Heywood and Middleton MP Liz McInnes is backing Owen Smith in the Labour leadership contest, which has caused rumblings amongst Corbyn supporters in her Constituency Labour Party.
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The decision to appeal the National Executive Committee (NEC) decision to allow Corbyn to stand in the leadership election left the Labour Party in a freaky state of limbo, with the entire future of the party hinging on the decision of a 67 year old judge called David Foskitt.
Corbyn welcomed the decision, but said it had been a waste of court time.
However, the same poll suggested one-fifth of party supporters remain undecided, while previous polling indicates increasing concern over Corbyn’s leadership among Labour members. If anything, we should aim to expand the Labour Party membership.
‘We are delighted that the court has upheld the authority and decision of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, ‘ he commented.
But more than that, it seemed ill-advised to prolong this particular agony with a legal challenge, given that there is already so much bad blood within the Labour party over its leadership crisis.
Corbyn lost the confidence of the bulk of his colleagues in parliament but has refused to stand down, citing the overwhelming support from members during the party’s leadership election in September.
NEC members wrestled with legal advice for six hours over whether Mr Corbyn would need to secure 51 nominations to make it on to the ballot paper after both sides insisted the party rulebook backed their case.
“In any case, the conclusion reached by the NEC is entitled to great respect and the court should not interfere with it”.
But now, Corbyn can get on with his leadership campaign.
Live music and street performances were planned for the city centre carnival-style event but the Labour leader has been forced to back out due to the current leadership battle.
Corbyn’s lawyer, Martin Westgate QC, also said the court should be wary before it made any decision.
As to Mr Smith’s left-wing manifesto unveiled yesterday, Mr Corbyn’s ally said: “It’s all spin, there’s no substance to it”. The results will be announced in a Liverpool conference three days later.
Smith argues that not only can he unite the Labour Party, but that he is more in tune with the public, describing Corbyn’s views on BBC Newsnight as “metropolitan” saying he did not understand traditional Labour voters’ sense of national identity.
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Mr Whelan added: “Jeremy is the democratically-elected leader of the Labour Party and we think he will be elected again this summer”.
