartlands
He said the first step for the party was to reconnect with the working class in their traditional heartlands, adding: “They’ve lent their votes to the Tories.
“We can win those votes back, but only if we can answer the questions they are posing.”
Others said to be prepared to run include Dawn Butler, David Lammy and Sir Keir Starmer.
Labour’s general secretary Jennie Formby has reportedly written to the party’s ruling National Executive Committee recommending the contest starts on January 7, with the view of having a new leader by the end of March.