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Angela Eagle says 'I’m here to win' at launch of Labour leadership bid Angela Eagle says 'I’m here to win' at launch of Labour leadership bid
(35 minutes later)
Angela Eagle has formally launched her bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, arguing that the party desperately needed a unifying force who could win a general election. Angela Eagle has formally launched her bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, describing herself as “a strong Labour woman” who could heal divisions in the party and lead it to election victory.
Finally beginning her campaign after weeks of speculation that she would take on Corbyn amid a revolt against him by Labour MPs, Eagle said the party needed to move beyond the factionalism and divisions of the current era.
“I’m not a Blairite, I’m not a Brownite and I’m not a Corbynista. I am my own woman – a strong Labour woman,” she said, to cheers from supporters. “I’m not here for a Labour party that just takes part. I’m here to win.”
Related: Angela Eagle: who is the woman taking on Jeremy Corbyn?
The former shadow business secretary, among dozens of Labour frontbenchers to quit in the past few weeks, said Corbyn had made a useful contribution to new ideas in the party, but should step down.
“Jeremy Corbyn is unable to provide the leadership that this huge task needs,” she told an audience of press and noisy supporters in central London. “I believe I can.”“Jeremy Corbyn is unable to provide the leadership that this huge task needs,” she told an audience of press and noisy supporters in central London. “I believe I can.”
Eagle, who has been considering a leadership bid since resigning as shadow business secretary in late June, said the party needed to move beyond the factionalism and divisions of the Corbyn era. In another criticism of Corbyn, Eagle said: “A kinder politics must be a reality, not just a slogan.” She also condemned him for refusing to engage with dissatisfied MPs, instead addressing meetings of supporters. “You have to lead in parliament as well,” Eagle said. “We’ve seen Jeremy not do that job. He’s been hiding behind a door, not talking to his members of parliament. That’s not leadership.”
“I’m not a Blairite, I’m not a Brownite, and I’m not a Corbynista. I am my own woman – a strong Labour woman,” she said. “I’m not here for a Labour party that just takes part. I’m here to win.” She took a joking swipe at Diane Abbott, a key Corbyn supporter, who had described Eagle’s leadership bid as “The Empire Strikes Back”. Eagle responded: “More like Return of the Jedi.”
The event started at precisely the moment Andrea Leadsom announced she was dropping out of the race to become Conservative party leader, paving the way for Theresa May to take over as prime minister immediately, rendering some parts of Eagle’s speech obsolete even as she read them – she said the presence in office of “a failed prime minister” made the need for a strong opposition all the greater. She said Corbyn’s leadership gave the public no confidence in Labour: “It’s about giving hope to people all over the country that Labour can be an alternative government, ready and equipped to serve. The blunt truth is, the country doesn’t believe that when they look at us right now. But they will if I win.”
Her speech contained no specific policy ideas, only general commitments to ideas such as social mobility and equality. Eagle’s main pitch to the party members who will, most likely, vote between her, Corbyn and any other candidate who might emerge, was that Labour needed a strong leader in the aftermath of the EU referendum. Eagle, who has represented the Wallasey constituency since 1992, is understood to have the backing of at least the 51 Labour MPs sufficient to get onto the ballot of members, registered supporters and unions, comprising at least 20% of the party’s MPs or MEPs.
“Today I’m announcing my decision to stand for the leadership of the Labour party,” she began. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I had something to offer to bring our party and our country back together. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I would be a good prime minister for Britain. Corbyn only secured 40 MPs’ votes in a recent no confidence motion against his leadership, so might struggle to get the necessary numbers. However, he could still be on the ballot as the incumbent, a decision due to be taken this week by Labour’s National Executive Committee, which is believed to lean in his favour.
Related: Shadow cabinet resignations: who has gone and who is staying
Corbyn won a huge mandate among Labour members in 2015, and almost 130,000 more people have joined the party since the referendum on Britain’s EU membership, amid speculation many might also be Corbyn supporters.
But Eagle dismissed the idea she might be sacrificing herself without a chance of success. “I don’t go in for suicide missions,” she said. Eagle also insisted she would not be concerned if fellow Labour MP Owen Smith also challenged Corbyn, as some have predicted. “He can do whatever he likes,” she said. “I’ll take on all comers.”
Eagle’s leadership launch fell at precisely the moment Andrea Leadsom announced she was dropping out of the race to become Tory party leader, paving the way for Theresa May to take over as prime minister.
It brought an awkward moment after the speech as she sought questions first from the BBC and then ITV’s political editor Robert Peston, to find they were not there.
Eagle’s pitch for the leadership was very low on specific policy ideas, dealing mainly in general commitments to ideas such as social mobility and equality, and the idea that Labour needed a strong leader in the aftermath of the EU referendum. Asked what specific policies she would introduce as prime minister, she again spoke only generally.
“Today, I’m announcing my decision to stand for the leadership of the Labour party,” she began. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I had something to offer to bring our party and our country back together. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I would be a good prime minister for Britain.
“These are dark times for Labour, and they are dangerous times for our country. A referendum to settle an argument in the Conservative party has resulted in the country being torn apart – our economy damaged, our society hurt.”“These are dark times for Labour, and they are dangerous times for our country. A referendum to settle an argument in the Conservative party has resulted in the country being torn apart – our economy damaged, our society hurt.”