Now Labour’s bigwigs turn on each other after wipeout
Labour was in meltdown last night as the party tore itself apart over its brexit policy after its European electoral humiliation. Jeremy Corbyn’s party endured a night of disaster at the polls – losing hundreds of thousands of votes in the Leave- supporting north and the remain-backing south.
They lost major northern strongholds such as Leeds, Sheffield and bolsover – and were pushed into second place to the brexit Party even in the North East.
In remain-backing London, they ended up second behind the Liberal Democrats and lost Mr Corbyn’s stronghold of Islington.
The results sparked open warfare at the top of the party, with critics saying Labour did so poorly because it tried to appeal to both sides of the brexit debate – while pleasing neither.
Labour lost control of its stronghold of Wales, coming third in its worst ever result there. and in Scotland, a resurgent SNP pushed the party into fifth place, sparking warnings that Labour will ‘never recover’ north of the border.
Labour ended up third on the night with just 14 per cent of the vote, behind the Liberal Democrats on 20 per cent. only ten Labour MEPs were returned, compared to the Lib Dems’ 16.
brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said Labour’s election results were in many ways worse than the Conservatives’ because the party was being squeezed from both sides.
He said: ‘For the first time in over 100 years, the Labour Party has not won an election in Wales.
‘In fact, they’ve been mightily trounced by the brexit Party – we won Wales quite handsomely by digging deep into the Labour vote.
‘our highest-scoring region – 39 per cent of the vote – was in the North East. and where did the vote come from? It came from the Labour Party. The same happened in Yorkshire.
‘You’ve got these three big areas – South Wales, the Midlands and the North – where the majority of the 5 million Labour voters voted brexit. In some ways, the Labour Party today are in more trouble than the Conservative Party.’
Labour’s poor results led to a debate over a second referendum and whether the party should promise one.
The Scottish and Welsh Labour parties, and two major unions, demanded that Mr Corbyn backed a referendum in all circumstances. unison’s Dave Prentis said: ‘ If Labour is going to win the next election, it needs to understand that ambiguity and division aren’t appealing. The country needs a radical Labour government, with properly-funded public services at its heart – but it won’t get that unless Labour has a clearer line on brexit.’
as the results flooded in on Sunday night, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry and brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer came out in support of a second vote.
and deputy leader Tom Watson said: ‘Following the disastrous Eu election results, Labour urgently needs to rethink its brexit position and realign with members and voters.’
on the other side of the argument stood figures such as Ian Lavery, the party chairman and another close ally of Mr Corbyn.
He tweeted: ‘The country is now more polarised than ever. Very toxic, very unpleasant!
‘UK Labour will never turn our backs on the 48 per cent or the 52 per cent.
‘We will seek the real solutions that will heal society and bring together the 100 per cent.’
The leader of the unite union, Len McCluskey, said Labour’s attempt to ‘unite the nation’ over brexit was ‘an honourable objective that must not be abandoned’. He added: ‘This is the time to hold our nerve because the true prize is the very real possibility of a looming general election.’
In a dig at Mr Watson, he said: ‘Faced now with the serious prospect
‘Mightily trounced by the Brexit Party’
of a No Deal Tory prime minister, Labour must stay united and show the country that it is ready to lead.
‘ There are some rushing to advance other agendas but are doing so to undermine Jeremy Corbyn. They will be seen for what they are and never forgiven by the members.’
Labour MPs also expressed their anger at the European election campaign. Peter Kyle, MP for Hove, said: ‘Party staff did their level best, they are amazing.
‘but their bosses who devised and led this campaign can never again be allowed near a campaign. Never.
‘our messaging was appalling, our promotional material lamentable. I feel the need to apologise to staff, activists and voters.’