Jeremy Corbyn to win Labour leadership according to new poll

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Jeremy Corbyn elected Labour leader in landslide victory



He received 59.5 per cent of the vote, and a huge cheer from Labour delegates. The margin of victory was much larger than had been predicted, putting Corbyn in an unassailable position.

"Those who think they can get rid of Jeremy Corbyn any time soon are going to have to think again," said the BBC's chief political correspondent. "He has a rock-solid mandate, an unbelieveable mandate"

Moments after his victory had been announced, Corbyn took to the stage at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster to chants of "yes we did". When they had died down, he paid tribute to his predecessor, Ed Miliband, and made a pointed attack on the media coverage he received.

But he struck a conciliatory note too. He praised the other candidates, including Liz Kendall, the most right-wing of his rivals, and described her as a friend who stood up for what she believed in. He also welcome new members who had joined the party in order to vote in the leadership contest, 85 per cent of whom voted for him, and invited those who had turned their back on the party to return to the fold.

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Dave Nellist welcomes Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party leadership victory



Jeremy Corbyn’s victory in the Labour Party leadership race has been welcomed by former Coventry Labour MP Dave Nellist.

The 63-year-old Labour exile is now national chairman of the left-wing Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and previously told the Telegraph he could seek to merge his new party with Labour under Mr Corbyn’s socialist leadership.

Mr Corbyn beat runner-up Andy Burnham in the race to replace former leader Ed Miliband, with Yvette Cooper finishing second and Liz Kendall in last place.

Mr Nellist was Coventry South East MP from 1983 to 1992 and served alongside Mr Corbyn before he was expelled from Labour in 1991 for his links to the hard-left Militant Tendency group.

He said: “Jeremy’s victory will now give a voice to the depth of anti-austerity feeling in Britain. He has clearly inspired huge numbers, particularly young people, with his call for free education, public ownership of rail and energy, and for councils to stand together in opposition to government cuts.

“TUSC will host the first national left-wing meeting to discuss the new situation in two weeks’ time. I’m sure that meeting will welcome Jeremy’s victory, but in reality that’s just the first step.

“We will also be making plans to write to every Labour candidate standing in next May’s elections to ask for a meeting with them to see how much they are prepared to back their new leader’s anti-austerity stance.

“In particular we will be asking Labour candidates if they agree with us that Labour councils should now combine together and refuse to implement the Tories’ brutal austerity agenda.

“Where we get a positive answer from Labour councillors or candidates we look forward to the possibilities of joint action against austerity.

“Where, however, Labour councillors or candidates are not prepared to follow Jeremy’s stance in opposing George Osborne’s austerity agenda, then TUSC will again stand widely in the May 2016 elections in England and Wales and Scotland.”

TUSC stood 135 parliamentary candidates and 619 local council candidates in the general and local elections this year.

Mr Nellist previously told the Telegraph a deal-breaker for a merger between Labour and TUSC would be that ‘Clause Four’, viewed as a symbol of the party’s commitment to socialism, was reinstated after it was changed by Tony Blair in 1995.

The deputy leadership race was won by West Bromwich MP Tom Watson.

There is zero chance of a merger between Labour and TUSC. Anyone seeking to join or rejoin Labour would first have to give up membership of any other party.

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Dave Nellist welcomes Jeremy Corbyn victory in Labour leadership contest



A former Labour MP expelled from the party who now leads Coventry’s Socialists has welcomed the re-election of Jeremy Corbyn.

Dave Nellist spoke of his desire to “work with” Mr Corbyn, who had been a colleague of his in the 1980s. The national chairman of TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition), who left Labour in 1992 , raised the prospect of party outsiders and the newly-elected leader opening a “new chapter in British politics”.

He said together they could build “a new working class, socialist, mass movement that could challenge inequality”.

But links between the two have previously caused controvery. During the leadership battle senior members of the Labour Party locally accused the Corbyn camp of colluding with the Socialist Party .

Mr Corbyn had been due to speak in Broadgate in order to drum up support and members of the Coventry Socialist Party had been encouraged to come and show their support.

But senior local Labour Party members in the city insisted they were not informed of the event in advance and accused the Corbyn camp of using opposition party members to try and sway the election.

Referring to the outcome of the leadership contest, Mr Nellist said: “It’s an excellent result.

“Jeremy’s decisive victory over a concerted effort to take Labour back to the Blair days will give heart to socialists outside the Labour Party, too.

“But unfortunately it’s not over yet. It’s clear to me that the right are not going to give up. And neither should the left.

“The only way that Jeremy’s victory can be consolidated is by democratising the Labour Party and building a wider anti-austerity party. One that could bring into alliance with Labour a range of socialist, anti-cuts and green organisations and parties, that could reach out to parts of the population that Labour has lost touch with.

“I’d welcome the chance to participate in discussions on how those of us currently outside the Labour Party could work with Jeremy in building a new working class, socialist, mass movement that could challenge inequality and open a new chapter in British politics.”

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Expelled Militant Labour members apply to rejoin party



Expelled figures linked to the former Militant wing of the Labour Party have formally applied to rejoin Labour.

The 75 applicants include former Militant leaders Peter Taaffe and Dave Nellist, who was Labour MP for Coventry South East for nine years.

They cite Donald Trump's election as US president as a motivation to "assist the struggle to transform Labour".

The internal battle with the Militant tendency faction was one of Labour's biggest controversies of the 1980s.

Mr Taaffe, who was expelled from Labour in 1983, said: "We want to play our part in the struggle to transform Labour and urge the National Executive Committee to aid this process by admitting us, and others who have been similarly expelled or excluded, into membership."

Mr Taaffe, now the general secretary of the Socialist Party, was expelled along with ex-MP Mr Nellist - now the chairman of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).

Their affiliations with Labour rivals mean it appears unlikely that their applications to rejoin the party will be approved.

A Labour spokeswoman told the BBC: "It is against Labour's rules to be a member of another political party or organisation which has its own programme, principles and policy, or distinctive and separate propaganda, and which is therefore ineligible for affiliation to the party."

The 75 expelled Labour members have pitched their application directly at Mr Corbyn, saying his re-election in September "marked the beginning of a new struggle against a capitalist establishment"

Their statement continued: "We want to play our part in seeing that struggle through to victory."