Angela Eagle has had to admit that far from having the support of the majority of Labour MPs, she has effectively been dumped as her colleagues have rushed to nominate the little known Owen “Owen Who?” Smith.
When Owen Smith announced his intention to challenge Corbyn, he and Eagle agreed to seek nominations from MPs on the basis that whichever of them had the lower number of nominations when nominations closed (5pm tomorrow, Wednesday) would withdraw in favour of the other candidate. However, by 5pm today Smith was ahead by what he called “a significant margin”, and Eagle announced she was withdrawing.
Angela Eagle began her withdrawal announcement by thanking her supporters for showing faith in her and supporting her campaign before going on to congratulate Owen Smith for convincing the majority of MPs to back him as the better candidate to take on Jeremy Corbyn. She announced that she would support Owen with all her “enthusiasm and might” so that he could help Labour become an effective opposition and win support from voters. Finally, she called on people to sign up as registered supporters to help defeat Jeremy Corbyn.
Owen Smith also made a statement, in which he appealed to all members of the Labour Party to vote for him so that he could heal division (presumably he was referring to the divisions caused by the series of MPs who have been waiting for a chance to launch a leadership challenge) and turn the Labour Party into an effective opposition which can win back the trust of the British people.
Strangely, given that he has long been associated with more right wing policies, the ex-PR man said he was just as radical as Jeremy Corbyn. He thanked Corbyn for moving the party forward but felt that the Party should now be led by a new generation.
If Smith goes forward as the sole challenger to Corbyn, he may find that Labour’s members prefer the real thing rather than this very pale and late in the day copy. On the other hand, it may yet transpire that Smith is himself only yet another stalking horse, with a better known right winger ready to step in as the challenger at the last minute. Only tomorrow will tell…
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