Hattersley calls for campaign to remove Corbyn
Labour MPs must mount a “guerrilla campaign” to oust Jeremy Corbyn and reclaim the party, former deputy leader Roy Hattersley has said. On the eve of local elections he said moderate MPs must not allow the Left wing to put voters off and banish the party to opposition for decades.
LABOUR MPs must mount a “guerrilla campaign” to oust Jeremy Corbyn and reclaim the party, former deputy leader Roy Hattersley has said.
Writing on the eve of the local elections, the Labour heavyweight warned moderate MPs must not allow the Left wing of the party to put voters off and banish the party to opposition for decades.
It came as voters across the country cast their ballot in the local elections, which Jeremy Corbyn’s senior aides have said will act as a “yardstick” for the general election in June.
Polling experts have warned Labour could be on course to lose more than a hundred seats.
Despite the dire predictions the leader gave himself the nickname “Monsieur Zen” yesterday as he called on swing voters to get behind Labour rather than think tactically.
Mr Corbyn claimed he “never gets angry” but feels “slightly irritated” by suggestions that the Liberal Democrats are the alternative opposition, given their record in government.
But writing in the New York Times Mr Hattersley said the election is “an ideal opportunity” to set out an alternative vision for the party by encouraging moderate MPs to wrestle control away from Mr Corbyn.
He said: “The only solution on offer to mainstream Labour voters is a counter-revolution, a long guerrilla campaign in which men and women of a moderate disposition reclaim the party.
“Members of the real Labour Party have to be inspired by the visible mani- festation of a fightback. And the inspiration can come only from potential post-Corbyn leaders setting out the programme for better government and demonstrating that the real Labour Party, though recently submerged, is beginning to surface.
“This general election offers them an ideal opportunity ... Labour seats in Parliament will be saved only by demonstrating that the party stands for more than simplistic slogans and noisy protests.”
Mr Hattersley added: “Those who speak out will be branded as traitors. But the real treachery is committed by those men and women who, because of hubris or bigotry, willingly sacrifice Labour’s chance of governing ever again.”
Labour candidates have said Mr Corbyn is getting in the way of their campaigning, with one warning he is “radioactive” on the doorstep.
One said the leader’s record puts voters off but said there is unlikely to be a plot to get rid of him until after the general election. It came as David Miliband described himself as an “ex-politician,” casting doubt on claims that he could return to the House of Commons.
He said: “It’s better not to press the rewind button and think backwards.”
His remarks will be a disappointment to some Labour MPs who want Mr Miliband to return as Labour leader.
‘Labour seats will be saved only by demonstrating that the party stands for more than simplistic slogans’