Corbyn’s future under threat in stormy contests

JEREMY Corbyn’s future is ‘in the hands of Storm Doris’, a Labour source warned last night, as voters prepared to go to the polls in two ‘knife-edge’ by-elections.

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn yesterday predicted Labour would cling on in both Stoke- on-Trent and Copeland, Cumbria, where contests have been sparked by resignations of two Labour MPs.

But Defence Secretary Michael Fallon yesterday insisted a historic Tory victory in Copeland is ‘within our grasp’, while Ukip sources said party leader Paul Nuttall was ‘pretty confident’ about his chances of seizing Stoke from Labour, despite controversy over his involvement in the Hillsborough disaster.

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said; ‘We believe we will win in both Copeland and Stoke but there is no doubt they are both tightly fought – it’s on a knife-edge.’

Both constituencies are set to be battered by severe gales and driving rain today as Storm Doris sweeps in from the Atlantic – raising fears that turnout could be low.

A Labour MP said: ‘It’s always hard getting our people out when the weather’s bad, and it looks like it’s going to be shocking. There isn’t much enthusiasm on the doorstep. We’re in the hands of Storm Doris.’

A Ukip source said: ‘Weather could play a massive part in the result. We are putting in the biggest operation to get out the vote we have ever mounted. If we get 90 per cent of our firm pledges out then we will win.’

Both seats have been held by Labour for decades, and anything other than comfortable wins for Labour will be seen as a blow for Mr Corbyn, who is under pressure following dire ratings in the polls.

In Copeland, Labour has been criticised for stoking fears over the downgrading of a maternity unit, pumping out leaflets claiming babies will die if the reforms go ahead.

Tory MP Will Quince, whose son was stillborn, yesterday said the ‘disgusting’ leaflets had made him ‘angry and sad in equal measure’.

While in Stoke, Labour candidate Gareth Snell was forced to apologise for making disparaging remarks about women on social media.

But both rows were dwarfed by controversy about Mr Nuttall, who was forced to apologise for an online statement claiming he had lost close friends in the Hillsborough disaster.

‘It’s on a knife-edge’