Jeremy Corbyn denies that he is to blame for Labour’s historic defeat in Copeland as John McDonnell claims Tory misinformation lost them the vote
JEREMY Corbyn has denied that he is to blame for the party's stunning defeat in the Copeland by-election this morning, and refused again to quit.
The Labour leader said that he was "disappointed" at the results, but that his party would continue campaigning on the NHS, social care and housing.
In the early hours of this morning Labour suffered its most humiliating defeat yet under the hapless Labour leader when the party lost a seat it had held since its creation in the 1980s - but Mr Corbyn STILL won't stand down.
Answering questions at a speech on Brexit this morning, he was asked whether he had looked in the mirror and considered whether he was the reason the party had lost the vote.
"No," he replied, and refused to expand further. "Thank you for your question."
Labour's new campaign chief Ian Lavery said today that the election was not in "any way shape or form an election on the leadership of the Labour party" and that Mr Corbyn did not come up on the doorstep - despite reports to the contrary.
He added: "Jeremy Corbyn is one of the most popular politicians in the country at this moment in time. The issues in Copeland weren't about Jeremy Corbyn."
Shadow Chancellor McDonnell insisted this morning that Labour's loss was not about Mr Corbyn, but the "misinformation" given by the Tories.
Plus, Shadow Home Secretary Emily Thornberry said it was "fake news" that Labour didn't support the nuclear industry in the constituency.
And Mr Corbyn told Sky when asked whether he would step down: "I was elected to lead this party, to oppose austerity and oppose the redistribution of wealth in the wrong direction, which is what this Government is doing.
"Copeland was obviously very disappointing. I had hoped we would have won the election there. We didn't."
Trudy Harrison, who hailed her victory as a "truly historic event", will become the area's new MP in a huge win for Theresa May.
The result is the first time a governing party has gained a seat in a vote outside of a general election in 35 years.
George Osborne, the former Chancellor said this morning: "How much longer is the Labour movement going to put up with its utterly useless, shambolic and frankly embarrassing leadership?"
The swing from Labour was more than SIX per cent as voters rejected the Labour leader and his candidate, Gillian Troughton.
Mr Corbyn refused to answer questions about the by-election as he left his house this morning.
He said that his party would not allow Brexit to divide Britain, and he would work with other socialist parties around Europe.
But this morning his allies sought to put the blame elsewhere for the disastrous loss.
Labour's John McDonnell said in a series of interviews that he was not pleased about the result in Copeland, but that it was one of the most difficult seats to defend. And he refused to say he was in "denial" over the dire state of the Labour party.
He said: "Although we campaigned very hard over the NHS and gave assurances about nuclear… the misinformation put up by the Conservatives meant we weren’t able to persuade people."
He refused to admit that his leader was the issue, and said people who thought the result was about Mr Corbyn should "get real".
The Shadow Chancellor insisted that the loss was "not unexpected given the unique circumstances" and divisions in the party.
"This isn’t about Jeremy Corbyn, this is about the positioning of the Labour party for the future," he added.
"We’ve had a difficult period over the last 20 months because of these leadership challenges and divisions that have been sown within our party."
"He is a different type of leader, who is decent and honest. He's not the macho leader we've seen in the past."
Mr McDonnell was adamant that he would NOT step down.
"He won't do that," the Shadow Chancellor told Radio 4. "I'm not doing ifs and buts. He hasn't [said he is considering his position]. He's never said that.
"This is fundamental commitment to our community and our country. He will do it well once he becomes our Prime Minister. He wants to change our society."
He also put some of the blame on Tony Blair's speech on Brexit last week, saying: "We can't have a situation like we did last week where Tony Blair comes out and attacks his own party... Peter Mandelson as well."
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Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald also hit out at the former Labour bigwigs for their comments in the past week.
"We're not helped by people in our own party telling us he gets up every day trying to destroy the duty elected leader of the Labour party," he said.
"It's people like Peter Mandelson who should be looking at themselves and saying... how are they serving the Labour party that they are supposed to belong to?"
The constituency is home to the Sellafield plant, and it is thought that Mr Corbyn's anti-nuclear views put people off.
Labour's campaign chief Andrew Gwynne said: "There have been issues about the nuclear industry, the misinformation that has been put out during this campaign."
And grassroots group Momentum this morning said the loss of Copeland was the "result of 40 years of neglect by political establishment. Labour must win back the trust of those who have been left behind."
Mr Corbyn said last night that the party needed to do more to reconnect with voters.
"Labour's victory in Stoke is a decisive rejection of UKIP's politics of division and dishonesty. But our message was not enough to win through in Copeland," he said.
"In both campaigns, Labour listened to thousands of voters on the doorstep. Both constituencies, like so many in Britain, have been let down by the political establishment.
"To win power to rebuild and transform Britain, Labour will go further to reconnect with voters, and break with the failed political consensus."
Ukip came second with 5,233 votes this morning, but closely followed by the Conservatives with 5,154 votes. That was around a 2 per cent increase from the 2015 general election.
Mr Nuttall said after the results were announced: "There's a lot more to come from us. We're not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere."
And Labour MPs have already begun lining up to attack Mr Corbyn.
John Woodcock said the party were on track for a "historic and catastrophic" defeat in the 2020 general election which would have huge ramifications for all the communities Labour represents.
MP Neil Coyle said the leadership was burying its head in the sand.
And Labour donor John Mill said the party needed to develop its economic policies, and called for a new leader to take the reins.
He added that the Labour leadership needed to be less focused on pleasing its membership - and look outwards to voters.
He said: "The result wasn't a very good one. The turnout was very low... quite a lot of Labour people stayed at home. There is a real issue with reconnecting with all of those Labour voters."
Ms Harrison said in her acceptance speech the Labour leader didn't represent "ordinary working people" after winning the Copeland seat by more than 2,000 votes.
She said: "It's been very clear talking to people throughout this campaign that Jeremy Corbyn doesn't represent them.
"They want a party which is on the side of ordinary working people, which will respect the way we voted in the referendum and which will build a country which represents everyone.
"That's why they voted for me tonight."
Isabel Hardman of The Spectator described the situation of campaigners having to explain Mr Corbyn's "many u-turns" after his famous new year relaunch.
"Sources told me that on the day of his infamous ‘new year relaunch’, campaigners were knocking on doors which opened to reveal a television playing the Labour leader in the midst of one of his many U-turns of that day.
"The voter who lived in the home then quite reasonably asked why they should be expected to vote for this man."
Downing Street this morning dismissed suggestions that Theresa May could call a snap general election in the wake of the Copeland result.
"The PM has set out the position very clearly on a general election. There are no plans for one," a No 10 spokesman said.