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Jeremy Corbyn says he will not lead Labour into another general election
He says he will lead party through 'period of reflection' on disastrous results
December 13, 2019 02:58
He says he will lead party through 'period of reflection' on disastrous results
December 13, 2019 02:58Jeremy Corbyn has announced he will not lead Labour into another general election, saying he will remain during a "period of reflection" on its disastrous election results.
Mr Corbyn was speaking after he was re-elected as Islington North MP and the party lost seat after seat it had held for decades.
He said the party needed a "period of reflection" on the result, adding: "I will lead the party during that period."
His words came minutes after Ruth Smeeth demanded Mr Corbyn resign as leader immediately, saying the party is now "the racist party" because of his inaction over antisemitism.
Ms Smeeth, the parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) who is on course to lose her Stoke-on-Trent North seat to the Tories, launched a blistering attack on Mr Corbyn during an interview on Sky News.
"We are the racist party because of the actions of our leader and the lack of actions of our leader... we need to detoxify and move on," she said.
"Jeremy Corbyn should announce he is resigning has leader of the Labour Party from his count today."
She said it was an "appalling, heartbreaking night" for Labour as the party lost seats it has held for decades to the Conservatives and is, according to the broadcasters' exit poll, on course to win just 201 seats, its worst performance since the Second World War.
"Jeremy Corbyn should announce that he's resigning."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 13, 2019
Labour's @RuthSmeeth says it's been an "appalling, heartbreaking night" for Labour and the party has "huge, huge questions to answer".
Follow #UKElection #GeneralElection results live: https://t.co/meuSxFO6V9 pic.twitter.com/AhaWHXRgS0
She added the party had "huge, huge questions to answer" over its failure to connect with voters. She said Mr Corbyn "should have gone many, many months ago... there is not justification for why he is still there".
In his speech, Mr Corbyn attacked the media's treatment of him, saying: "The pressure on those surrounding politicians is very high indeed.
"The media intrusion is very high indeed.. I want to thank you family and close friends during this campaign."
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said "appropriate decisions will be made" when asked if the result meant he and the leader should go.
Jon Lansman, founder of the pro-Corbyn Momentum campaign group, suggested Mr Corbyn should stay until the New Year. Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone said Mr Corbyn should resign "tomorrow".
