Jeremy Corbyn should stand down as
Labour leader if the party loses the next general election, one of his shadow cabinet allies has said.
Rebecca Long-Bailey said she agreed with shadow chancellor John McDonnell that Corbyn should quit as that is the convention within the party.
The Labour leader has so far refused to say what he would do if he lost an election, but McDonnell said this week he could not see how he and Corbyn could stay in post.
Long-Bailey backed McDonnell on
BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show, stressing: “I think it’s right for John to say that in the event of losing an
election that they would stand aside.
“That is convention within the party, that’s usually what happens.”
McDonnell also said the next Labour leader has “got to be” a woman, which Long-Bailey said would be “fantastic”.
But the shadow business secretary, who has been touted as a potential successor to Corbyn, insisted: “It’s not something that I’ve ever thought of or I am considering at this stage.
“I am fighting for a Labour government and to get
Jeremy Corbyn elected as prime minister.”
Corbyn meanwhile refused to back McDonnell’s position on the leadership.When asked if he would stand down as Labour leader if he lost the next general election, Jeremy Corbyn says "we are not expecting to lose the next election".Get live updates on #Ridge here: https://t.co/gkVGqz18Dgpic.twitter.com/eb9OmudBXz— Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) October 13, 2019He told Sky News’s Ridge On Sunday: “We are not expecting to lose the next election. It is a hypothetical question. It is up to the members of our party to decide who the leader is.
“John gave an answer to an interview that he undertook. My answer is this: I am leading this party to go into an election. We have hundreds of thousands of members determined to win that election.
“I am determined to get a message that it is only Labour that is going to get a message out there, that it is only Labour that is going to end austerity and invest in a better future for this country. I want to lead the party to do that.”Related... Jess Phillips 'Might' Consider Labour Leadership Bid If Corbyn Quits Labour Faces Election 'Problem' After Months Of Retreats In Local By-Elections, Expert Warns No Referendum Before A General Election, Says Jeremy Corbyn