‘Will Not Lead Labour Party In Future Elections’: Jeremy Corbyn After Losing British General Election

As the Labour Party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn has lost the General Elections in UK, the embattled leader of the left party in the United Kingdom has said, “he will remain in place as Labour leader while his party undertakes a ‘period of reflection’ after suffering catastrophic election losses in its traditional heartlands,” reports The Guardian.

Speaking at his own count in Islington North, Corbyn said “I will not lead the party in any future general election campaign. I will discuss with our party to ensure there is a process now of reflection on this result and on the policies that the party will take going forward. And I will lead the party during that period to ensure that discussion takes place and we move on into the future.”

Corbyn said Labour manifesto was “of hope, unity that would help to right the wrongs and the injustices and inequalities that exist in this country” and were extremely popular during the election campaign and remain policies that have huge popular support all across this country”.

However Corbyn lack of inaction against anti-Semitism which was rampant in his party led to be called the “the nasty party, the racist party”.

Labour leaders have called on Corbyn to resign immediately and Ruth Smeeth who had lost her seat said, “There is absolutely no justification for why he’s still there.”

Another senior Labour leader Phil Wilson, who lost in Tony Blair’s old seat of Sedgefield, said, “I genuinely believe that the Corbyn leadership is the issue in this election and to say that it isn’t is delusional.”

It also did not help that Corbyn managed to singlehandedly alienate the Indian-Hindu community who predominantly voted Labour due to his anti India stand on Kashmir.

On 25 September Labour Party under the leadership of Jermy Corbyn had unanimously passed the Kashmir Resolution in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K. The 25 September motion on Kashmir seeks international observers to "enter" the region and demand the right of self-determination for its people, drawing criticism from the Indian diaspora.

And this led to an immediate criticism by over 100 British Indian organisations who had taken affront to the Labour Party’s 25 September emergency motion on Kashmir, writing to its leader Jeremy Corbyn and calling it "ill-conceived and partisan."

Also as per reports, his meeting with a delegation of Indian National Congress Party (INC) overseas chapter in the UK did not go well. Corbyn tweeted, "human rights situation in Kashmir" was discussed and there must be an "end to the cycle of violence and fear" there.

Also key members from the Labour party resigning did not help and in their view “Corbyn hijacked by the machine politics of the hard left." Luciana Berger a Labour party member had said “I am embarrassed and ashamed of the Labour Party, which has become ‘institutionally antisemitic’.”

Just over fortnight before election, the senior most Rabbi in UK, Ephraim Mirvis accused Corbyn of “sanctioned anti-Semitism” and that he had allowed “A poison sanctioned from the top” to take root in the Labour party.

Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis comments were also endorsed by Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby who in a tweet said “That the Chief Rabbi should be compelled to make such an unprecedented statement at this time ought to alert us to the deep sense of insecurity and fear felt by many British Jews.”

Rabbi Mirvis had also said, “The soul of the nation is at stake” as UK heads for polls on 12 December and it is not his place to tell people which party they should vote.

Corbyn is now left with some seriously hard choices to make because traditionally when the leader of either party loses election, they tend to resign from the leadership and this has been a consistent practice in UK politics.

However, Corbyn has decides to stay as leader of the Labour party and blame the loss on Brexit, even though his party never really had any clear policy on the policy.