As voting closed yesterday, Owen Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary who challenged him for the leadership, said he would not serve on Mr Corbyn’s team, preferring to “loyally serve this party – from the back benches”.
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They said they were “deeply disappointed” over remarks made by Mr Corbyn about party workers during the leadership campaign and said: “We fully expect and hope you will stand against any action targeting unionised workers, both as Leader of the Labour Party and as a proud trade unionist”.
In one of his final interviews before Saturday’s election results come in, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has issued a plea to his supporters to “come together and fight Tories”, as well as given detail to what a second term would look like, should he be re-elected.
The leadership race was triggered when Mr Corbyn lost a no confidence motion among MPs by 172 votes to 40.
“That is only half the story”.
Late on Tuesday night, Smith wrote an open letter to Labour party members and supporters about the contest, which he admitted many had not wanted.
Mr Miliband, who is now based in NY and is head of the International Rescue Committee which deals with the global refugee crisis, added: “There is one other element that is not only undesirable, but disastrous”.
‘But the electorate can see through the domestic policy, too, ‘ he said.
“Nationalisation cannot be the answer to everything; anti-austerity speeches cannot explain everything; corporate taxation cannot pay for everything”.
“It doesn’t add up”.
He warned his critics: “We owe it to the millions of people Labour exists to represent to end the sniping and personal attacks, and work together for all those who depend on the election of a Labour government”.
Mr Miliband also attacked the “disastrous” way in which people are branded “closet Tories” or “Tory Lite” if they agree with the Islington North MP.
Mr Smith had held the Work and Pensions Secretary portfolio but he has no intention of re-entering the shadow cabinet if Mr Corbyn is named the victor on Saturday.
He said Mr Corbyn’s politics did not just make Labour weak in the eyes of the voters but insisted his policies would be actively bad for Britain.
But Corbyn has set himself against proposals from the deputy leader, Tom Watson, to return to the electoral college system that gave MPs and unions more say over the choice of a leader.
“I don’t think that’s a very good way of doing things”, he said, adding: “I think we have to stick with one-member one-vote”.
‘If I am re-elected leader, I will reach out to and work with all Labour MPs to form a broad and effective opposition to this divisive and floundering Tory government’.
The party’s National Executive Committee held an eight-hour meeting on Tuesday where Watson put forward his plan for the shadow cabinet as part of efforts to heal deep rifts between Corbyn and his supporters and the MPs, who tend to be more moderate.
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Mr Corbyn said that regardless of the outcome of the leadership contest, “I will want to work with Owen Smith and all members of our party”.
