Jeremy Corbyn dismisses claims he is a vote loser ahead of by-elections
The Labour leader made a secret visit to Cumbria at the weekend as Conservatives claim he is "toxic" in elections.
Tuesday 17 January 2017 07:58, UK
Jeremy Corbyn is dismissing claims that he is a vote loser in the Copeland by-election by planning to make his second visit to the constituency in a week.
Labour sources have confirmed he made a secret visit to the Cumbrian constituency to meet party officials on Sunday, in a 700-mile round trip that took 16 hours.
And the Labour leader is to visit the constituency again on Friday, the day after the party chooses its candidate, likely to be a Corbynite opposed by some local activists.
Party sources have also announced that senior Labour MP Jack Dromey is to run Labour's by-election campaign in Stoke-on-Trent Central, where it faces another tough challenge.
News of Labour's by-election preparations emerged after a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party at Westminster at which Mr Corbyn was quizzed about the two contests by Labour MPs.
No date has yet been announced for either poll, but the fact that Labour's planning is well under way suggests the party may be about to move the writs for the by-elections later this week.
The by-election in Copeland has been triggered by the resignation of Corbyn critic Jamie Reed, who is quitting to take up a senior job at the Sellafield nuclear plant in the constituency.
Then last Friday Tristram Hunt, once seen as a rising star in the party, announced he was quitting his Potteries seat to become director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
In Copeland, Labour's majority over the Tories in 2015 was only around 2,500 and in Stoke-on-Trent Central, which voted by a big margin to leave the EU, the party was just 5,000 ahead of UKIP.
The Conservatives are planning to put Mr Corbyn and his opposition to nuclear power stations at the centre of their campaign in Copeland. His photo is all over Tory campaign leaflets.
The leaflets include a quote from Mr Corbyn after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011 when he said: "I say no nuclear power, decommission the stations we've got."
And when he stood for the Labour leadership in 2015 he said in a policy document: "I am opposed to fracking and to new nuclear on the basis of the dangers posed to our ecosystems."
Mr Corbyn is now under pressure from Labour activists and union leaders in Copeland to back plans for a new nuclear plant at Moorside, near Sellafield, which could employ up to 20,000 people.
Labour sources said Mr Corbyn told his MPs at the PLP that the party remains "committed to continued nuclear power".
But Labour intends to concentrate its by-election campaign on the NHS.
The favourite to be selected as Labour’s candidate in Copeland is activist Rachel Holliday, who is backed by both the left-wing group Momentum and the trade union Unite.
Commenting on Mr Corbyn's secret visit, the Conservative MP for Carlisle John Stevenson said: "The fact that Labour had to sneak Jeremy Corbyn into Copeland shows just how toxic their leader is."
A Labour source denied that Mr Corbyn's Copeland trip was not publicised because the Labour leader is "toxic" on the doorstep.
"That's absolute nonsense," he said.
"He's going back to Copeland this coming weekend and I think we'll see very clearly that's not the case.
"He's said that he's confident he can hold the seats, but obviously it's going to be a serious contest and we'll be campaigning very hard in both constituencies to defend the seats for Labour."
The party would fight the elections on a platform criticising Government cuts to the NHS and social care, and highlighting how voters have been let down in terms of job, opportunities and living standards, the source added.