With Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn under pressure to resign from his own MPs, The Gazette contacted Labour’s leaders in Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland councils to find out their views on Labour’s leadership crisis – not one replied.
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She added: “It is incumbent on us to have some cool heads and to think through what is the best for the country – and what is the best for the country means a united opposition that can speak clearly”.
Mr Corbyn’s team said it had a “duty of care” to the leader and highlighted his age, according to the Observer.
“However, it has become apparent that the current leadership offered by Jeremy Corbyn is failing to command the confidence of the Parliamentary Labour Party and most importantly voters at large”.
Amid calls for Mr Corbyn to resign to help Labour recover, Lord Hain said: “We can get out of it. if we had credible leadership”.
Former shadow business secretary Angela Eagle is expected to mount a challenge to Corbyn early next week, with ex-shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith also reported to be considering a bid.
Every Labour MP had a responsibility to be a collective strong United Kingdom opposition offering leadership and direction, regardless of their views of Corbyn, he said.
With 60,000 people joining the party in the past seven days, supporters of Corbyn accused the MPs who resigned, including Hull MPs Karl Turner and Diana Johnson, of losing touch with members across the country after the Westminster politicians claimed the leader was “unelectable”.
Mr McCluskey said “sinister forces”, including a PR company with links to Mr Blair, had “seduced” the MPs on the left of the party.
The survey of 1,203 Labour members, carried out between Monday and Thursday, found 50% of Labour members would vote for Mr Corbyn but 47% would not – down from the 64%-33% lead in May.
Footage from the rally Mr Corbyn attended appears to show aides trying to hold him back after a journalist shouts questions at him about his future as leader and tells him it looks like he is running away from the media.
“But you can do so via a general election.but only, and I just come back to this because I feel it so passionately…you only exercise your choice in a general election if there’s a credible alternative to vote for”.
But a poll today shows 54% of full members want him to quit before the general election – up from 35% after May’s local elections.
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And he rubbished reports about his behind the scenes, mocking “the stories that went around a few weeks ago that I was building a plot to oust Jeremy and replace him and this week the story is I am forcing him to stay”. I can understand the element of hysteria there was after the Brexit result.
