Jeremy Corbyn appears to have given the strongest hint yet that he backs Rebecca Long-Bailey – by joining her in a campaign video.
The Labour leader pledged last month not to disclose who he will vote for in the Labour leadership contest.
In today’s video, Ms Long-Bailey said: “And obviously when I’m leader of the party you’ll be there supporting me as a green revolutionary”.
Mr Corbyn replied: “Absolute support.”
The pair spent the rest of the video discussing the Green Industrial Revolution, Labour’s flagship climate programme drawn up by the Shadow Business Secretary and promoted heavily by Mr Corbyn.
Labour’s leader has not appeared in a campaign clip for the other two candidates, Keir Starmer or Lisa Nandy.
Ms Long-Bailey has long been backed by allies of Mr Corbyn who believed she could be his successor, including Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
She has also given him “10/10” as leader and suggested she would offer him a place in her top team.
Today she insisted she was not the “continuity Corbyn” candidate – but did say she could be described as a “continuity socialist”.
She told the i newspaper: “If I’m a continuity socialist, that’s fine – I will accept that title. But there is no such thing as Corbynism.”
(Image: RLong_Bailey/Twitter)
Ms Long-Bailey told i it would be “disastrous” to move the Labour Party back to the centre or be more like the Tories, saying Labour must instead offer a “vision of hope.”
She said Labour’s election defeat in December was thanks to not having a “tied-together” message promoting the policies in the party’s manifesto.
Mr Corbyn told the BBC in January: “I won’t be saying who I’ll be voting for.”
A few weeks later he described Ms Long-Bailey as “our candidate”.
At the time Mr Corbyn’s office said he had not endorsed Ms Long Bailey, adding: “He was speaking in an inclusive way.”
Later, asked about Ms Long-Bailey’s suggestion he could have a role in her shadow cabinet, Mr Corbyn said he would be “happy to serve the party in any capacity”.
