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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Copeland by-election: Who Labour blamed and why | Copeland by-election: Who Labour blamed and why |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| It was a truly historic night for Labour, where black was white, defeats were victories and right was wrong. Even in these remarkable times, the night when, according to Jeremy Corbyn, the people voted to reject the 'political establishment' by voting for the Tories in a never-before-unsafe Labour seat, deserves to be remembered. | It was a truly historic night for Labour, where black was white, defeats were victories and right was wrong. Even in these remarkable times, the night when, according to Jeremy Corbyn, the people voted to reject the 'political establishment' by voting for the Tories in a never-before-unsafe Labour seat, deserves to be remembered. |
| Here we round up the very best of Labour reaction to their first defeat in Copeland, or its predecessor Whitehaven, since 1931. | Here we round up the very best of Labour reaction to their first defeat in Copeland, or its predecessor Whitehaven, since 1931. |
| John McDonnell (blame: Blair and Blairites) | John McDonnell (blame: Blair and Blairites) |
| “We can’t have a situation like we did last week where Tony Blair comes out and attacks his own party, Peter Mandelson as well. | “We can’t have a situation like we did last week where Tony Blair comes out and attacks his own party, Peter Mandelson as well. |
| "The situation is this: you learn lessons from these things and one of the lessons you learn is people will not vote for a divided party. | "The situation is this: you learn lessons from these things and one of the lessons you learn is people will not vote for a divided party. |
| "The last 18 months, 20 months, we’ve been involved in two leadership elections so understandably in a leadership election those divisions will come out," (he told ITV). | |
| Later, Mr McDonnell told Sky News: "We’ve lost one by-election in very unique circumstances. The Prime Minister is still in her honeymoon period. And Labour has been divided. | Later, Mr McDonnell told Sky News: "We’ve lost one by-election in very unique circumstances. The Prime Minister is still in her honeymoon period. And Labour has been divided. |
| "Now, you’ll see the Labour Party united and the Conservative Party ripping themselves apart over the Brexit negotiations." | "Now, you’ll see the Labour Party united and the Conservative Party ripping themselves apart over the Brexit negotiations." |
| Momentum (blame: no one. This was in fact a victory) | Momentum (blame: no one. This was in fact a victory) |
| "The sceptics wrote us off in Stoke but we proved them wrong. We beat them with our energy, passion and determination. | "The sceptics wrote us off in Stoke but we proved them wrong. We beat them with our energy, passion and determination. |
| "The Tories may have taken Copeland, but I’ve seen everything we need to win across the country right here in Stoke these last few weeks. | "The Tories may have taken Copeland, but I’ve seen everything we need to win across the country right here in Stoke these last few weeks. |
| "If we build on the momemtum from this win, we can beat UKIP and the Tories across the country." | "If we build on the momemtum from this win, we can beat UKIP and the Tories across the country." |
| (Damian Bailey, Momentum activist, in official statement) | (Damian Bailey, Momentum activist, in official statement) |
| Paul Mason (blame: Jamie Reed) | |
| The Marxist journalist and Corbyn backer wrote on his blog: "For socialists in the Labour Party it will be a relief that the Blairite plan to stage two electoral disasters on one night failed. Nobody can claim losing Copeland was Jeremy Corbyn’s “fault”: the fault lies with the careerist right-winger who abandoned the seat in mid-session to take a better job." | |
| Jeremy Corbyn (blame: the political establishment) | Jeremy Corbyn (blame: the political establishment) |
| "The political establishment has let down Copeland and Stoke, who have seen their industries gutted, living standards stagnate and hope of a better future for their children and grandchildren decline. | "The political establishment has let down Copeland and Stoke, who have seen their industries gutted, living standards stagnate and hope of a better future for their children and grandchildren decline. |
| "Whatever the results, the Labour Party - and our mass membership - must go further to break the failed political consensus, and win power to rebuild and transform Britain," on Facebook as the polls closed. | "Whatever the results, the Labour Party - and our mass membership - must go further to break the failed political consensus, and win power to rebuild and transform Britain," on Facebook as the polls closed. |
| Labour MP Cat Smith: (blame: no one. Defeat was an 'incredible achievement.') | Labour MP Cat Smith: (blame: no one. Defeat was an 'incredible achievement.') |
| "To be 15 to 18 points behind in the polls and to push the Tories to within 2,000 votes is an incredible achievement," to ITV News. | |