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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics
Sean Morrison

Labour's Ruth Smeeth brands own party 'racist' in furious Sky News interview

Labour’s Ruth Smeeth has branded her own party “racist” as she launched an extraordinary attack on Jeremy Corbyn and called for him to resign.

Ms Smith branded the projected election result for the party as a “disaster” as she faced losing her seat in Stoke-on-Trent North.

After the exit poll projected Labour would be hit with significant loses at the General Election, Ms Smeeth blamed Mr Corbyn and said he had made the party “the nasty party, the racist party”.

Ms Smeeth said she had "definitely lost" the seat she held since 2015 and called on Mr Corbyn to resign as the party faced a humiliating defeat on Thursday night.

Labour's Ruth Smeeth branded her own party 'racist' in a furious Sky News interview (Sky News)

"There is absolutely no justification for why he's still there," she said.

She has been critical of Mr Corbyn's handling of anti-Semitism allegations in the Labour party. She is a Remain supporter in an area which voted to Leave the EU.

Her furious interview came as Boris Johnson was heading back to Downing Street with a comfortable Commons majority as his gamble on a snap election paid off handsomely.

The Tories snatched seat after seat in Labour heartlands bringing the so-called "red wall" crumbling down after the Prime Minister's "get Brexit done" election message hit home with working class Leave voters.

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Mr Corbyn is expected to address his future amid fierce criticism and calls for him to stand down as party leader.

His party, which had 243 MPs when Parliament was dissolved last month, is forecast to lose 52 seats, according to a BBC/Sky/ITV exit poll, which put the Tories on 368 seats.

The poll predicted Labour would win just 191 seats.

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