Jeremy Corbyn was embroiled in bad-tempered clashes with the BBC’s Andrew Marr today as he denied he is on the verge of quitting.
The Labour leader swiped that Marr was one of the people ‘wishing’ to get rid of him – and at one point demanded: ‘What are you trying to say?’
He also admitted that there are raging tensions among his close team, after one key aide quit condemning a ‘blizzard of lies’ and ‘class war’ in Mr Corbyn’s office.
The extraordinary exchanges came amid claims Mr Corbyn’s allies have begun triggering succession plans after deciding they are ‘past the high-water mark of Corbynism’.
Meanwhile, the veteran left-winger is facing a stormy Labour conference in Brighton as activists rail at his muddled stance on Brexit.
A poll has found the Tories have opened up a 15-point lead over Labour, and two-thirds of the public disapprove of his EU policy.
But Mr Corbyn dismissed claims he will stand down soon, telling Marr: ‘That is wishful thinking by some people – probably yourself.’
He insisted he will serve a full term as PM if Labour wins a general election, but said: ‘I am very surprised at the question actually.’
Marr hit back that who was PM was a matter of great concern to the public.
Mr Corbyn also shrugged off the row over Andrew Fisher’s bombshell departure, which saw him send a memo criticising public-school educated senior colleagues including strategy chief Seumas Milne.
He said Mr Fisher had been ‘distressed’ about an internal argument and suspected similar memos were ‘flying around the BBC’ all the time, adding: ‘Maybe, Andrew, even in your team.’
Mr Corbyn insisted he will serve a full term as PM if Labour wins a general election, but said: ‘I am very surprised at the question actually.’
Jeremy Corbyn swiped that Marr was one of the people ‘wishing’ to get red of him – and at one point demanded: ‘What are you trying to say?’
Mr Corbyn tried to put a brave face on the bombshell memo from Andrew Fisher today – walking into the conference centre in Brighton with Mr Fisher (second from right) and his controversial strategy chief Seumas Milne (left)
Mr Fisher, head of policy and the author of the party’s last manifesto, delivered a scathing assessment of the ‘blizzard of lies and excuses’ emanating from Mr Corbyn’s office, and claimed it was in the grip of a ‘class war’.
In a memo seen by The Sunday Times and sent last week, Mr Fisher denounced Mr Corbyn’s team for their ‘lack of professionalism, competence and human decency.’
Mr Fisher is expected to stay on until the end of the year, and has played down the spat with Mr Corbyn’s office in another message to colleagues overnight – saying he wanted to prioritise his family after four years of ‘long hours and stress’.
Mr Corbyn staged a toe-curling photo-op designed to defuse the story on the way into party conference this morning.
He was flanked by both Mr Milne and Mr Fisher, with all three wearing fixed smiles for the waiting cameras.
During his interview, a clearly rattled Mr Corbyn said of Mr Fisher: ‘He is wanting to leave in order to spend time looking after his son and being with his wife and his family – because this is a very stressful and very full-on job.
‘And he is working with us for the rest of this year – he will be here for the general election campaign, he is as we speak… downstairs.’
Asked about Mr Fisher’s comments that he was sick of the ‘blizzard of lies’ within Mr Corbyn’s team, the Labour leader said: ‘I think he said that because he was extremely distressed at that point about whatever was going on in discussions within the office at that moment.’
Mr Corbyn added: ‘He is a great colleague, a great friend… I’ve worked with Andrew for 15 years, when I was a backbencher and many other times. He is a great writer, he’s a great thinker and he’s done a huge amount of work in the party.
‘We get along absolutely very well and he’s promised that whatever happens in the future he will be working with me on policy issues.’
The latest furore followed an abortive effort by Mr Corbyn’s allies to oust his deputy Tom Watson, who has infuriated them by calling for Labour to shift to an explicitly pro-Remain stance.
The ‘drive by shooting’ to remove the elected post altogether was humiliatingly abandoned after an outcry over the leader’s purge of moderates.
The Labour leader’s comments came after Tom Watson (right, arriving in Brighton on Saturday), who has repeatedly clashed with Mr Corbyn (left, also arriving in Brighton on Saturday), claimed the civil war at the top of the party had undermined efforts to present itself as an alternative government
The plot to scrap Mr Watson’s position was spearheaded by Jon Lansman (pictured last year), the boss of the Corbyn-supporting Momentum group
The plot to scrap Mr Watson’s position was spearheaded by Jon Lansman, the boss of the Corbyn-supporting Momentum group.
The move has been described by allies of Mr Corbyn as means by which to secure the hard-Left’s grip over the party’s leadership. And it is reportedly thought by some Corbyn allies that another leader would have a better chance of securing Tory support to prevent a No Deal Brexit.
One senior shadow cabinet minister told The Sunday Telegraph that Lansman’s actions, on behalf of Momentum, were an attempt to ‘secure the succession’ on the basis that ‘we have passed the high-water mark of Corbynism’.
Mr Watson, who was met by cheering supporters as he arrived at Brighton station for the conference on Saturday afternoon, was scathing about Mr Lansman.
He said: ‘I think it says there are some people who don’t think clear-headedly, who risk us having a transformative government by playing sectarian games.
‘I put Jon Lansman in that category and I think it’s very sad because I think he has undermined himself and the members of his organisation, many of whom have been in touch with me today and said they were not consulted when he did that and they were very disappointed with him personally.
‘But that’s politics, I’ve been around a long time and I want us to reunite now.’
Mr Watson was the target of an ambush at the Labour National Executive Committee (NEC) on Friday night, at which he was not present due to family commitments.
Although a surprise effort to abolish the post of deputy was ruled out of order by chair Wendy Nichols, those present voted by 17-10 in a bid to debate it anyway – just short of the two-thirds majority required under party rules.
The motion was due to be debated at yesterday morning’s meeting of the NEC, but was withdrawn after Mr Corbyn tabled a call for a review of the deputy leadership position.