Alastair Campbell has today acceded that Jeremy Corbyn is “now completely in charge” of the Labour Party, citing the leader’s conference grip on conference proceedings this week as evidence that Corbyn now reigns supreme.
The former New Labour spin doctor called for Corbyn to resign before the 2017 General Election, saying: “What we know having seen Jeremy Corbyn in a position of leadership for some time, he cannot do the job, and if he is a decent man he should do the decent thing and go”.
But speaking on the latest episode of Deezer’s Strong & Stable podcast out today, Campbell said: “You’ve got to say, they’ve got the organisation of the party under control. The reason why Brexit got voted down as a topic of debate was because it was decided at the top to use the unions and Momentum to make that happen. Political organisation is part of politics, and they have done it better than their opponents. Fact.”
Campbell, who was seen playing his bagpipes to the tune of “Ode to Joy” – the European Union’s anthem – at an anti-Brexit rally at the party’s conference in Brighton, warned that although his grip on power within the party had tightened Corbyn still faced a mountain to climb out in the country.
He said: “The question for me is whether there’s not a danger that there’s a real gap opening between that mood that was there and what people out in the public are saying… Out in the real world, they’ve got to face up to the fact that there’s still a long, long way to go before they back into power.”
The former aide to Tony Blair also commented on the incumbent Prime Minister’s recent speech on Brexit, saying: “I thought it was hilarious is that Theresa May went to Florence saying what we need is more creativity, which is funny because she’s the least creative politician on the planet. She doesn’t like people I think.”
On Brexit in particular, Campbell said: “Democracy is a process not a moment. As it becomes clearer that the terms of departure [from the European Union] will be catastrophically bad for Britain then certainly Parliament should have a second say on the final deal and it may be that we then take it to the people.”
Alastair Campbell’s verdict on the Labour Party conference is available to listen to in full in the latest episode of Strong & Stable, a Deezer Originals weekly satirical podcast series produced by social creative agency That Lot and available to stream exclusively via global music streaming service Deezer, here: https://www.deezer.com/show/53758
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