Corbyn emerges winner in battle to lead UK’s Labour party

Victory is a major blow to Labour MPs who rebelled against Jeremy Corbyn after June’s Brexit vote, many of them moderates who believe his socialist views will never be accepted by most voters.

Jeremy Corbyn celebrates his victory in the Labour leadership contest between him and Owen Smith in Liverpool, England, on September 24, 2016. Danny Lawson / PA via AP

LIVERPOOL // Left-winger Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected British Labour leader on Saturday, seeing off a challenge from members of parliament but leaving the opposition party split as critics said it was further hen ever from power.

Supporters in Liverpool, north-west England, leapt to their feet cheering as he was confirmed winner with 61.8 per cent of the vote among party members and supporters, easily defeating rival MP Owen Smith.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Corbyn urged unity, pledging to “wipe the slate clean” after accusations of bullying and fears of an irreparable breach between left-wingers and centrists.

“We have much more in common than that which divides us. As far as I’m concerned, let’s wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we’ve got to do as a party together,” he said.

Mr Corbyn, 67, increased his vote share from the 59.5 per cent he received on his initial election last year, when he put an anti-austerity, anti-nuclear agenda at the forefront of British politics for the first time in a generation.

His commanding victory is a major blow to Labour MPs who rebelled against him after June’s Brexit vote, many of them moderates who believe his socialist views will never be accepted by most voters. More than 40 MPs resigned from Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet in the rebellion earlier this year and while reports suggest a dozen may return, many prominent figures are likely to stay away.

Mr Corbyn was accused of lacklustre campaigning for Britain staying in the European Union, and many now fear he cannot provide the necessary opposition as prime minister Theresa May’s Conservatives negotiate the terms of withdrawal.

For his part, Mr Corbyn claims he has energised many people who felt left behind by mainstream politics, drawing comparisons with anti-establishment movements across Europe, such as Syriza in Greece.

Speaking shortly before the result, home affairs spokesman Andy Burnham said Labour’s “war of attrition” must now stop but urged Mr Corbyn to build support among the public, not just party activists.

“We cannot measure our success by the size of the membership or indeed the size of the rallies that we are holding,” he told BBC radio.

Mr Corbyn has an almost messianic appeal among his supporters, among them the 18,000-strong campaign group Momentum.

Opponents accuse Momentum of trying to infiltrate the party with far-left activists and say its members have bullied Corbyn opponents.

At a Momentum event near the party conference in Liverpool, jubilant activists greeted news of the leadership result with cheers and chants of “Corbyn! Corbyn! Corbyn!”

“Every time they challenge him, he will only get more support, because he is telling the truth,” said Dee Coombes, 68.

But former Labour foreign secretary David Miliband, a centrist narrowly beaten to the party leadership by his brother Ed in 2010, wrote in the New Statesman magazine this week: “We have not been further from power since the 1930s.”

Labour’s membership now stands at 650,000, up from just 200,000 18 months ago, which Mr Corbyn says will eventually drive the party to power.

But analysts say Labour is lagging far behind the Tories in the polls and Mr Corbyn’s personal approval ratings are at rock bottom.

“Labour is not going to win any elections in the near future,” said Anand Menon, professor of European politics at Kings College London.

* Agence France-Presse