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| Ed Miliband on Corbyn: ‘I bet you didn't think things would get worse’ | Ed Miliband on Corbyn: ‘I bet you didn't think things would get worse’ |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ed Miliband’s feelings about Jeremy Corbyn, his successor as Labour leader, have been revealed after he suggested that the party was in direr straits than when he was at the helm. | Ed Miliband’s feelings about Jeremy Corbyn, his successor as Labour leader, have been revealed after he suggested that the party was in direr straits than when he was at the helm. |
| Miliband had previously kept his opinion about Corbyn close to his chest, but he told Graham Stringer, the Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton: “I bet you didn’t think things would actually get worse.” | Miliband had previously kept his opinion about Corbyn close to his chest, but he told Graham Stringer, the Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton: “I bet you didn’t think things would actually get worse.” |
| Stringer was a vehement critic of Miliband and the former Labour leader told him “But I won’t be appointing you as chairman of the campaign for me to return as leader”. | Stringer was a vehement critic of Miliband and the former Labour leader told him “But I won’t be appointing you as chairman of the campaign for me to return as leader”. |
| Details of the conversation were first published in the Mail on Sunday but were independently verified by the Guardian. | |
| His comments, made in the Commons Smoking Room, emerged at the end of a tough week for Corbyn, in which he has been at odds with some members of his shadow cabinet and many backbench MPs over his opposition to military action against Islamic State. | His comments, made in the Commons Smoking Room, emerged at the end of a tough week for Corbyn, in which he has been at odds with some members of his shadow cabinet and many backbench MPs over his opposition to military action against Islamic State. |
| He also had to contend with criticism of his appointment of Ken Livingstone as co-chair of Labour’s defence review, which intensified when the former mayor of London suggested Labour MP Kevan Jones had mental health problems after questioning Livingstone’s suitability for the post. | |
| Some Labour opponents of the current party leader have sought to blame his predecessor’s reforms to the leadership election for Corbyn’s rise. | Some Labour opponents of the current party leader have sought to blame his predecessor’s reforms to the leadership election for Corbyn’s rise. |
| Despite Miliband’s comments to Stringer, the latest Ipsos Mori poll suggests Corbyn may have actually improved Labour’s position. It puts the Conservatives on 37% and Labour on 35% at present, compared to 37% and 30% at the last election – although Labour performed considerably stronger in many opinion polls before the election. | Despite Miliband’s comments to Stringer, the latest Ipsos Mori poll suggests Corbyn may have actually improved Labour’s position. It puts the Conservatives on 37% and Labour on 35% at present, compared to 37% and 30% at the last election – although Labour performed considerably stronger in many opinion polls before the election. |
| On Corbyn’s election as leader, Miliband said: “I’ll be offering Jeremy Corbyn my support and I hope people across the party do so to.” | On Corbyn’s election as leader, Miliband said: “I’ll be offering Jeremy Corbyn my support and I hope people across the party do so to.” |