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Rattled Jeremy Corbyn fumes he won’t quit branding it ‘wishful thinking’ as Labour plunged into civil war
A FUMING Jeremy Corbyn today vowed NOT to quit as Labour boss and insisted he will lead his party into the next election.
The bad-tempered leftie boss slapped down rumours he was about to throw in the towel as "wishful thinking" - as his annual conference descended into chaos before it had even started.
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The BBC's Andrew Marr asked him this morning if he would serve a full term as PM if he got into No10, to which he snapped back: "Of course. Why wouldn’t I?"
And he quipped sarcastically at the reporter: "It's wishful thinking by some people - probably yourself."
But it comes after a chaotic start to the party's gathering after his top policy aide quit and the party descended into a fresh civil war over Brexit.
And a fresh poll put Labour 15 points behind the Tories, too.
The Opinium research for the Observer showed Mr Corbyn's party on just 22 per cent, trailing far behind the Conservatives on 37 per cent.
As Labour gathered in Brighton for its conference:
- Mr Corbyn refused AGAIN to say whether Labour would campaign for Remain or Leave if they got a new Brexit deal and had a second referendum
- MPs squabbled to agree to a common position on Brexit
- The leftie boss was rocked by the dramatic resignation of one of his top aides, Andrew Fisher
- The party said it would abolish prescription charges and would ditch schools rating system Ofsted - but would also charge Brits to PAY to drive to hospital
- Mr Corbyn promised to ditch the PM's plane in No10 and would go by train in to save the planet
Yesterday there were rumours that Mr Corbyn, 70, had said he would resign as he was under "incredible pressure" leading the party.
And the speculation was boosted by an attempt to oust Deputy Leader Tom Watson too, who would automatically take over if Mr Corbyn were to step down.
But the plot was foiled after an outcry from MPs - and the leftie boss himself stepped in with his own plans.
Instead he wants to see two deputy leaders in future, which would weaken Mr Watson's role.
Today Mr Corbyn admitted he knew of plots to try and scrap the deputy role, but claimed he wasn't aware of the plan happening this weekend.
"I am not all seeing and all knowing, I would love to be," he joked.
Mr Watson's shadow cabinet colleagues Diane Abbott and Rebecca Long Bailey voted yesterday for the motion to ditch the deputy role.
And today the party leader was ridiculed after he refused to say whether the party would campaign to Remain or Leave in a second vote.
The party's policy would be decided later at a special conference, he claimed.
Labour would go into an election promising to get a "credible" deal and then put it up against Remain in a fresh referendum within months.
"We will put both views and say, 'this is the best deal we can get'," he told the BBC.
"These are the choices before you - let’s see what we get.
"We will make that decision at that time."
Yesterday Labour's ruling body put forward yet another policy fudge which would kick the can down the road on Brexit yet again.
The party's policy would be to have a second referendum by June next year, and negotiate a better Brexit deal to be put up against Remain.
It means the Labour Party could go into the next General Election without saying whether or not it will back Remain or Leave in the event of a second referendum.
They would only decide what way to go after having a special conference with all members after getting a new deal.
The draft statement reads: "After three years of shambolic Tory (Conservative) negotiations and parliamentary deadlock, a Labour government will get Brexit sorted one way or another within six months of coming to power."
James Cleverly MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party, said today: "Jeremy Corbyn this morning refused nine times to say if Labour would support Brexit even if they negotiated a deal with the EU themselves, showing Labour offer nothing but dither and pointless delay.
“Jeremy Corbyn can’t lead his own party, let alone the country – he can’t even make up his mind on the most important issue facing the country."
Mr Corbyn also confirmed today that his top policy aide Andrew Fisher was quitting his role - after he admitted that the party can't win a general election.
Last night it was revealed that Mr Fisher would resign by the end of the year, and took a huge blast at the "blizzard of lies" at the top of the party.
Mr Corbyn told the BBC: "This is a very stressful and full-on job. He will be here for the general election campaign. As we speak he is drafting the manifesto."
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Eco-Corbyn vows to take trains not planes as PM
By Kate Ferguson
JEREMY Corbyn faced ridicule today after vowing to travel the world by train wherever possible if he becomes PM.
The Labour leader said he will try to shun No10’s official plane The Voyager and instead go by rail to international summits as often as possible.
But his eco pledge comes just a month after The Sun revealed he clocked up a whopping 80,000 air miles over the past 12 years.
While his green credentials suffered a blow after he refused to back activists’ demands to become carbon neutral by 2030.
Mr Corbyn told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I fly as little as I can now. I take trains wherever I can all the time.”
And he vowed to “set an example” if he becomes PM.
Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns jibed: “This is a swift U-turn from a man that’s clocked up thousands of air miles visiting his communist comrades abroad.
“His attempts to get trains to places like Washington DC should be interesting to watch."
Meanwhile, Emily Thornberry was blasted for hypocrisy for agreeing to speak at an anti-climate change rally in Brighton today [MON] despite jetting nearly 40,000km by plane this year.
The Labour frontbencher jetted to Australia and New Zealand last month, clocking up at least 37,496km in the air.
Her summer jaunt produced nearly 8 tonnes of carbon dioxide – enough to power a family home for a year and a half.
Tory MP Vicky Ford said: “While Emily Thornberry preaches one thing to Labour activists, her actions tell a different story.”
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The leftie boss said he was "extremely distressed" about his job at times.
"I have worked with Andrew for 15 years, he is a great writer, a great thinker, has done a huge amount of work for the party," he added.
"No matter what happens in the future, he will be working with me on policy issues."
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Tom Watson slams Labour’s plot to oust him after finding out by text
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