Tagged with Owen Smith

Victorious Corbyn increases mandate in Labour leadership election

CorbynJeremy Corbyn has been elected Labour leader for the second time in just twelve months, beating Owen Smith by 313,209 votes to 193,229. By securing 61.8% of all votes cast, Corbyn has increased his mandate from last year’s election, where he won by 59.5%.

Corbyn’s victory, which means he has now won more Labour leadership elections than Tony Blair, and two more than Gordon Brown, was widely expected from the beginning of the contest, with Labour’s self-styled ‘moderates’ seemingly reliant on keeping Corbyn off the ballot paper, something they failed to do in July’s NEC meeting. Since Owen Smith and Angela Eagle were nominated as candidates, Corbyn has flown ahead in every single poll.  Continue reading →

Owen Smith believes UK could join Euro, even after Brexit

OwenSmithMP-2

Owen Smith yesterday admitted he thought Britain could “potentially” re-join not only the EU, but also the Euro despite Brexit, if he were to become Prime Minister.

Speaking plainly, Smith told Andrew Marr, “I want us to be part of the European Union”, then argued Labour should go into the General Election in 2020 promising to keep Britain in the EU, if it were still an option. Unfortunately for Smith, as Andrew Marr pointed out, if Theresa May triggers Article 50 next year as intended, then by 2020 Britain will have already left Europe for good. Continue reading →

A battle for the party’s very soul

OslandIn politics it is sometimes worth stepping back from the immediate hurly burly to take stock of the broader context. David Osland’s new pamphlet “How to select or Reselect your MP” invites us to do so, by his self-conscious decision to reboot a pamphlet that was first published in 1981.

While both the Corbyn and Smith camps are concentrating on the immediate task of maximizing their vote for the Labour leadership contest, and both camps planning their next move after the results on 24th, it is worth reflecting on how extraordinary life is in the contemporary Labour Party.

All party meetings, except those absolutely necessary for specific practical tasks with the permission of the regional director, are currently suspended. Senior Labour MPs are briefing about party members being a rabble, tens of thousands of members are being suspended or excluded on seemingly the flimsiest of pretexts, and various atrocity stories are being leaked to the press about alleged violence, spitting and abuse at party meetings, as well as reports of online insults and bullying.

What a carry on. Continue reading →

Nominations close with Corbyn in commanding lead

CorbynConstituency Labour Party nominations in the leadership election closed yesterday, with Jeremy Corbyn securing 285 CLPs, 84.3% of all those that made nominations, compared to Owen Smith’s 53, or 15.7% of the total. This marks an increase of 133 from Corbyn’s total in 2015 – an almost doubling of support, despite 55 fewer CLPs choosing to make a nomination. Given the previous correlations between CLPs and members’ votes, this would appear to show the leadership election may well be over for Owen Smith.  Continue reading →

Corbyn piles up nominations as first TV debate takes place

CorbynRallyLast night saw the first of six TV debates between Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith. The challenger repeatedly tried to present himself as equally radical and principled as Corbyn, with phrases such as “good old-fashioned socialist policies”, and only choosing to differ his policy offer from Corbyn’s on the issue of Trident. This has been part of Owen Smith’s campaign strategy from the beginning, quietening his past as a Blair sympathiser and corporate lobbyist and overstating his socialist credentials in order to appeal to a supposed ‘soft left’ flank within Corbyn’s support. As Smith listed policies he agreed with Corbyn on, the incumbent simply quipped, “Then why did you resign?” Continue reading →