Jeremy Corbyn is preparing for a leadership contest following a wave of resignations from his shadow cabinet. He plans to address a rally of grassroots supporters at the gates of parliament on Monday evening.
We asked readers who support Labour to get in touch and share their views about the challenge to his leadership. Several hundred of you responded in a couple of hours, the vast majority Labour party members.
Of the responses, there was broad support for Corbyn remaining as leader of the party, but some of it was clearly caveated with concerns that he had not shown the necessary leadership during the EU referendum.
Should he stay, should he go, or is it more complicated than that for a Labour supporter? If he leaves, who should be next? Here are some of the views you sent to us.
Corbyn should stay as leader
Daniel Seiderer, 42, lives in Kilburn, north London, and is a management consultant. He joined the Labour party in August 2015 and supported Corbyn’s leadership bid.
He is still supportive: “In these crucial times for the UK and all of Europe, it is important that the Labour party unites behind its leader. Staging a coup is irresponsible – the focus of the Labour party now needs to be on demanding answers from the leave campaigners.
“Labour needs to seize the opportunity and attack the Conservative party for the mess they led this country into. The Labour party needs to point out the delusion that Boris Johnson and other leave campaigners are suffering from, to capitalise on this, and to make sure it benefits from the leave campaigners’ weakness in order to be in an optimal position to fight for workers rights and equality. In-fighting is counterproductive. Shame on the plotters for their willingness to destabilise the Labour party and betray everything Labour should stand for.”
Lifelong Labour supporter Gill, 70, from the Wirral, has twice left the party due to what she saw as “Tory policies” – she says she “could not stomach Tony Blair, even before the Iraq war.”
“I rejoined after Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader and will remain a member only as long as he is leader or in order to have a vote to reinstate him if necessary – otherwise I join the Greens,” she says.
“I feel he can lead a better style of politics, more thoughtful and cohesive. He is truthful, honest and does not shout his mouth off without putting his brain in gear for the sake of pleasing the press. He is altogether more dignified and sensible than a lot of politicians and does not waste time slagging off his opponents.”
Chris, 55, from Bournemouth, says he joined the Labour party “because I was inspired by Jeremy Corbyn and the hope of a new politics that is not in the pockets of the elite bankers and big business.”
Chris supports Corbyn’s leadership: “Jeremy stands for a new way of doing politics that’s gives hope to many like myself, who are completely disillusioned and disenfranchised by slick management and soundbite politics.”
He adds: “We need the Labour party to stand for something different, and we need a leader that believes what he says. Jeremy Corbyn, while not perfect, is a genuine breath of fresh air.”
Gerard, 28, who lives in Belfast, is a global political economy and international finance PhD student, and supports Corbyn.
“I joined after Labour’s defeat in the general election. My plan was to vote for Andy Burnham in the leadership election, as at the time he was the best candidate, but as the campaign continued Corbyn’s economic stance resonated with me and I voted for him,” he says.
“A lot of the problems diagnosed by Corbyn and his team are, in my opinion, the correct problems to be addressing. I’m saddled with student loan debt that may last a lifetime, my partner and I have a daughter. Rent takes up about 50% of our income for a damp, mouldy house. I am quite well educated, as is my partner, I have a bright career ahead of me, but despite this we have little prospect of being able to afford to buy a house.
“Britain needs to take stock of an economy that for too long has not been serving its people. Corbyn is one of the few politicians that has directly addressed this concern and offered a coherent, tangible and effective policy response.”
Gerard continues: “Supply-side economics has failed, neoliberalism is dying and inequality is crippling my generation. I grew up in a single-parent family on a council housing estate and no one wants to speak for those people any more, or wants to voice their concerns.
“Elections aren’t won on facts – if they were, Labour wouldn’t have lost in 2010 – they’re won on stories, on narratives. No one else within the Labour party is able to provide a coherent response or a convincing narrative about what they would do differently, or how they would change the ineffective status quo.
“Corbyn offers my generation and people from housing estates like the one where I grew up a credible alternative that might improve our lives.”
Jo Hall, 63, from Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, is retired from a job in local government. She joined the Labour party in 1983 and has held various positions including branch secretary, elected local councillor and local government conference delegate.
She says: “Corbyn was a breath of fresh air and honesty after the corrupt years of rightwing rule in the Labour party. He is showing that he has the backbone to defend the left, and socialist principles, and is a great leader for the left.
“Labour is not a party to be a watered-down, pink version of Toryism. These MPs who are trying to undermine him have been plotting this from the day he was overwhelmingly elected leader and should be ashamed of themselves for distracting our party from fighting the real enemy – Tory austerity and poverty.”
Corbyn should go
Amy, 20, from Hertfordshire, is a trainee teacher. She joined the Labour party immediately after the general election in 2015, and supported Corbyn’s leadership campaign. Now, though, she is not supportive of his continued leadership.
“Although I believe that Corbyn has the right ideas and is a genuinely principled politician, I do not think he is capable of leading the party. I don’t necessarily agree that a coup at this turbulent time was correct, but I would like to see a more united Labour party and I ultimately think we need a stronger leader to do this,” she says.
“I politically lean towards the left of the party, but would support a more central Labour party if it were electable and stuck to its core values. As someone on the left of the party, I feel like it’s difficult for me to express my despair at Corbyn without being called a Blairite or insulted.”
Amy adds: “I am pleased I voted for Corbyn last year and would not necessarily change that, but part of me believes remain could have won with someone like Andy Burnham at the helm of Labour.
“In an ideal world, I would like an MP who is on the left of the party but has the strong leadership required to unite both a fractured party and an even more fractured electorate to take over. However, I understand that is wishful thinking. I would support any leader who I felt could lead us and maintain our core values at the same time, which I feel that Corbyn has failed to do.”
Peter Davies, 67, lives in Lincolnshire and joined the Labour party after the last election in order to participate in choosing a new leader – giving his support to Corbyn. He no longer supports Corbyn’s leadership.
“My wife was French, I am British. My children consider themselves both British and French. I am a committed European,” he says. “During the referendum campaign I saw no support from Corbyn for remain, even though he professed to support it. He didn’t participate in any of the TV debates, was interviewed possibly twice. I suspect he is unable to debate, an essential skill for any party leader.
“As far as I can see, he enjoys going to meetings of the devoted and expounding his views, but that changes nothing. Any leader has to be constantly exposed to the general public (and not just at meetings in town halls), which he never is, nor was during the referendum. I feel extremely let down.
“There are plenty who could make a better job of being leader: Tom Watson, Angela Eagle, Kinnock, Benn. I would not want to see any of the candidates from the last leadership election standing again.”
Vicky Ratcliffe, 37, is a community engagement specialist in London. She does not support Corbyn.
“I don’t, and will never, view him as a viable prime minister. I was willing to give him a chance to prove me wrong, yet he’s done exactly the opposite. His participation in the remain campaign was reluctant at best, and obstinate sabotage at worst.
“We need new blood – young blood. We need the passion we’ve seen the SNP develop north of the border – a British Justin Trudeau if possible. Labour must search its ranks for a passionate, fresh-faced and intelligent individual and give them the support of senior members who have the experience to guide them to No 10.”
Morwenna, 44, is a teacher in London. She joined the party in 1990 and supported Corbyn’s leadership campaign in 2015, but has lost confidence since the referendum.
“It is an absolute betrayal of the youth of this country not to have fought tooth and nail to stay in Europe,” she says. “Corbyn and his team appear to have behaved shockingly to undermine Labour’s position. And his current behaviour in refusing to accept his performance was not good enough, and being willing to destroy the party I’ve been a member of all my life by causing more and more rift between its wings, is disgusting. It is one of the most vain and repellent things I have seen in Labour politics – he must resign and he must do it today.
“I feel betrayed by the trust I put in his vision and horrified at what is happening to my party. There needs to be a unifying candidate with a strong voice, fantastic head for detail and powerful ability to negotiate. In some ways I’d like a new generation, but we probably need a really big hitter from the past so they have the gravitas. It would also be very good if they came from a strong working class background to reconnect with our lost base. Angela Eagle could be a choice. I’d really like Nicola Sturgeon, but I guess we can’t have her.”
It’s complicated
Robbie Pye is a 28-year-old PhD student in Sheffield. He joined the Labour party after the 2015 general election.
He supports Corbyn: “He was elected with an overwhelming mandate from Labour members – the largest in recent history. As a leader sceptical of the European Union whilst still able to recognise the benefits it brings, he put forward a rational and composed message to remain that was still cognisant of the anxieties of those who supported leaving the EU. This makes him best placed to lead the Labour party in a country that just voted leave. Or, at the very least, far better placed to lead than those Labour MPs so uncritical of the EU they face no hope of reconnecting with those who voted to leave.”
But he adds: “Whilst I still support Corbyn, the sheer insubordination of swaths of the PLP may make leadership untenable. A successor supported and endorsed by Corbyn could help to overcome some of these problems. Someone like Clive Lewis could fit this role. However, the opposition to Corbyn within the PLP appears more ideological than personal. It is unclear whether such a move would work.”
Stuart Basson, 57, from Chesterfield, is a local government officer who joined Labour under John Smith, left under Tony Blair, and rejoined just after Corbyn became leader.
He is unsure about Corbyn’s continued leadership. “I’m not convinced by his performance in the EU referendum, but if not him, then who? Burnham? David Miliband? Watson? It needs to be someone with principles who can engage the public and also, sadly, play the media’s game.”
Nick, 48, an engineer based in Stevenage, left the party after the decision to go to war in Iraq, but rejoined when Ed Miliband took over as leader. He voted for Yvette Cooper in the last leadership election.
He says he is unsure whether Corbyn should continue. “I don’t think he’s doing a great job, but his mandate is hard to argue with. Also, the other members of his shadow cabinet should have helped him when they recognised he was not doing a great job. He made it plain that his leadership (such as it is/was) would be consensual – they should have stepped up and helped, rather than carping and sniping.
“I work in an environment where if you can see something needs doing, you do it, rather than complain that the person who should be doing it is making a hash of it. Senior Labour MPs should do the same. I’d like to see Stella Creasy as leader: she’s principled, a good communicator, and not tainted by the past.”
Chloe Barker, 32, an arts producer in Gateshead, joined after the general election in May 2015 and voted for Jeremy Corbyn as leader, but is now unsure of his future.
“I don’t know whether Jeremy Corbyn should stay on as leader of the Labour party, because he has made no speech (except a very short one on the weekend, where he said nothing) nor set out plans on how we go forward since the referendum result. He also didn’t campaign hard enough to keep us in the EU. I think unless he begins to show more of a public face and talk to the media soon, he should go. I am, as a member, considering leaving the party: I just have no idea where the party’s leader stands on anything at the moment – not even if he voted to remain in the EU.
“In terms of possible new leadership for Labour, the only MP who fills me with confidence or has spoken eloquently on the mess we find ourselves in is Emily Thornberry.”
David Heseltine, 30, from Scunthorpe, says he is firmly behind Corbyn but is concerned for his future as leader.
“These betrayals by his ministers make it increasingly difficult for me to see any way out of this mess other than resignation. The only hope I have is that [John] McDonnell puts his name forward as his replacement. It’s sad that it’s come to this, because I truly believe that Corbyn represents the future direction for Labour, but McDonnell is more charismatic and he possibly has a bit more of a chance to unite the party (although he’d still be divisive amongst the PLP).”
