But a “fact” that Mr Corbyn had taken Labour to being “neck and neck in the polls” was hotly disputed today amid analysis of consistent Conservative leads. Among those also speaking at the event will be fellow MP Diane Abbot, student nurse Danielle Tiplady, and representatives of the Fire Brigades Union, and Communication Workers Union.
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But Mr Miliband said Mr Smith is the best candidate to make the crisis following the European Union referendum “a progressive moment”.
Mr Bradshaw said it was not a hard decision for him to back Smith, “My concern about Jeremy is he is not someone who is going to be able to reunify the party”.
The country’s main opposition party has descended into turmoil, with moderates and leftists exchanging abuse and lawmakers trying to unseat leader Jeremy Corbyn.
As reported by the Guardian, Watson sent the leader’s office a four-page document, based on publicly available information, detailing what he said was evidence that Trotskyists had been attending meetings of grassroots pro-Corbyn Momentum pressure group and seeking to influence the Labour leadership election.
Mr Smith is also backed by shopworkers’ union USDAW, the Community Union and Musicians’ Union.
“We know how this one ends, Jeremy, and it doesn’t end well for the working people of Britain”.
Smith’s team has calculated that by Thursday evening – when Corbyn faces Smith in Gateshead for their second hustings – he will have racked up 3,016 miles on the leadership campaign trail so far.
“It’s very clear that I’m the underdog in this”.
Cllr Crooks revealed he had personally written to Owen Smith, citing the quote “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” from George Orwell’s Animal Farm – a warning of the hypocrisy of governments which proclaim equality of citizens but give power to an elite.
“I always put the unity of our party first, so that’s the way I’ve done my politics”. “Let there be light”, urged Corbyn, who was then forced to wait some moments longer for the lights to come back on.
Mr Corbyn said that was “genuinely disappointing to me” as he had been pleased when Mr Smith became shadow work and pensions secretary a year ago: “I would’ve thought you would want to continue that kind of work”.
“Unless the Labour Party nationally learns the lessons of how we have been so successful here in Exeter, we are never going to be in government again”, Mr Bradshaw said. “I don’t want to be engaged in a protest movement talking to itself”.
That wasn’t the only controversy on a lively night which provided fresh insights into anti-semitism within Labour’s grassroots and Corbyn’s own constituency party.
And he accused the deputy leader of orchestrating the party’s appeal against a High Court ruling that new Labour members should be allowed to vote in the leadership election – an apparent boost to Mr Corbyn.
Claiming that was not true, Mr Smith hit back: “We have to be honest with ourselves, comrades, we lost 18 seats in the council election, Cameron made 300 gains”.
Unison carried out a consultation with those members who had opted into the union’s political fund linked to Labour, rather than a full ballot.
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Half (51%) of those surveyed said Jeremy Corbyn is not performing in his job as leader of the Labour Party.
