Labour chiefs refuse to back Corbyn

THE most senior woman in Jeremy Corbyn’s team yesterday refused to say he would make a good prime minister.

Angela Eagle ducked the chance to say that either he or John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, deserve holding ‘the highest offices in the land’. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live yesterday, all Labour’s business spokesman would say is: ‘I work with people that the party gives me to work with.

‘We all have our strengths and weaknesses and the point of having a party is that you can bring together the collective wisdom.’

Her open defiance comes amid fears within Labour that it could lose next month’s Oldham West and Royton by-election to Ukip. Private polling shows Labour support in the normally safe seat has halved.

Yesterday a national poll put the Tories 15 points ahead of Labour, with only 17 per cent saying they would feel safe with Mr Corbyn in Downing Street.

The ComRes survey for the Independent on Sunday found that 42 per cent backed David Cameron’s party, compared with only 27 per cent for Mr Corbyn’s – even worse than Labour in 1983 under Michael Foot.

Two months after Ed Miliband became leader, polls were showing Labour ahead of the Tories. Yesterday it emerged that the former leader had joked to a colleague: ‘I bet you didn’t think it could get any worse.’