And the Saving Labour movement, which is backing Mr Smith’s campaign, claimed the new supporters who signed up this week would be split between the rival candidates rather than being staunchly pro-Corbyn.
Advertisement
Labour Party members and supporters will vote on Corbyn and Smith by postal ballot over the summer and the result will be announced on September 24.
Labour now has more than 500,000 full members and the 183,541 people who became registered supporters over just two days this week is nearly more than both the Tory and Lib Dem membership combined.
A trade union is considering legal action over the decision by the party’s ruling National Executive Committee barring an estimated 130,000 new members who joined after January 12 from voting.
However, many people were left out as they could not pay the registration fee.
Mrs May said: “Labour may be about to have several months of fighting and tearing itself apart”.
He said he was also “someone who believes we’ve got to think about what it is we want to hold in common as well as what we can devolve”.
In his campaign launch Corbyn promised to tackle the “five ills of 21st century Britain”: inequality, neglect, prejudice, insecurity and discrimination.
There were signs that Corbyn’s campaign may seek to target Mr Smith’s past as a lobbyist for United States drug company Pfizer, when he was quoted as speaking out in favour of choice in healthcare. “Our members won’t be fooled by a TV-savvy turncoat who lobbied big pharma and Tony Blair”.
“It’s the job, it’s the duty it’s the responsibility of every Labour MP to get behind the party at that point and put it there against the Tories …”
“I don’t think that is what Jeremy is about fundamentally”, he said.
But as he appealed for loyalty Corbyn gave a detailed run-down of revised Westminster constituencies in 2018 and said every Labour MP will face a reselection process.
“I say to Labour MPs quite simply this: I’ve been in parliament a very long time, I’ve seen lots of leaders, I’ve seen them come and I’ve seen them go”, he said.
Because of the rise of Corbyn supporters among the membership, they face the threat of being replaced with more Left-wing Labour candidates. I’m very surprised and actually very disappointed they should say that.
The claim came after hundreds of Corbyn supporters attended a rally in Liverpool to support their embattled leader.
Eagle triggered the contest last week by challenging Corbyn, but said she had since received fewer nominations from Labour politicians than Smith.
In his formal leadership speech, Corbyn took inspiration from social reformer William Beveridge and argued the Labour Party must confront “five evils” plaguing society.
“The leader of the Labour Party was proposing to address an issue with one of his own MPs by ringing his dad”.
Advertisement
But Reynolds told Christian Today he thought Corbyn did not really want to become Prime Minister. Although the call was never made, McGinn said the suggestion was “shocking and embarrassing, and nearly unbelievable”.
