Jeremy Corbyn denies responsibility for Labour election failure as he blames Brexit and the media

Jeremy Corbyn has refused to take responsibility for Labour‘s failure in the general election and insisted Brexit and the media were to blame.

The Islington North MP told journalists he had “done everything he could” to lead the party, adding that Labour membership had more than doubled since he ascended to the top position.

Shortly after the landslide victory for the Conservative Party , Mr Corbyn announced he would not lead Labour into another election.

Speaking from his constituency on Friday, he said he will be stepping down has the head of the party  in the “very near future”.

Mr Corbyn said: “This election was ultimately taken over by Brexit and we as a party represent people who voted both Remain and Leave.

“My whole strategy was to reach out beyond the Brexit divide to try and bring people together, because ultimately the country has to come together.”

Asked what went wrong with his campaign, the veteran MP said: “Those is Leave areas in some numbers voted for Brexit or Conservative candidates which meant that we lost a number of seats and we didn’t make the gains we hoped we could’ve done, particularly in the Midlands and the North.”

He added: “I’ve received more personal abuse than any other leader has ever received by a great deal of the media.”

Mr Corbyn vowed he would talk to the party’s National Executive to see they should handle such abuse in future, calling for a “period of reflection” from his members and colleagues. 

When asked why he wasn’t standing down immediately, Mr Corbyn said: “I was elected to lead the party and I think the responsible thing to do is not to walk away from the whole thing and I won’t do that. I will stay here until somebody is elected to succeed me and then I will step down at that point.”

He told Sky News he is “very sad” at the party’s worst general election result in more than 80 years.

Adding that he still has “pride in our manifesto and all of the policies that we put forward”. 

He called his manifesto “radical” but “fully costed”.

Mr Corbyn was questioned about some of the criticism levelled at him throughout the campaign including sympathising with the IRA, anti-semitism, making a London-centric party and being ‘too left wing’.

“Is ending Universal Credit, paying the WASPI women and having a green industrial revolution too left wing?” Mr Corbyn responded.

“They are huge issues that face our country and I think our manifesto did face up to all of them.

“I inherited a system that didn’t work in the Labour party in terms of anti semitism I implemented the rule changes necessary to deal with it and they are in operation.

“But, I think anti-semitism is an absolute evil curse within our society and I would always condemn it, I always do and always will,” he added.

Questioned on whether ‘Corbynism’ is dead and if the party’s move further to the left cost Labour crucial voters, as it has been claimed, Mr Corbyn said: “There’s no such thing as ‘Corbynism’.”

“There is socialism, there is social justice, and the effort that hundreds of thousands of people did who saw in what we were saying, particularly young people, some hope for themselves,” he added.

“Some future, where they wouldn’t go into debt just because they wanted an education.”

Some Labour members, including Alan Johnson, have criticised party faction Momentum since the loss for taking away the party’s electability, Johnson saying “I want them gone”.

“I don’t agree with Alan Johnson on this,” said Mr Corbyn, adding many MPs had been thankful for the group’s support.

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