“I have an ability to conveniently forget some of the unpleasant things that are said because it’s not worth it”, Corbyn said at the launch.
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Jeremy Corbyn appealed to Labour members of Parliament to unite behind him if he’s re-elected leader of Britain’s main opposition party.
He was speaking as it was claimed that Mr Corbyn had threatened to telephone the father of Labour MP Conor McGinn in order to put pressure on him, after Mr McGinn criticised the veteran socialist’s helmsmanship of the party.
“So there will be a full and open selection process for every constituency Labour Party through the whole of the United Kingdom”.
Labour lawmaker Angela Eagle announced on Tuesday that she was dropping out of the race against Jeremy Corbyn for leadership of Britain’s main opposition party.
The 46-year-old Smith, who previous worked as a BBC producer and a lobbyist for pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer, has paid tribute to Corbyn for “helping Labour discover its radical roots” but said the party needed a new generation to take it forward.
The former shadow business secretary has faced unrest among activists in the Wallasey Constituency Labour Party since she indicated that she could challenge Mr Corbyn.
Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of allowing a “culture of bullying” to take hold within Labour by his leadership rival.
One former shadow Cabinet member said: “There will be a process of attrition”.
Jeremy Corbyn has been forced to deny that he planned to “apply pressure” on Labour whip Conor McGinn through his father.
The need for labour movement unity, including Labour MPs, has never been more pressing.
“We’ve got to stop looking at ourselves inside the M25 belt and as a party and realise that to be back in government we have to actually reflect what our voters want”.
She said: “I think it’s also in the aftermath of what happened to Jo Cox”.
“There is a huge amount of talent on the Labour benches”.
However Owen Smith, who is challenging the Islington North MP for party leadership, said he believed Mr McGinn’s claims.
But in an indication of the scale of division within the Labour ranks, a total of 162 of the party’s MPs – some 70% of its representation in the Commons – nominated Mr Smith for the leadership, along with half of Labour’s MEPs.
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Former shadow cabinet ministers Angela Eagle and Owen Smith have reached a “common understanding” about the best way to take on Mr Corbyn, who won a landslide victory a year ago.
