“He has lost the confidence of more than 80% of Labour’s MPs in Parliament – and I am afraid we simply can not afford to go on like this”.
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A vote was conducted by secret ballot and the subsequent result of 27 votes for Corbyn to Smith’s nine showed the current Labour leader was the firm favourite of the branch and the Mid Worcestershire CLP will now be nominating him to retain the role.
In August, Owen Smith gained a nominational vote by the Jewish Labour movement, receiving 92% while Corbyn received just 4%.
Mr Corbyn resisted calls from scores of his own MPs to quit his post after the country’s Brexit blow, with his fate now being decided in an upcoming leadership contest. Ballot papers will be sent out starting Monday, with the result due to be announced September 24.
Responding to the boos, Smith criticised the “uncomradely” behaviour and said: “This is what is going wrong with the Labour Party”. “Ken Livingstone made remarks that are wholly unacceptable and wrong”, Corbyn said of Livingstone’s remarks in April in which he asserted that Hitler’s policy that Jews should be moved out of Europe and transferred to Israel instead was “supporting Zionism”. Both men want to repeal the Trade Union Act.
But Mr Smith said he was disappointed that Mr Corbyn only met him once during his nine months as shadow work and pensions secretary.
This is a criticism of Smith, but it would be a criticism of whoever put themselves forward as the challenger.
Unlike Conservative counterpart David Cameron, who resigned as prime minister following the vote, Corbyn has vowed to stay on, blaming his failure to get out the message on uncooperative party members.
There was also an amusing moment when Birmingham Erdington MP Jack Dromey was giving an interview to ITV criticising Mr Corbyn, but was forced to cut himself short as the Labour leader arrived at the venue.
There are about 6,000 Labour councillors in the UK. A Labour loss – given the circumstances – would have been very untoward in each of these seats.
Owen Smith’s leadership challenge has sparked lively debate within the party and members of all ages, including some attending their first party meeting, were allowed the opportunity to air their views in a respectful manner.
He said the polls suggested, if anything, the polls suggested more people backed Theresa May than Labour – to some boos. This is what causes his opponents problems. “Every time, if I was to do so, every time I did an interview subsequently.I’d be asked about the internal runnings of the Labour party”.
“The suggestion that Jeremy is the only socialist in our party is an insult to many of us who are socialists”.
“Throughout the campaign and aftermath, Jeremy failed to show the leadership we desperately needed”, he said.
Corbyn responded: “The referendum took place, the result is there, we know the Tory agenda”. We overtook the Tories in the May elections, and we won all four mayoral contests.
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“And the choice for this generation is: Are we happy to sit back where we are or do we think we need to be a Labour government once more?”
