It is hard to imagine anyone more removed from the values of Jeremy Corbyn than David Miliband and unless councillor Green wants a return to the failed policies of the New Labour project, I suggest she reviews her analysis of the present situation.
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The Labour leader’s first move in the leadership campaign comes after a 48-hour surge in applications to join the Labour Party to vote in the contest.
Mr Corbyn was yesterday accused of planning a purge of Labour MPs critical of his leadership by warning them they could be ousted before the next general election.
Critics of Mr Corbyn fear they could face the prospect of mandatory re-selection from their local parties to be allowed to stand again, and the leader confirmed that, because of the Government’s plans to cut the number of Commons seats, there would be a “full and open” process to choose candidates.
A spokesman for Mr Smith’s campaign said: “Whilst still members of the Shadow Cabinet Owen Smith, Lisa Nandy, John Healey, Nia Griffith and Kate Green met with Jeremy to discuss the future of the party”.
He said: “I really regret that Angela has used comments like that”. She said I shouldn’t have stated that I was joining to support Jeremy Corbyn as the NEC is dealing with applications and they are full of Blairites.
But Mr Corbyn said he wanted to be added as a party to the proceedings as second defendant.
The police, she said, “think it might not be safe – they do not want them to go ahead at all”.
Corbyn, faces a challenge from former Work & Pensions Secrtary Owen Smith, as the party struggles to hold itself together.
“It’s now become commonplace in the Labour party, so something has gone badly wrong under his watch”.
He said: “The leader of the Labour Party was proposing to address an issue with one of his own MPs by ringing his dad”. I’m very surprised and actually very disappointed they should say that.
Mr Corbyn defended his record as leader, noting that Labour had won all its byelections since he took over, as well as mayoral contests in London and three other cities.
“What is needed now is a leader who can bring together the membership and the Parliamentary Labour Party that respects the right of individuals to have different views”.
Master of the High Court Victoria McCloud said it was clear that some NEC members suspected an attempt to “stitch up” Mr Corbyn at last week’s meeting. “It could be the most important political decision you ever make”, Miliband said.
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“For us to nearly lose Blaenau Gwent, for us to lose the Rhondda, these were hammer blows to the Labour Party and that’s something Jeremy Corbyn needed to respond to, but he’s been poor at taking Labour’s case to the Tories in Westminster and he’s not been successful in going beyond slogans”.
