Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn defeats Owen Smith

From The BBC

Saturday 24th September 2016

Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected as Labour leader, comfortably defeating his challenger Owen Smith. He won 61.8% of the vote, a larger margin of victory than last year. He vowed to bring Labour back together, saying "we have much more in common than divides us", insisting the party could win the next election as the "engine of progress" in the country. More than half a million party members, trade unionists and registered supporters voted in the contest. In a result announced on the eve of Labour's party conference in Liverpool, Mr Corbyn won 313,209 votes, compared with Mr Smith's 193,229.

Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg after his victory, Mr Corbyn said the debate about who led the party was "now over" and Labour needed to take its message on the economy, education and the NHS to the country. Asked what steps he would take to reassure critical MPs, he said the return of shadow cabinet elections was "absolutely in the mix" although he declined to rule out the possible deselection of sitting MPs in the run-up to the next election. "I think you will see a lot of changes over the next few weeks," he said. "They (MPs) have no need to worry at all because it is all about democracy. We are all democratically accountable to our party and to our constituents. They have no need to worry at all. I am reaching out."

[Good! Now hopefully the Labour Party can stop pissing about with all the stupid in-fighting and get back to attacking the Tories. Maybe now they can abandon a lot of their Centrist bullshit and move back to the Left where they should be with a CLEAR distinction between what they stand for and what the Conservatives believe in. At least then the electorate will have an actual choice rather than the faux choice of politicians in different styles of Saville Row suits. I look forward to having some real politics to argue about and an end to the constant attacks on Corbyn from all side – except now I expect things to go underground because the PTB are REALLY scared of him and that alone gives me great hope for the future. For the first time in a long time I’m even thinking of voting Labour in the next election…..]