Other unions to back Corbyn include the Communication Workers Union, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, Aslef, the FBU, Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association and UCATT.
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“I have been loyal to our leader since his election a year ago, and have seen how he leads up close”.
To boos, Mr Smith said: “I’d start by doing something that Jeremy unfortunately can’t do, I would put together a shadow cabinet of all of the talents of the Labour party. I will do what I have always done is vote Labour”. “That is why Jeremy will be travelling around the United Kingdom to make the case for why when he is prime minister, the next Labour government will rebuild and transform Britain so that no-one and nowhere is left behind”.
“However, a significant minority backed Owen Smith”.
Of the 18,418 who responded, 58.1% backed Mr Corbyn, against 41.9% for Mr Smith. “He said it”, Mr Smith said.
And he claimed that as shadow work and pensions secretary he had just one meeting with Mr Corbyn in nine months, despite the fight on issues like tax credits and eventual Tory U-turns.
Mr Corbyn insisted at a live debate in Gateshead last night that the Labour Party must accept the result of the European Union referendum after Mr Smith accused him of being “10 out of 10” for leaving.
But Mr Corbyn says he was democratically elected by a majority of Labour members and supporters who he will not “betray” by resigning.
He said Labour was at 26% in the polls, its lowest point since 1982, and Mr Corbyn “cannot lead us back to power”.
The party’s manifesto for the last Scottish parliamentary election had “synergy” with the SNP’s but there was a “lack of confidence” to carry that through to a mass vote. Corbyn asks. Smith says he does not need to be a mind reader because Corbyn had opposed the European Union for 30 years. It’s not about the t-shirts we wear and the badges on our lapels.
According to Reuters, a Corbyn-supporting grassroots movement called Momentum, which says it wants to ensure Labour implements socialist policies, has described Watson’s remarks as conspiracy theories.
“I thought we could have made a much bigger argument”, he said.
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“During the referendum you seemed to have undergone a Damascene conversion”, said Mr Smith.
During the referendum you seemed to have undergone a Damascene conversion.
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But Mr Corbyn, who has set up a Brexit monitoring group, said the party should focus on building relationships with other socialist movements to ensure that protections, such as workers’ rights, gained through the European Union are not lost.
