Former Labour minister brands party a "laughing stock" and calls on Corbyn to quit

22 December 2019, 12:57

A former Labour minister has called on party leader Jeremy Corbyn to quit and claims the party is a "laughing stock" as it falls into an internal fight for the leadership.

Denis MacShane, Europe minister under Tony Blair, said the Labour leader should have left straight away after "the worst electoral strategy known to man".

"When Neil Kinnock lost, he went left straightaway, Jim Callahan lost he and he left straightaway, when Clement Attlee lost in 1955 he didn't hang around - nor did Ed Miliband.

"I think it is beyond comprehension that not just Jeremy but I just don't understand it because there's many values in him that aren't that bad, but that he's still squatting there."

The veteran politician also condemned the Labour leadership's election strategy, saying they were "like the generals in the First World War sending men over the top to die".

Mr MacShane added: "They're sending great young people to campaign on stupid things like decapitating Boris Johnson, trying to get rid of Ian Duncan Smith, attacking people like Luciana Berger and Chukka Umunna who stood no chance at all.

"But these guys poured resources into it instead of, for example, looking to save a Labour seat in Kensington or Wolverhampton where I was, saving a great Labour MP, Emma Reynolds."

Clive Lewis, Emily Thornberry and Kier Starmer have announced their intention to stand for the Labour leadership in the spring.