Corbyn not fit to tie his own shoelaces, says Alan Johnson

LABOUR is heading for ‘disaster’ under Jeremy Corbyn because he is unfit to even tie up his own shoelaces, party grandee Alan Johnson said yesterday.

The former home secretary said Mr Corbyn was ‘never going to be a leader’ and that ‘practically anyone’ could do his job better.

He said: ‘The simple problem we’ve got is that Jeremy Corbyn is not a leader. He’s never going to be a leader, never wanted to be a leader, is totally uncomfortable in the role as leader.’

Mr Johnson’s brutal attack comes after a string of election disappointments for Labour, including coming fourth in last week’s Brecon and Radnorshire by-election. Mr Corbyn’s many critics have blamed the poor showing on the party’s ambiguous position on Brexit, which has allowed the Liberal Democrats to hoover up the Remain vote.

The Labour leader also faces continuing dissatisfaction with his failure to get to grips with the anti-Semitism scandal in his party.

Last week Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, said he did not want to return to Labour because it was in danger of being destroyed as a ‘serious political force’. Asked whether he agreed with this assessment, Mr Johnson told The Observer: ‘Yeah, we’re heading for disaster and everybody knows that.’ And when he was asked who would do a better job than Mr Corbyn, Mr Johnson said: ‘Practically anyone, actually.

‘Because Jeremy is not just pious and sanctimonious, he’s useless at leading, which is why he has people around him to do his shoelaces up, pull his strings. And we’ve got such good women in particular on our benches... There’s a whole list of them that would do a much better job.’

The former home secretary, who served in Gordon Brown’s administration, added that he was glad to be out of politics now, because of the way supporters of Mr Blair, like him, were being treated.

‘In today’s Labour Party there’s no one that attracts more visceral hatred than min

‘Blairite is used as a term of abuse’

isters who served under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown,’ he said. ‘They hate us more than they hate the Tories. “Blairite” is a term of abuse more than any swear word. And he was the most successful leader we’ve ever had, who won three elections, but there you go.’

Mr Johnson revealed he is currently reading a biography of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, adding ‘just so I understand the Labour party better’.

He also had few kind words to say about Boris Johnson and his stance on ensuring Brexit happens on October 31 – ‘do or die’. He said: ‘If he [the Prime Minister] genuinely does intend to crash out – if it’s not a one-in-a-million chance of crashing out without a deal – then he’s finished. And he’ll go down as the worst prime minister since Theresa May, and she’s the worst prime minister since David Cameron and he’s the worst prime minister since Lord North.

‘So he’ll carry on that progression.’