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| Jeremy Corbyn to take 'share of responsibility' for Copeland defeat | Jeremy Corbyn to take 'share of responsibility' for Copeland defeat |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Jeremy Corbyn has said he is prepared to shoulder some of the responsibility for the loss of Labour’s seat in the Copeland byelection, as his shadow attorney general defended the Labour leader and said “disunity” in the party was the main cause of defeat. | Jeremy Corbyn has said he is prepared to shoulder some of the responsibility for the loss of Labour’s seat in the Copeland byelection, as his shadow attorney general defended the Labour leader and said “disunity” in the party was the main cause of defeat. |
| His comments came as Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, challenged the Unite boss, Len McCluskey, to demonstrate his backing for Corbyn after criticism from the Unison general secretary, Dave Prentis. | His comments came as Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, challenged the Unite boss, Len McCluskey, to demonstrate his backing for Corbyn after criticism from the Unison general secretary, Dave Prentis. |
| Far from there being disunity, Watson said, he and others had been the ones defending Corbyn since his re-election last summer, but the Labour leader’s trade union champions had been either critical or silent. | Far from there being disunity, Watson said, he and others had been the ones defending Corbyn since his re-election last summer, but the Labour leader’s trade union champions had been either critical or silent. |
| “If I’ve got some frustrations, it’s that those people that are Jeremy’s cheerleaders, that made sure that he was elected a second time last September, they should be sticking with their leader in the bad times, not just the good,” he told ITV1’s Peston on Sunday. | |
| “Dave Prentis has spoken out, but I’d say to you this morning where’s Len McCluskey defending his leader in this difficult time? It shouldn’t be just down to me.” | “Dave Prentis has spoken out, but I’d say to you this morning where’s Len McCluskey defending his leader in this difficult time? It shouldn’t be just down to me.” |
| Corbyn, who on Friday denied he had considered his leadership was partly to blame for the Conservative victory in the Cumbrian seat, said the loss was part of a pattern in the area where Labour support had been falling. The Conservative Trudy Harrison defeated Labour’s Gill Troughton by more than 2,000 votes in the seat that had been held by Jamie Reed, a critic of Corbyn who left Westminster for a role at the Sellafield nuclear plant. | Corbyn, who on Friday denied he had considered his leadership was partly to blame for the Conservative victory in the Cumbrian seat, said the loss was part of a pattern in the area where Labour support had been falling. The Conservative Trudy Harrison defeated Labour’s Gill Troughton by more than 2,000 votes in the seat that had been held by Jamie Reed, a critic of Corbyn who left Westminster for a role at the Sellafield nuclear plant. |
| Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Corbyn said: “The result in Copeland was deeply disappointing. Labour’s share of the vote in Copeland has been falling for 20 years and of course I take my share of responsibility. | Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Corbyn said: “The result in Copeland was deeply disappointing. Labour’s share of the vote in Copeland has been falling for 20 years and of course I take my share of responsibility. |
| “Both these areas, like many others in Britain, have been left behind by globalisation and lost out from a rigged economy. So it’s no surprise that they rejected the status quo by voting to leave in the EU referendum. That’s why it was important for Labour to respect the result and vote for article 50.” | “Both these areas, like many others in Britain, have been left behind by globalisation and lost out from a rigged economy. So it’s no surprise that they rejected the status quo by voting to leave in the EU referendum. That’s why it was important for Labour to respect the result and vote for article 50.” |
| Corbyn said his party had not yet done enough to “rebuild trust with people who have been ripped off and sold out for decades and don’t feel Labour represents them”. He said he was confident the key to success was in party unity. “If we stand together, I am confident we can do that and turn back the Tory tide,” he wrote, saying he was determined to “finish that job” as party leader. | Corbyn said his party had not yet done enough to “rebuild trust with people who have been ripped off and sold out for decades and don’t feel Labour represents them”. He said he was confident the key to success was in party unity. “If we stand together, I am confident we can do that and turn back the Tory tide,” he wrote, saying he was determined to “finish that job” as party leader. |
| Shami Chakrabarti, the shadow attorney general, was more forthright in pinning the blame for the defeat on the MPs who had challenged Corbyn over the summer. Labour had long been the political establishment in Copeland, she told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show. | Shami Chakrabarti, the shadow attorney general, was more forthright in pinning the blame for the defeat on the MPs who had challenged Corbyn over the summer. Labour had long been the political establishment in Copeland, she told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show. |
| “You cannot weigh people’s votes, you have to cherish them,” she said. “Yes, we lost, but I believe when people see what Mrs May’s hard Brexit looks like, and they see a vision from a more united Labour party as I believe we can be, they will change their minds. In Copeland, Labour has looked like the establishment for a long time. | “You cannot weigh people’s votes, you have to cherish them,” she said. “Yes, we lost, but I believe when people see what Mrs May’s hard Brexit looks like, and they see a vision from a more united Labour party as I believe we can be, they will change their minds. In Copeland, Labour has looked like the establishment for a long time. |
| “We have suffered from disunity and if we’re always talking about the leadership that won’t help us cut through.” | “We have suffered from disunity and if we’re always talking about the leadership that won’t help us cut through.” |
| Over the weekend, senior Labour figures said Corbyn should launch a full party inquiry into the loss of the seat. Watson and the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, both suggested the Labour leader should do some soul searching. | Over the weekend, senior Labour figures said Corbyn should launch a full party inquiry into the loss of the seat. Watson and the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, both suggested the Labour leader should do some soul searching. |
| Watson, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Perth on Saturday, raised the spectre of the party’s virtual wipeout in Scotland being repeated south of the border as he called for Labour to take a “long, hard look at ourselves and ask what’s working” before it is too late. | Watson, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Perth on Saturday, raised the spectre of the party’s virtual wipeout in Scotland being repeated south of the border as he called for Labour to take a “long, hard look at ourselves and ask what’s working” before it is too late. |
| Starmer, in a speech in London, said the “worst thing” Labour could do would be to “normalise defeat” and “walk past” results that were disastrous for the party and merited an honest admission that all was far from well. | Starmer, in a speech in London, said the “worst thing” Labour could do would be to “normalise defeat” and “walk past” results that were disastrous for the party and merited an honest admission that all was far from well. |
| Prentis, whose union had backed Corbyn for the leadership, said the Labour leader “must take responsibility for what happens next” and “show he understands how to turn things around and deliver just that”. | Prentis, whose union had backed Corbyn for the leadership, said the Labour leader “must take responsibility for what happens next” and “show he understands how to turn things around and deliver just that”. |
| Chakrabarti said the public criticism of Corbyn would only damage the party further. “What I would say to Dave Prentis and other great men of the left is that it’s time to unite,” she said. “Constant attacks on the leadership, constant leadership elections don’t allow us to focus on the issues that would allow us to present an alternative vision.” | Chakrabarti said the public criticism of Corbyn would only damage the party further. “What I would say to Dave Prentis and other great men of the left is that it’s time to unite,” she said. “Constant attacks on the leadership, constant leadership elections don’t allow us to focus on the issues that would allow us to present an alternative vision.” |
| Corbyn’s speech at the Scottish Labour conference in Perth later on Sunday will stress not only the importance of party unity but across the Brexit and national divides. “The policies and ideas we are setting out are policies whose time has come,” he will say. | Corbyn’s speech at the Scottish Labour conference in Perth later on Sunday will stress not only the importance of party unity but across the Brexit and national divides. “The policies and ideas we are setting out are policies whose time has come,” he will say. |
| “But to win that fight we need to remain united. United in our belief in our movement, united in our commitment to once again make our society fairer, better and more just. That’s why Labour believes that together we’re stronger. Unity is still our strength.” | “But to win that fight we need to remain united. United in our belief in our movement, united in our commitment to once again make our society fairer, better and more just. That’s why Labour believes that together we’re stronger. Unity is still our strength.” |
| He will also challenge the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, to end talk of a second independence referendum, urging her to “listen to the people and respect democracy”. | He will also challenge the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, to end talk of a second independence referendum, urging her to “listen to the people and respect democracy”. |