In the Jewish Chronicle’s poll of a “representative sample of more than 1,000 British Jews” conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by the Survation firm, two-thirds of respondents said Corbyn – who became party leader last summer – is doing a bad job of addressing anti-Semitism in his party.
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A Labour councillor in Manchester has directly attributed his party’s local slump to the antisemitism scandal that saw Ken Livingstone suspended.
In what is being billed as the toughest day of his career, the Labour leader is crossing his fingers for a positive result as polling stations close later tonight. Opposition parties tend to do well soon after general elections.
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon claimed a “historic” win Friday in elections to the Scottish parliament.
Labour dominated in Wales, but was rocked by the loss of its Rhondda “safe” seat to Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood.
Labour’s victor in the parliamentary by-election in Sheffield Brightside was Gill Furniss, widow of Harry Harpham, whose death from cancer after just eight months as an MP triggered the poll in David Blunkett’s former seat. The article accused Khan and the leaders of the Labour Party of having, “whether intentionally or not, repeatedly legitimized those with extremist views”.
Nevertheless, SNP chief and First Minister Sturgeon, speaking before the final results were announced, said the party had “made history”.
Initial results in local elections were expected to emerge early today, while the outcome of the vote for a new mayor of London to replace Conservative Boris Johnson was expected later.
In his victory speech, Khan, who defeated Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith, said he never imagined that someone like him – the son of an immigrant who had grown up on a council estate – could be elected mayor.
“We should have been winning by a landslide across the country with the way this Tory government’s been acting and the way they’ve dealt with the country”, Labour MP John Mann told the BBC.
He said: “The Labour Party have lost touch with the hard-working people they are supposed to represent”.
“That’s failed abysmally and I think those MPs have got to start putting aside all their hatred of Jeremy”.
Labour’s Carwyn Jones looked set to remain First Minister in Wales, but may have to seek a coalition partner as the party struggled to maintain its overall majority in the Welsh Assembly.
Corbyn acknowledged that the party had “a lot of building to do” in Scotland, but was pleased with results in England.
With results from 80 councils in, Labour had 41, down one, and 780 seats, down 26.
Veteran backbencher Winnick called on Corbyn to consider his position in order to give the party a chance of regaining power at the general election.
“It’s going to take time for Jeremy to set out his stall”, Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, told BBC Television.
Voters do not see Labour under Jeremy Corbyn as a “credible party of future government”, a member of the shadow cabinet has admitted.
Cameron will also be hoping for a good result as he grapples with deep splits in his party ahead of the June 23 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union.
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“Our party is standing up, standing up for the steel industry, standing up against the cuts in disability payments made by this government, standing up against the grotesque levels of inequality in Britain”, he said.
