Corbyn pledges to carry on after Copeland humiliation
Labour leader tells Scots party faithful he is partly to blame for seat’s loss
JEREMY CORBYN has vowed to carry on as Labour leader despite his party’s worst by-election defeat in decades, saying it would be wrong to “run away or give up”.
Mr Corbyn was making his first admission of responsibility over the Tories’ victory in Copeland, West Cumbria, on Friday – the first gain in a by-election by a governing party since 1982.
In a speech on the final day of the Scottish party’s conference in Perth, Mr Corbyn also said he accepted a share of the responsibility for result.
He told delegates: “Let us never forget it’s not called the struggle for nothing. The result in Copeland was deeply disappointing, and of course I take my share of responsibility for it.
“We haven’t done enough yet to rebuild trust with people who have been ripped off and sold out for decades and don’t feel Labour represents them.
“But now is not the time to retreat, to run away or to give up. Did Keir Hardie give up the fight? Did Clement Attlee? Did the miners, who fought for better pay and working conditions from the first days of the mining industry?
“No. They fought back and won time and time again to make their lives and all the rest of us who came after them better. That’s what we all have to do now and that’s what I will be doing.”
He claimed the Labour win over Ukip in the Stoke-on-Trent by-election had also been “historic”.
But he stressed Labour had to “remain united” if it was to win power and correct a “rigged economy” that left huge numbers of people in poverty and reliant on foodbanks.
Mr Corbyn also attacked the SNP record in government, accusing the party of failing on education, the NHS, social care, local government and the railways.
He singled out poverty and poor housing in First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s Glasgow constituency.
He also said there was “no appetite” in Scotland for a second independence referendum, despite the SNP trying to use Brexit as “leverage” to engineer one.
He said: “To the SNP I say this: listen to the people and respect democracy. The Scottish people are telling you to get on with your job and start fixing the mess you have made. The SNP pretend independence will magically transform people’s lives. The collapse of oil prices show how much of a folly that was and what a danger to Scotland’s prosperity independence would have been.”
But Mr Corbyn mispronounced the surname of the late Labour MP Tam Dalyell three times, called the Scottish flag the “salter”, and stumbled after referring to “our SNPs” instead of MSPs.
Earlier, Labour deputy Tom Watson challenged Unite boss Len McCluskey, who backed Mr Corbyn for leader, to support him now. Speaking on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, he said: “If I’ve got some frustrations, it’s that those people that are Jeremy’s cheerleaders… should be sticking with their leader in the bad times, not just the good. Where’s Len McCluskey defending his leader in this difficult time? It shouldn’t be just down to me.”
Gerard Coyne, who is challenging Len McCluskey for the Unite leadership, added: “The silence of Len McCluskey is truly damning. He has driven Labour to the cliff then disappeared in a puff of smoke as it tumbles over the edge.”
Mr Corbyn later told Sky News: “Len McCluskey is going through a general secretary election at the present time and presumably is engaged in doing that.”
SNP depute leader Angus Robertson said: “There is a clear democratic mandate from the people of Scotland not to be dragged out of the EU. To deny that mandate is to deny reality.”
Former Copeland MP Jamie Reed said shadow attorney general, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti was “the epitome of what Labour voters just rejected” after she blamed party disunity, the bad weather and media for the defeat.
‘‘ He (Len McCluskey) has driven Labour to the cliff then disappeared in a puff of smoke as it tumbles over the edge