YOUR LETTERS: New leader is on probation

Shadow cabinet minister Chris Bryant was among Labour MPs to dash Mr Farron’s defection hopes yesterday, saying he “wouldn’t jump shop for all the tea in China (and India)”.

The Lib Dem leader and his predecessor Nick Clegg are using the party’s conference to make the case for voting to remain in the European Union in the referendum on membership promised by David Cameron.

But it was shadow foreign secretary, Hillary Benn, who said on the BBC show that instead of labour’s, conservatives were ideological.

The official, who reportedly served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, said that many military officials were concerned by Corbyn’s refusal to condemn the actions of the Irish Republican Army, referring to a June incident where Corbyn was asked in a BBC interview to condemn the radical group’s actions, to which he replied: “I condemn all bombing, it is not a good idea, and it is bad what happened”.

Corbyn set himself against airstrikes in Syria when he called for “peaceful solutions” at a rally for refugees after being elected Labour leader.

TIM FARRON botched his bid to woo Labour voters and MPs to the Lib Dems this weekend by describing some of Thatcher’s most divisive acts as “undoubtedly necessary”. “I don’t expect you to blindly follow everything the leadership says, but I think there are sound reasons why on this occasion you should back Tim and his proposals”.

Despite all that it cost us, many Lib Dems are still exceptionally proud of what we managed to achieve in coalition (holding back numerous damaging policies now being rolled out by a newly-unshackled Conservative majority government).

He said: “My view, being entirely realistic, is that this is a 10-year journey”. They’re smeared not because of any inherent faults in them, but because information, upon which people form their opinions, is nearly entirely controlled by the powerful right-wing media.

“It allows a majority to a party that got less than a quarter of the votes, so we have a awful electoral system and a bad anti-democratic Parliament”.

He said: “She decided after quite a lot of thought that the best place for her is in the Labour Party and I support that decision”.

Richard Wyn Jones, professor of Welsh Politics at Cardiff University, will warn also tonight of tensions and difficulties between an opposition Labour Party at Westminster and a governing one in Wales.

Lord Falconer said he was in favour of renewing Trident but said it was for the party to debate the issue.

“So far the only people who have reached out to me have been very kind and supportive and have congratulated me on my bravery, but I imagine there will be some disgruntled people too“.

“The long conversation with Jeremy Corbyn on Sunday September 13 was very amicable, during which I had requested a meeting with him about anti-Semitism and he agreed to do that”.