Corbyn allies cast doubt whether 'heir apparent' Rebecca Long Bailey is popular enough

Jeremy Corbyn allies cast doubt whether ‘heir apparent’ Rebecca Long Bailey is popular enough to lead Labour as ousted MPs urge party to make ‘fundamental changes’ following devastating election defeat

Meeting organised days after election defeat by Long Bailey ally John McDonnell
Hard-left figures fretted ‘continuity Corbyn’ candidate wasn’t suitable for leader
Concerns could allow other left-wingers to challenge her, including Ian Lavery

By Rory Tingle For Mailonline

Published: 10:17 GMT, 29 December 2019 | Updated: 10:33 GMT, 29 December 2019

Jeremy Corbyn allies are casting doubt on whether his ‘heir apparent’ Rebecca Long Bailey is popular enough to lead Labour – as ousted MPs urged the party to make ‘fundamental changes’ following its devastating election defeat.

During a meeting held days after the poll by John McDonnell, figures from Momentum and radical Corbynite website Novara Media fretted that the former corporate lawyer was neither popular nor dynamic enough to become leader.

One source told The Sunday Times: ‘She’s hardly a hero of our movement… It would be a betrayal of Corbynism if we accepted her as a shoo-in and we are just not sure she can win.’

Allies of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell are said to be concerned at the prospect of Rebecca Long Bailey becoming Labour leader

Another summed up the discussions by saying: ‘It wasn’t bitter. The concern is we just don’t know anything about her.’

Ms Long Bailey joined Labour after the 2010 election and is now being tipped as a ‘continuity Corbyn’ candidate in the leadership race.

However, doubts about her suitability among the party’s radical grassroots could boost the chances of other left-wingers, including Ian Lavery, former president of the National Union of Miners (NUM).

Mr Lavery, who is yet to declare, could secure the backing of Unite, which is Labour’s biggest donor. He is being urged to run by Corbynista ‘fake news’ website Skwawkbox, which receives union funds.

Other potential rivals who have already declared include shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, and Clive Lewis, a shadow Treasury minister.

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner has ruled out running for as leader, instead backing Ms Long Bailey.

According to a recent BMG survey for the Independent, traditional Labour voters want a decisive break from Mr Corbyn’s agenda.

This desire was reflected in a letter from defeated Labour MPs, which stressed that ‘fundamental change’ is needed at the top of the party in the wake of its devastating election defeat.

Mr McDonnell is a staunch supporter of Ms Long Bailey, who he refers to as ‘My Becky’

In a letter written to The Observer, the 11-strong group call for an ‘unflinching’ review into exactly what led to the party’s worst election defeat in 84 years.

‘We have been horrified by the damage that Tory government austerity has wreaked in our communities, crippling our NHS, starving our struggling schools and transport networks, normalising street sleeping and failing to keep our streets safe,’ the letter said.

‘Yet sadly, when it came to polling day, Labour was led to its biggest defeat since 1935. We lost seats in every region and nation with a swing against us in every social class – with the biggest swing against us from the poorest people.’

The BMG poll found almost half of voters think Labour should ditch its current agenda of focusing tax rises on the wealthiest 5 per cent of the population, with just 27 per cent in favour of keeping the policy.

When asked about Labour’s current positions on public spending and nationalisation, 45 per cent want the policies dumped, while in both cases close to a third do not.

Other candidates expected to stand in the upcoming leadership contest, which is likely to be concluded around March, include Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, and Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley.

Press regulator Ipso ruled that Skwawkbox could be called a publisher of fake news after it ‘endorsed the credibility’ of false rumours that the real death toll from the Grenfell Tower fire was covered up.

Doubts about her suitability among the party’s radical grassroots could boost the chances of other left-wingers, including Ian Lavery (pictured)

‘We have to look unflinchingly at what went wrong’: Defeated MPs slam Corbyn in Observer letter

In a letter penned to The Observer, a 11-strong group of defeated Labour MPs called for an ‘unflinching’ review into exactly what led to the party’s worst election defeat in 84 years.

‘The scale of this defeat means that we have to look unflinchingly at what went wrong, way beyond a simple review, welcome as that might be. We need to be honest about why our outgoing leadership’s reflexive anti-western worldview was so unpopular and address the reasons.’

According to the group, which includes former MPs Mary Creagh, Emma Reynolds and Anna Turley, the party’s defeat stemmed primarily from a ‘focus on nationalisation and uncontrolled spending commitments’ as well as ‘cronyism at the top of (the) party and repeated unwillingness to stand up to the stain of antisemitism’.

‘We are devastated that, across the country, we can no longer help our residents to whom we have devoted ourselves, still struggling under a Tory government,’ they wrote.

‘It is our duty to speak up now, so that our leadership candidates keep these people at the heart of their campaigns to lead our party.

‘The challenge for the eventual winner is immense. We need to win 150 seats in every corner of the country, gaining votes from a coalition of communities. Labour needs to be in government – and for that, fundamental change at the top of our party is required. Only this will help us recover from the catastrophic loss of 12 December.’

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