Labour vote shows long-time party members overwhelmingly backed Owen Smith but were toppled by Corbyn’s new wave of supporters
Veteran leftie victorious over Pontypridd MP with 62 per cent of the votes after bitter summer-long campaign
THE majority of votes won by Labour loser Owen Smith were from long-standing party members according to a new poll - while Jeremy Corbyn swept to victory supported by those who joined AFTER last year's leadership election.
According to YouGov survey's for Election Data the defeated challenger outstripped Jeremy Corbyn among younger members and was also popular in Scotland.
But Corbyn enjoyed an overwhelming lead among members who joined Labour during and after last year's leadership election - showing that the old guard were more in favour of having Smith lead their ranks than him.
The exit poll - which covers only full members and not the registered and affiliated supporters who were also entitled to vote - gave Mr Corbyn an overall advantage of 59 per cent to 41 per cent over Smith.
Among those who joined during last year's leadership election, Corbynistas had a clear advantage of 74 per cent -25 per cent and among those who signed up since he became leader an even more emphatic 83 per cent-15 per cent.
New recruits heavily outnumber long-serving members in the party's ranks, after a trebling in membership to 550,000 over the past year. The new figures clearly demonstrate that this influx of new blood has been accompanied by a shift to the left.
Tellingly, among those members who did not vote Labour in the 2015 general election, the opposition leader recorded a massive advantage over Smith.
It was not clear whether this group was made up predominantly of previous non-voters or of ex-backers of the Greens or smaller left-wing parties.
On popular search engine Google today "How to leave the Labour Party"; was the most searched for party-related term.
After sweeping to victory, Jeremy Corbyn called for unity and urged Labour to "wipe the slate clean" after crushing Owen Smith to win his second leadership contest in a landslide victory.
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The party announced at a special conference in Liverpool this morning that the veteran leftie was victorious over the Pontypridd MP by 61.8 per cent to 38.2 per cent.
More than 500,000 votes were cast, with Corbyn picking up 313, 209 to his rivals 193,229.
Mr Smith had all but conceded defeat earlier today after it was expected the current Labour leader would romp to victory.
Speaking after his victory Mr Corbyn urged Labour to "wipe the slate clean" after following a bitter campaign kickstarted by a host of his Shadow Cabinet members resigning in late June.
He said the both he and Mr Smith were part of the "same Labour family" in an appeal for unity, and thanked voters in the contest for their "trust and support".
Referring to the "passionate and often partisan" contest, Corbyn acknowledged "things are sometimes said in the heat of the debate on all sides which we sometimes later come to regret".
But he added: "I will do everything I can to repay the trust and support, to bring our party together, to make it an engine of progress for our country and the people that depend on the Labour Party to protect their interests, and win power to deliver real change in this country."
Mr Corbyn continued: "We have much more in common than that which divides us.
"As far as I'm concerned, let's wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we have got to do as a party together."
Mr Corbyn called on Labour MPs to unite behind his leadership and help build support for "a genuine alternative" to the Conservative Government.
"I have no doubt this party can win the next general election whenever the Prime Minister calls it, and form that next government," he said.
"To do that, we have all got to work together."
Mr Corbyn said he had a responsibility as leader to unite the party at conference, in Parliament and across the country.
But he added: "It is also the responsibility of the whole party - Members of Parliament, councillors, party members and our wonderful supporters across the country - to work together and respect the democratic choice that's been made."
And he urged all Labour supporters to join him in taking part in a national day of action next Saturday against Mrs May's plans to expand selection in education and open new grammar schools.
Following a summer-long campaign dogged by allegations of abuse between supporters on opposing sides of the party, Mr Corbyn delivered a promise to tackle intimidation.
He said: “Our party has a duty of care to our members. That means intervening to stop personal abuse and abiding by the principles of natural justice in the way we handle it.
"Politics is demeaned and corroded by intimidation and abuse. It is not my way and it is not the Labour way and never will be."
But Mr Corbyn's re-election as Labour leader is unlikely to draw a line under the unrest within the party's ranks of MPs.
Despite the renewed mandate from the party's grassroots, less than three months ago 172 Labour MPs voted to say they had no confidence in his leadership, and few are likely to have changed their mind since then.
His allies hope many of the senior MPs who resigned frontbench roles in protest at his leadership will return now their attempts to unseating him have failed.
But many of his critics have already said they will remain on the backbenches, and the return of others could depend on whether elections to the shadow cabinet are restored – which seems unlikely to happen.
Reacting to his defeat Mr Smith said the party needed to “stick together” and “take the fight to the Tories”.
In a statement he said: Above all, despite present divisions, we have to stick together in the long term.
“I call on those party members disappointed by the result and tempted to look elsewhere to stay with labour and to stay involved.
“Let’s work together to renew this movement and take the fight to the Tories.”
Union leaders were among the first to warmly welcome his victory, but said Labour now has a big challenge ahead.
Unite boss Len McCluskey, a key Corbyn backer, said the party's MPs should now listen to its members and stop the "sniping, plotting and corridor coups".
He said: "This election contest was needless, a distraction that the Labour party and its members could have done without.
"But after a summer of unrest we can now look forward to the party taking on this Conservative government, exposing its divisive and elitist policies."
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said: "Jeremy Corbyn has won because he's captured the imagination of party members.
"People are inspired by his promises to end austerity, fix our broken public services and build a different kind of economy.”
But he added that “the scale of the political challenge facing Labour cannot be ignored”, saying "a way must be found so Labour can come together”.
"Jeremy must show those sceptical about his leadership that he has the ability and the ideas to win an election, and enable Labour to regain the support of the British people," said Mr Prentis.
Mick Whelan, leader of the train drivers' union Aslef, said: "It is now time for everyone - especially those in the Parliamentary Labour Party who have spent so much of the last year undermining Jeremy - to get behind him, to turn their fire on the Tories, and to get ready for a general election which could be just around the corner.”
Tim Roache, the GMB General Secretary, also urged the party to unite “and get on with holding this Government to account” and stop “banging on about our internal differences”.
And Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "After a bruising and unnecessary leadership contest, the party must start working together in order to bring Labour into government.
"As demonstrated by today's overwhelming victory, Jeremy Corbyn still has the support of the vast majority of party members and now MPs must respect his democratic mandate.”
But the Tories said his re-election shows Labour are “too divided, distracted and incompetent to build a country that works for everyone” and are not a credible alternative Government.
Conservative Party Chairman Patrick McLoughlin said: “172 Labour MPs don’t think Jeremy Corbyn can lead the Labour Party - so how can he lead the country?
“Instead of learning lessons from the past, they have engaged in a bitter power struggle that will continue even after they’ve picked a leader.”
The full results of the contest show Mr Corbyn won in every category; members (168,216 to 116,960), registered supporters (84,918 to 36,599) and affiliated supporters (60,075 to 39, 670).
Let’s work together for real change - Jeremy Corbyn
Here is his full speech after winning the Labour leadership:
I want to thank the more than 300,000 members and supporters who have given me their support and trust in this Labour leadership election.
I am honoured to have won the votes of a majority of members, of affiliated supporters and of registered supporters, who have given me the second mandate in a year to lead our party.
I want to thank the volunteers on my campaign, on Owen Smith’s campaign, and to Owen himself and to all the Party staff who worked so hard over the summer.
It has been an amazing summer all over Britain our Labour family facing the future.
And I will do everything I can to repay that trust and that support to bring our party together to make it an engine of progress for our country and the people that depend on the Labour Party to protect their interests and win power to deliver real change.
Elections are passionate and partisan affairs things are often said in the heat of the debate on all sides that we later regret.
But always remember in our party, we have much more in common than that which divides us.
As far as I’m concerned the slate is wiped clean from today.
We are proud as a party that we’re not afraid to discuss openly, to debate and disagree that is essential for a party that wants to change people’s lives for the better that isn’t prepared to accept things as they are.
It’s also an essential part of what has drawn over half a million people into membership of what is now the largest political party in western Europe a party which has nearly tripled in size since last spring.
Those new members are now part of a nationwide movement who can now take our message into every community in the country to win support for the election of a Labour government.
Our party has a duty of care to our members.
That means intervening to stop personal abuse and also abiding by the principles of natural justice in the way we handle it.
Politics is demeaned and corroded by intimidation and abuse. It is not my way and it is not the Labour way.
Now is the time for all of us to focus every ounce of our energy on exposing and defeating the Tories and the damage they are doing to our country.
Theresa May’s Government isn’t a new government it’s David Cameron’s government with a new hard right edge, repackaged with progressive slogans but threatening to take the country backwards and dithering as we face the historic challenges of Brexit.
So if you believe that education is better than segregation;
That we need an NHS that isn’t threatened with breakdown loaded with debt; That older people deserve dignity and the care they need in their own home; That we have a duty as a country to refugees and to promote peace rather than conflict;
If like me you believe that it’s a scandal that here in Britain, the sixth largest economy in the world four million children are in poverty and six million workers are paid less than the living wage.
And if, like me, you believe we can do things far better then help us build support for a genuine alternative that will invest in our future a more prosperous future in which the wealth we all create is shared more equally.
Together, arguing for the real change this country needs I have no doubt that this party can win the next election whenever Theresa May decides to call it and form the next government.
To do that, we need to work together.
This time next week we will hit the streets united as a party I am calling on Labour party members to join us in a national campaign for inclusive education for all next Saturday.
The Tories’ plans for grammar school segregation of our children expose their divisive and damaging agenda for our country.
My responsibility as Labour Leader is to unite this party at conference this week in Parliament and in every community around the country.
But it’s also the responsibility of the whole party: members of parliament, councillors, members and supporters across the country to work together and respect the democratic choice that’s been made.
Labour is a party brimming full of ideas of talent and creativity and so is Britain.
Unleashing that potential is the job of all of us. Let’s work together for real change.
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