Labour leadership challenger Owen Smith in his own Q&A with PinkNews readers questioned why party leader Jeremy Corbyn accepted up to £20,000 for media appearances on Iran’s state-owned Press TV.
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He also expressed his support for all-women shortlists to boost the number of women in senior public sector roles and promised to recruit more women to the Labour party if he wins the upcoming leadership election.
Labour is now in the middle of a leadership contest, with Owen Smith challenging Mr Corbyn’s position.
“Whatever the result of the leadership election on 24 September, it is clear that the PLP must take steps to come together”, he said.
Appointments have been the leader’s responsibility since 2011 when the elections system was scrapped.
In the Survation poll of around 1,000 people, Mrs May’s plus-34 rating made her comfortably the most popular leader, while Mr Corbyn’s negative rating of minus-31 made him the least favoured of all the politicians listed.
UB40 guitarist Robin Campbell said: “We support Jeremy Corbyn because he is the only one willing to speak up for working people, who have been badly treated by successive governments, including new labour, in recent decades”.
Mr. Corbyn also pledged to introduce a Labour women’s conference, which would have powers to draw up party policy, and a women’s advisory board.
“Attempting to justify his conduct, the Labour leader says his fee for just four appearances “wasn’t an enormous amount, actually”, while claiming his objective was to “address the issues of human rights”.
A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn has suggested any debate about changing the rules should consider whether MPs, conference or the party membership decides.
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Mr Corbyn’s leadership came under intense pressure when the bulk of his shadow cabinet – including Mr Smith – resigned or were sacked in the wake of the European Union referendum in June.
