Labour MP: We are facing a catastrophic election defeat
Corbyn rejects warning despite losing Copeland seat to the Tories
LABOUR is heading for a “historic and catastrophic” defeat at the next General Election, one of the party’s own MPs has warned in the wake of the Copeland by-election.
The Conservatives took the Cumbrian seat from Labour, becoming the first government party to gain a constituency since the Falklands War.
Labour did manage to hold on in Stoke, seen as a key electoral test for Ukip following the vote to leave the EU. The city overwhelmingly backed Brexit last summer.
But in the end, the eurosceptics trailed in a distant second, barely beating the Conservatives, despite standing party leader Paul Nuttall as their candidate.
After the result Mr Nuttall declared he was going nowhere – but suffered embarrassment as aides struggled to find a car to take him home for the night.
One Labour MP, David Winnick, urged Mr Corbyn to consider his position, Westminster code for resign, after the result.
He said that Mr Corbyn was “simply not acceptable” to a large number of people who vote Labour.
Progress, the Blairite “wing” of the Labour Party, called for a rethink from the leadership.
Baroness Smith, the shadow leader of the House of Lords and a former Labour MP, also urged Mr Corbyn to think “long and hard” about what she said was a devastating defeat in Copeland.
There was also pressure from trade union leaders.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said that the blame did not “lie solely” with the Labour leader.
But he added that Mr Corbyn must “take responsibility” for turning things around.
However, many so-called “moderate” Labour MPs refused to call for a change of leader, fearful that the move would merely bolster Mr Corbyn’s supporters.
Speaking on the first day of her party’s conference in Perth, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: “I have every faith in Jeremy Corbyn. He has now won two election contests within the Labour Party.”
She added that the UK leader could “absolutely” take Labour to a General Election victory.
“I am fully behind Jeremy Corbyn in his efforts to renew and build the Labour Party across the whole of the UK, just as I know he supports my efforts in Scotland, where I have a long plan to renew the party’s fortunes here.” But Labour MP John Woodcock said his party was on course for a “historic and catastrophic” defeat at the next General Election under Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
Mr Corbyn himself dismissed questions about his position. Asked if he was considering stepping down, he said “no”. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell hit out at former Labour prime minister Tony Blair, who criticised the party’s stance on Brexit last week.
Prime Minister Theresa May travelled to Copeland to say that the victory showed her government was “working for everyone and every part of the country”.