Share

Corbyn faces ‘bully’ accusations from Labour MP

The meeting, which starts at 7.30pm and is organised by Island members of national Momentum, the grassroots network that supports Jeremy Corbyn as Party leader, is the first step in launching a local campaign to help Mr Corbyn see off a challenge by Owen Smith MP, a former lobbyist and an advisor to Tony Blair.

Advertisement

He suggested that Mr Corbyn considered calling his father, Pat McGinn, because he is a Sinn Fein councillor and thought they may “share a political affinity”.

It began when Mr McGinn, who was made a whip when Mr Corbyn was elected leader last September, gave an interview to The House magazine in May.

But Mr Smith has the nominations of 162 of the party’s MPs – some 70% of its representation in the Commons – along with half of Labour’s MEPs.

“But the problem is, under his leadership, there has been a culture of bullying, I fear”.

“It is very unfortunate and another example of why really we need a new leadership rather than Jeremy Corbyn”, she said.

“I don’t just think this has been bad for the Labour Party”.

Before applications closed, Mr Smith told Sky News he had offered to make Jeremy Corbyn the party’s president or chairman in an attempt to get him to step down. I know they will have got involved for the same reasons I did, because they want to tackle inequality and be part of building a fairer Britain and world.

McGinn, who used to live in Corbyn’s constituency, said in the interview: “I love London, and it’s a fantastic city, and Islington is a great place, but it’s not like the rest of the country”. “I think there will probably be an election before 2020 because of the European Union referendum and I think we need someone who can bring the whole of the Labour movement together and go to the public as a potential Prime Minister. Isn’t that good for democracy?”

A spokesperson for the Labour leader said McGinn’s allegation was “untrue”.

McGinn said that after he returned to the United Kingdom he was told by fellow whips that Corbyn, when deliberating on how to respond to the interview, had suggested calling the MP’s father “to discuss it with him and ask him to speak to me about it”.

“The Leader of the Labour Party was proposing to address an issue with one of his own MPs by ringing his Dad”.

Pontypridd MP Mr Smith also said that voters in Labour heartlands had lost faith and hope in Labour because of Mr Corbyn’s leadership and failure to speak powerfully for the party at Westminster.

Meanwhile he blamed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s fall in support at the assembly election.

In a statement on his Facebook page, former Labour leader Ed Miliband urged party members to support Smith.

Corbyn was swept to power in the leadership election in September 2015, helped by a boost in supporters who were able to vote for US$4.

Advertisement

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Kenwright said: “We have given Ms Eagle advice about her surgeries, at her request, but the decision to cancel surgeries is not a police matter and would lie entirely with them”.

Peter Macdiarmid  LNP    
     HOLDING ON Jeremy Corbyn arrives to launch his Labour leadership campaign in London