Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has delivered a scathing blow to Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour party and general elections hopeful. In a piece in the Observer, Khan wrote that Jeremy had failed to organise an effective team and had ‘failed to win the trust and respect of the British people.’
Khan emphasised that “if Jeremy remains as leader, Labour is extremely unlikely to win the next general election.”
According to Khan, over 80% of the Labour MPs in Parliament have lost confidence in Corbyn.
These damning criticisms have come as a series of blows after blows to the Labour leader. In the past year, the Labour party has grown increasingly divided under the leader, with many flocking to support his up and coming rival Owen Smith.
Before now, Khan had remained neutral in the fierce Labour clash. Now, Khan has called for more Labour members to support Smith, saying:
“Owen led and – more importantly – won our fight against the Tories’ unfair cuts to tax credits and disability allowances, which would have hurt the most disadvantaged people in our society. And poll after poll shows that Owen is far more popular with the public than Jeremy – and far more likely to win the next election.”
However Khan’s claims haven’t come without backlash of their own. Corbyn supporters were quick to point out how the Mayor of London was more than willing to use Corbyn’s popularity to win votes to win the mayoral election.
Corbyn’s spokesman said:
“Sadiq Khan is entitled to his opinion. But he won the London mayoralty, as others have pointed out, by standing on a Labour platform under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, backed by the huge numbers who have joined our party to support Jeremy and now campaign for Labour.”
