UK: Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership contest

Supporters in Liverpool, northwest England, leapt to their feet cheering as the 67-year-old was confirmed victor with 61.8 percent of the vote among party members and supporters, easily defeating rival MP Owen Smith.

Former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell said the party was “more divided than I have ever known” and made it clear that her return to the frontbench would be conditional on Corbyn agreeing that MPs would elect the shadow team.

“Elections are passionate and often partisan affairs and some things are often said in the heat of the debate that we later come to regret”, he told Labour members at the party’s annual conference in the northwestern city of Liverpool.

“We were catching up, approaching neck-and-neck with the Tories back in March before the inner-party turmoil intensified”.

She said: “I don’t think that’s right”.

Victory will be sweet – not just because it is a confirmation of his remarkable support among thousands upon thousands of members around the country.

To supporters like Carel Buxton, a retired school principal from London, the 67-year-old longtime leftist Corbyn is “authentic”.

“As far as I’m concerned, let’s wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we’ve got to do as a party together”.

The result tightened Corbyn’s grip on the party and isolated many of its members of Parliament from a growing membership that is younger and more left-leaning, drawn by Corbyn’s policies to reduce inequality, make Britain nonnuclear, and renationalize key areas of the economy, like the railways and energy.

He called Smith “part of the same Labour family” and said he has no doubt Labour can defeat May’s Tories in the next general election.

“He is nothing other than a complete and utter disaster for the Labour Party”, McTernan said.

He said: “We’re discussing that now, I’m well aware of the PLP decision, we’re discussing also democratising the party”.

“I’ve been a Labour member for over 40 years now and have campaigned for Labour since I was in my teens”, she said.

In a Twitter post, Labour leader Ed Miliband said: “Congratulations to Jeremy on his victory and commiserations to Owen”.

The Leave campaign eventually won higher-than-expected levels of support from traditional Labour strongholds.

Smith also tweeted his congratulations to Corbyn “on being elected decisively” as Labour leader.

This has left Britain’s opposition engaged in a bitter and vitriolic internal feud that has seen accusations of anti-Semitism and even death threats, giving their rival Conservatives free rein to pursue austerity policies and push through the controversial Brexit from the European Union.

Fewer than one in six voters think Jeremy Corbyn can win the next General Election.

“This country needs a sensible progressive party, and it will get one back”, he said.

Asked whether MPs who have criticised his leadership should be anxious about deselection, Corbyn – who won 61.8% of the vote to see-off challenger Owen Smith – failed to totally rule out this possibility when he spoke to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.