Corbyn calamity: UK Labour Party implodes, will seek new leader

Labour Party’s crushing defeat at hands of turned-off voters will bring left-wing party a new leer — ending Jeremy Corbyn’s unsuccessful reign — and give it an urgent task: To recover allegiance of its core working-class voters. Tritional Labour voters in rth and central parts of England deserted party in droves, allowing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives — for deces seen by Labour backers as anti-union party of London elite — to make unprecedented gains.

Johnson’s clarion call to “get Brexit done” proved more appealing than Corbyn’s two-pronged approach, which raised prospect of yet more delay in alrey slow Brexit process. It will fall to a new leer to come up with a strategy that might bring party back to power, or at least restore it as a credible opposition force. Corbyn said Friday he will t le Labour into ar general election, but resisted calls to step down immediately.

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He later said an internal election to choose a new party leer to replace him will take place early next year and that he will step down n. Corbyn’s party did relatively well in 2017 vote, depriving resa May of a majority in Parliament, but imploded in Thursday’s election. Corbyn was bedeviled by concerns about his fuzzy Brexit policy, cost of party’s ambitious social plans, and worries about perceived tolerance of anti-Semitism in his inner circle.

As bitter recriminations began about failed campaign, former Labour Party Home Secretary Alan Johnson called Corbyn “a disaster on doorstep. Everyone knew that he couldn’t le working class out of a paper bag.” results also showed that ever-cheerful Johnson — fond of saying Britain is greatest country in world — connected more easily with voters than often-dour Corbyn, whose claims that Labour would dress rising inequality did t gain traction.

Ian Murray, a Labour legislator who won re-election in Scotland, said party’s existence will be threatened if it doesn’t learn from across--board defeats. “This party must listen, this party must respond, or this party will die,” he warned. He said party needs t just to replace Corbyn but also to change world view he brought to leership. “For sake of Labour movement, for sake of Labour Party, but more importantly for sake of country, t only does person have to go but policy and ideology has to go as well,” he said.

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Corbyn early Friday indicated his desire to preside over a period of “reflection” in which party would regroup, a strategy that seems designed to make sure that “Corbynism” — his embrace of European-style socialism with an expanded role for state — does t end once he is replaced.

He may face stiff opposition, however, from Labour figures who want party to move back to political center, as defined by more successful figures including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and even Ed Miliband, who was beaten by Conservatives in 2015 but did t suffer a drubbing of this magnitude.

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