Campaign news

Mirror puts Jeremy in lead

19th June 2015

‘Daily Mirror’ poll puts Corbyn ahead of other candidates in leadership contest

THE ODDS on left-winger Jeremy Corbyn becoming the next Labour leader have shortened after he was judged to have won a TV hustings with the other candidates.

Corbyn took on Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall on questions about the economy, welfare and immigration in a debate screened live on BBC Newsnight.

Everybody who saw the contest on TV on Wednesday night knows that Jeremy got the loudest applause from the audience

A week ago, the odds on the MP for Islington North becoming Labour leader were 100-1. Yesterday, they were 16-1. After the Newsnight debate, they tumbled again - and now stand at 12-1.

He remains behind the other candidates, with Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper at 5/4 and Liz Kendall at 3/1.

An online poll by the ‘Daily Mirror’ found the readers overwhelmingly thought Corbyn won last night’s debate. The MP for Islington North gained 81 per cent support, while Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall on 7%, Liz Kendall 7 per cen and Andy Burnham on 5%.

The ‘Mirror’ reported:

Corbyn praised the contribution that migrants make to the UK.
“Jamaican doctors and nurses who came in the 1960s have done a fantastic job,” said Corbyn.

“We should also recognise that migrants that come here actually contribute net to the economy, claim less, pay more in tax and work.

“The shortage in housing is our failure to plan for need in the future.”

During the debate, Corbyn also criticised the record of New Labour and Tony Blair’s time in charge:

“Why, oh why, oh why did Blair have to get so close to Bush that we ended up in an illegal war in Iraq?” he said. “The party has an opportunity now to rediscover its principled roots, rediscover the issues of equality, rediscover the issues of public service.”

Leftist author and political commentator Owen Jones praised Corbyn’s performance in the debate:

“Jeremy Corbyn smashed this debate. Hands down. Spoke from the heart, convincingly. And Tory-held Nuneaton applauded him,” he tweeted

Background

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