Labour leadership battle descends into acrimony amid pleas to ‘not sink into the gutter’ days after historic election defeat

The Labour Party’s leadership battle has descended into civil war, with accusations of falsehoods and pleas to “not sink into the gutter” just days after the historic general election defeat .

Jeremy Corbyn’s successor could be announced by the end of March, according to an email reportedly sent by party general secretary Jennie Formby.

But the race has already been plagued by acrimony, with one potential candidate – shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry – forced to deny she had called voters in another constituency “stupid”.

Ms Thornberry rebuked the allegation made by former MP Caroline Flint as a “total and utter lie” and is understood to be consulting lawyers.

The row came as Shadow Chancellor and long-time Jeremy Corbyn ally John McDonnell sought to take the blame for the party’s worst showing at the polls since 1935, saying he “owned this disaster”.

The race to succeed the leader was in full swing, with potential candidates testing the waters while senior figures in the current leadership gave their backing to shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey.

Mr McDonnell is among those said to be keen for the Salford and Eccles MP to succeed Mr Corbyn, saying she had the ability to be “a brilliant leader”. She also received the support of shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon.

However, some parts of the party are keen for a leader not of the Corbynite wing, such as backbencher Jess Phillips. She wrote a column in The Observer newspaper which was being seen as a potential pitch for a leadership challenge, though she is yet to throw her hat into the ring.

The MP for Birmingham Yardley, a Leave-backing constituency, said Labour was facing an “existential problem” that working-class voters do not believe the party is “better than the Tories”.

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, a former shadow energy secretary, also said she was “seriously thinking” about running for the leadership.

Conceding it is a “very hard road” to regain the trust of Labour voters in towns across the North, she called for the party’s decision-making structures to move out of the capital.

“Our Labour headquarters, in my view, should move out of London, our regional offices should be empowered to take real decisions, we should move our party conferences back to towns as well as cities,” she said.

Ms Thornberry is also seen as a potential successor, having regularly deputised for Mr Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Questions.

But Ms Flint, who lost her seat in the former stronghold of Don Valley, South Yorkshire, during the catastrophic election for Labour, yesterday claimed Ms Thornberry had told a colleague: “I’m glad my constituents aren’t as stupid as yours.”

Ms Flint, whose seat was one of the so-called “red wall” seats that Boris Johnson targeted for his landslide win, also criticised “ardent Remainers” including Ms Thornberry and shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, who she claimed “contributed to sacrificing 59 seats” during Thursday’s election.

She told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “Keir Starmer led us to a policy that did not listen to Labour Leave voices who urged caution, he led us down the path of a second referendum, and I’m afraid Emily Thornberry did as well – she said to one of my colleagues, ‘I’m glad my constituents aren’t as stupid as yours’.”

Ms Thornberry, the Islington South and Finsbury MP, said the quote attributed to her “is a total and utter lie”.

“I’ve never said that to anyone, nor anything like it, nor would I ever think it,” she added. “Whatever our differences, let’s not sink into that gutter.”

Meanwhile, Mr McDonnell sought to shield the current administration, saying “if anyone’s to blame, it’s me, full stop”.

He also cited Brexit and the media for having “demonised” the Labour leader during an interview with the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show.

Mr McDonnell said the next leader should be a woman – the first time a female has led lead the party – and said it was “most probably time for a non-metropolitan” candidate as he said “we need a northern voice”.

Former deputy leader of the party Tom Watson said that blame should include others who worked with Mr McDonnell.

Mr Watson announced just before the election he would be resigning from Parliament. He said: “John is one of the most enigmatic characters I ever worked with. We rowed but I admired his intellect and work ethic, which made him the stand out figure in his faction. 

“The defeat is not ‘on him’ though. It is shared with the shadow cabinet and NEC, who supported the manifesto.”

Also this weekend, Mr Corbyn had written in an open letter that “I take my responsibility” for the loss and apologised, but had come under fire for an unrepentant tone on the night of the defeat.

“I will make no bones about it. The result was a body blow for everyone who so desperately needs real change in our country,” he wrote to the Sunday Mirror.

Mr Corbyn said he will stand down in the early part of next year after overseeing a “process of reflection” within the party.