Jeremy Corbyn insisted the 'gang of seven' who quit Labour yesterday were all elected to deliver his policies in a blunt rebuke to the MPs
STILL Corbyn refuses to change: Defiant Labour leader blasts defecting MPs ‘who were elected to deliver HIS manifesto’ and ignores calls from his own deputies to address the party’s raging anti-Semitism problem
Jeremy Corbyn insisted the ‘gang of seven’ who quit Labour yesterday were all elected to deliver his policies in a blunt rebuke to the MPs.
The Labour leader said he was ‘disappointed’ the MPs had resigned but sidestepped questions about whether he would change his approach.
Mr Corbyn has been warned by his own he must change his leadership style or face even more walkouts after the biggest split in British politics since 1981.
His intervention
Mr Corbyn even appears to be standing apart from his cloest ally in politics shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who called for a ‘mammoth listening exercise’ in the party today.
Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker, Ann Coffey
Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker, Ann Coffey and Mike Gapes left in rage at Mr Corbyn’s leadership
His intervention today ignores the warning of deputy leader Tom Watson, who refused to criticise the members of the Independent Group for their ‘premature’ decision
The Labour leader told the EEF conference in London today that anyone in Labour who did not feel they were being listened to ‘are not taking up the opportunities that are available’.
Addressing the Make UK conference in London, Mr Corbyn said: ‘I regret that seven MPs decided they would no longer remain part of the Labour Party, I thank them for their work.
‘I hope they recognise that they were elected to Parliament on a manifesto that was based around investment in the future, was based around a more equal and fairer society and based around social justice.’
He added: ‘They were elected to carry out those policies, they decided to go somewhere else and I regret that because I want our party to be strong, I want our party to be united around the policies that we have put forward.’
Asked about Mr Watson’s call for him to work more consensually, Mr Corbyn blasted: ‘Anyone who thinks they are not being consulted are not taking up, in my view, the opportunities that are available there and open and ready for them at all times to do that.
‘I’m always prepared to discuss policies with people in the party and I do all the time.’