CORBYNISTA Rebecca Long Bailey finally confirmed she is standing to be Labour leader as she vowed to “go to war” with the establishment.
The leftwinger said Labour lost the election because of a “failure of campaign strategy, not of our socialist programme”.
In a fiery article for the socialist Tribune website, she pitched herself as the candidate to continue Jeremy Corbyn’s hard-left policies.
She vowed to tackle climate change, saying Labour’s Green New Deal to pump billions into eco jobs was “tragically undersold” in the election campaign, and promising to make it the centrepiece if her leadership.
In a pitch to the legions of ardent Corbynistas who have flooded the party, she said she will “stay true” to his “radical socialist vision”.
The shadow business secretary – John McDonnell’s protege – also lashed Labour MPs who have called for stricter immigration controls.
She added: “We must go to war with the political establishment, pledging a constitutional revolution that sweeps away the House of Lords, takes big money out of politics, and radically shifts power away from Westminster.”
Backed by Momentum boss Jon Lansman, she also made a pitch for the group’s members by promising to give them a voice in policy making.
Ms Long Bailey had been an early favourite for the top job, but her dithering in announcing has sparked frenzied rumours that she had got cold feet and did not want to stand.
Trying to explain away the delay, Ms Long Bailey said she did not “rush” because she was reflecting on Labour’s election hammering.
