Labor Party

OWEN SMITH began laying the ground for a likely defeat in the Labour leadership election yesterday after claiming he did not want to challenge Jeremy Corbyn. Angela Eagle triggered the contest before the Pontypridd MP elbowed her out of the way to clear the path for a head-to-head with Mr Corbyn.

The astonishingly draconian steps the party machine has taken to reduce the chance of Corbyn winning are another warning sign. Disenfranchising 130,000 members and purging people left, right and centre — including the general secretary of an affiliated union — is not the behaviour of an establishment that cares about playing fair.

Jeremy Corbyn is investigating claims that the Labour leadership contest is being rigged against his supporters through arbitrary voting bans.The Labour leader has demanded the name of every person who has been disenfranchised, telling The Guardian:I’m surprised at the numbers of people who’ve been denied a vote and I’m surprised at the lack of reason that’s been given to people.

Speaking at a re-election campaign rally in Ramsgate on Saturday, the Labour leader is expected to say that a future Labour government would place greater emphasis on renewable energy for coastal communities and improved broadband connectivity. He will also back an investment bank for the English region.

Between 1,700 and 1,800 people packed into Salford’s Lowry theatre after the event was announced earlier this week. It dwarfed the much smaller campaign meeting that Corbyn’s rival Owen Smith held in Manchester’s Friend’s House yesterday. The size of the rally reflected the huge support Corbyn has among Labour members and supporters. Corbyn said mobilising that support was the key to winning Labour’s leadership election—and winning change.

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