Quote:Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn wins convincing victory over Owen Smith Party leader increases mandate after beating challenger Owen Smith, leaving rebel MPs to decide whether to return to the frontline
Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to “wipe the slate clean” after winning a convincing victory in Labour’s bitter leadership battle, securing 62% of the vote.
Jeremy Corbyn sweeps to victory increasing his mandate as Labour leader – as it happened
Rolling coverage of the announcement of the result of the Labour leadership election
Speaking after the result was declared in Liverpool, Corbyn thanked his rival, Owen Smith, and urged the “Labour family” to unite after the summer-long contest.
“We have much more in common than that which divides us,” he said. “Let’s wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we’ve got to do as a party together.”
Corbyn secured 61.8% of the vote to Smith’s 38.2%. The victory strengthens his hold on a party that has expanded dramatically since the 2015 general election and now has more than 500,000 members. In last year’s contest, he won 59.5% of the vote.
Corbyn won a majority over Smith in every category – members (59%), registered supporters (70%) and trades union affiliates (60%).
The winner pointed out that he had secured his second mandate in a year and urged his colleagues to accept what had been a democratic decision.
Smith congratulated Corbyn for mobilising so many supporters in the party, and said he would reflect on how he could help Labour to win the next election.
He said: “I entered this race because I didn’t think Jeremy was providing the leadership we needed, and because I felt we must renew our party to win back the voters’ trust and respect. However, I fully accept and respect the result and I will reflect carefully on it and on what role I might play in future to help Labour win again for the British people.”
That is likely to be read as a hint that the former shadow work and pensions secretary might be willing to accept a frontbench role, something that he repeatedly insisted during the campaign he would not do.
Smith, the MP for Pontypridd, emerged as a challenger after scores of shadow cabinet ministers resigned in the wake of the EU referendum, and Labour MPs overwhelmingly backed a motion of no confidence in their leader.
Rebel MPs must now decide whether to return to the frontline. Many are awaiting the results of a Saturday night meeting of the party’s national executive committee, which will discuss the rules for choosing a future shadow cabinet.
Tom Watson, the party’s deputy leader, has called for a system of elections that would allow MPs to have a say in who serves on Corbyn’s frontbench, and could tempt back some who resigned over the summer.
Any agreed rule changes could be ratified by conference, but Corbyn’s team believes it can beef up the shadow cabinet without the need for elections and would like to see the question discussed alongside other issues, including how to give the membership more of a say in policymaking.
Party sources said talks involving the chief whip, Rosie Winterton, had taken place and would continue later in the day to try to reach a consensus on shadow cabinet elections.
John McDonnell, Corbyn’s campaign director, said the leader’s team hoped to work with MPs from across the party, but would be happy if those critical of his leadership wanted to campaign on issues from the backbenches, citing Yvette Cooper’s role in fighting for support for refugees.
Len McCluskey, the general secretary of the Unite union and a key Corbyn backer, said MPs must fall into line. “We urge Labour MPs to heed the signal sent by the members, twice now in one year, about the direction they want for the party. This includes respecting and supporting the elected leader and his team; no more sniping, plotting and corridor coups,” he said.
Jon Ashworth, the Leicester South MP and shadow cabinet member who sits on the NEC, said: “We have got to unite, but we have also got to recognise that substantial numbers of people didn’t vote for Jeremy.”
He said a deal on shadow cabinet elections would help Corbyn to beef up his frontbench team. “If we want a fully functioning frontbench, we need a way of bringing colleagues back. Various shadow teams have not got their full complement. This seems to me to be a way of doing that.”
In Corbyn’s acceptance speech he promised that attacking Theresa May’s plan to bring back grammar schools would be at the heart of his effort to reunite Labour.
“This time next week we will hit the streets united as a party. I am calling on Labour party members to join us in a national campaign for inclusive education for all next Saturday,” he said.
Addressing the party’s annual women’s conference late on Saturday afternoon, Corbyn called for Labour to unite in the name of Jo Cox, the MP who was killed during the EU referendum campaign.
The Labour leader said that Cox’s death was a “murder of democracy”, adding: “She was adamant that there was much more that united than divides us and there is no better way to honour her memory than ensuring we reunite and we are resolute in making the world a better place.”
Cox nominated Corbyn for the leadership in 2015 but later wrote of her regret, claiming that he was a weak leader with poor judgement.
Corbyn also offered his backing to the MP for Rotherham, Sarah Champion, who has been embroiled in a public row with her former husband in recent days.
The Conservatives, meanwhile, launched a multimedia campaign highlighting the divisions in the Labour party with the slogan: “We have a winner, but it isn’t Britain.”
Tory chairman Patrick McLoughlin said: “Labour are too divided, distracted and incompetent to build a country that works for everyone. Instead of learning lessons from the past, they have engaged in a bitter power struggle that will continue even after they’ve picked a leader.”
Smith, and people like London mayor Khan, who supported Smith, belong in the category of Labour politicians (Blairites) who want Labour to use any possible legal means to stop Brexit as opposed to Corbyn, who is more neutral as he has been Eurosceptic throughout his career.
Corbyn on Brexit:
Quote:Trigger Article 50, the formal process for leaving the EU, straight away. "The British people have made their decision. We must respect that result and Article 50 has to be invoked now so that we negotiate an exit from European Union... There must be the best deal possible in order to ensure strong industries in Britain stay strong and strong industries that have big export markets protect retain those export markets. But we are in some very difficult areas."
Owen Smith, endorsed by Khan, on Brexit:
Quote:He has suggested the possibility of a second referendum on EU membership, but said it would depend on what kind of deal the UK negotiated on the terms of Brexit. "I don't think we should accept we're on a definite path out. I think we need to make sure people are satisfied. We trusted people, rightly, to take the decision. We can trust them again in 18 months' time to check it's absolutely what they wanted."
Corbyn may seem to be good for brexit but he is in fact ushering in Labour as a Muslim political machine. I knew he would laugh off the contest to his reign, all good comrades do.
Labour has a bigger sway than you think. They own Muslims and areas like Liverpool with poor whites & blacks.
Labour are now the party for Muslims and hardcore SJWs. This will cause the middle-class shitlibs, who have been a powerful voting block for Labour, to realise that they have not been voting in their self interest.
Some will realise that instead of using their vote to virtue-signal(go through any middle-class area in Britain during local/national elections, and you'll see endless Labour and Green Party signs,"hey everyone! I'm using my vote to make the world better for people less fortunate"), they will use their vote more wisely.
But that's where my theory becomes unstuck, because Conservatives are also a globalist party, like Labour, and UKIP have been strongly branded as "racist" for wanting to control immigration.
Don't be fooled by this brexit talk or article 50. The one thing we want is to take power, laws and rules from Brussels to our parliament and the PM has said it will take years to do so.
The whole reason for brexit wasn't just economic but political and judiciary reasons.
Parliament most vote to approve the triggering of Article 50. The Govt. is set to appeal it in the HoL (Supreme Court, if we must).
This quote from Cicero seems apt:
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”
That's a sad loss to democracy.
Referendums are not legally binding, but if the parliament does not follow the will of the people who voted, it will be very sad.
It may very well mean that UKIP will grow a lot in the next elections.
If Parliament doesn't vote for it, that means roughly 17.4 million pissed off voters. No MP in a region that was for Brexit will vote against unless they want to lose their position.
Now we see whether MPs see themselves as representing the people or lording it over them. This is very telling. If Trump loses and Brexit is abolished the globalists will be greatly emboldened and all the leftist shit we complain about will expand exponentially.
Good news for me. I bought Barclays after the referendum at 6.99. Before the referendum it was 11. It's up 4.15% today so far at 9.28. It will be back in double digits soon.
Brexit's na ga happen. Too many problems along with the banking passport, including Scottish, Welsh, and N. Irish objections.
They are log rolling and delaying. Theresa May was against it, now you expect her to push it?
The remainers will be cheerful, but they shouldn't be.
If MPs can blatantly disregard the will of the people on this issue then what makes them think they won't on others? I'm not surprised and to be honest I expect it to go on and to nowhere.
(11-03-2016 11:21 AM)Foolsgo1d Wrote: The remainers will be cheerful, but they shouldn't be.
If MPs can blatantly disregard the will of the people on this issue then what makes them think they won't on others?
They can, and they realise it, rely on the progressive zeitgeist continuing to make the 'right' abuses of power on their behalf. All you have to do is surrender to the dominant ideology, and you can be reasonably certain that it'll be the other guy's rights that are eviscerated. You can see examples of this in all sorts of things in the headline articles on any given day. It gives all sorts of people who would otherwise be inconsequential a taste of very real power - for example, every Western Woman everywhere now has formidable power - it's no wonder they give themselves over to it with such complete abandon. It is no wonder reason cannot offer much succour when compared with the intoxicating fare the progressives have to offer.
Progressivism, and the proliferation of technologies which enable it, give dizzying power and validation to men and women who would never taste of it of their own accord.
(11-03-2016 12:18 PM)Libertas Wrote: I'm somewhat surprised. I was under the impression that judicial review didn't exist in the UK like it does in the US.
The Supreme Court is a relatively new institution in the UK, although its function is not, and was previously undertaken by the House of Lords. That may be the cause of surprise for our American friends.
I wouldn't worry too much. It is still highly likely that Brexit will occur. My first doubt is this ruling being upheld- I have no idea what power the Supreme Court has, but it could obviously overturn the High Court ruling. My second doubt would be that unless there is a full scale rebellion, May will be able to convince a large majority of Conservative MP's to vote for Brexit, and then in addition there will be Labour MP's who either supported Brexit originally or hold seats in areas that were massively pro-leave and don't want to lose their seat.