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Good afternoon,
This is a special edition of the newsletter following Jeremy Corbyn's re-election as Labour leader.
You can read the full story of the day's events in Liverpool here.
My colleague Ben Glaze has written a sketch of the announcement and Mr Corbyn's acceptance speech.
We also have reaction from two former frontbenchers on where Labour goes now.
Heidi Alexander, who ran Owen Smith's campaign, explains why she will not be returning to the frontbench, while John Healey, the former housing minister, says Labour must unite around Corbyn.
There is an analysis of why Owen Smith lost and, for the other side of the story, why Corbyn won so convincingly.
The winning and losing sides may wish to learn lessons from the other. Jeremy Corbyn did not just win, he won emphatically. But the hard work starts now.
The to do list for the re-elected leader is daunting.
He needs to try to re-unite his party, draw up a coherent policy platform, reverse the party's poll ratings, reinvigorate Labour in Scotland, improve his personal standing, stop traditional supporters from drifting to UKIP and find a way of winning over Tory voters in marginal seats.
The margin of the victory should buy Corbyn some time.
Rebel MPs will now be in no rush to mount another challenge any time soon. They will also be under pressure from their constituency parties to show some loyalty.
This was a point made by Corbyn in his acceptance speech.
He said he had a responsibility to try to bring the party back together but there was also a responsibility on the rest of the party to "respect the democratic choice that has been made."
It was also noticeable that he called for a national campaign against the reintroduction of grammar schools - one of the few issues around which the Parliamentary Party is united.
But the divisions run deep. An analysis shows that Smith won the majority of members who joined before 2015, suggesting there is now a generational divided as well as an ideological one.
Some Labour MPs are looking for a more categorical denunciation of threats to deselection and the return of shadow Cabinet elections before they will consider a frontbench role.
Unless some accommodation can be reached there is a fear the war of attrition within Parliament will continue.
As a bit of light relief, if you have not already done so please read my colleague Mikey Smith's bizarre encounter with the Labour leader on a train. It is piece of pure joy.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. We will be back on Monday morning with the regular morning email.
If you want to get in touch my email is jason.beattie@mirror.co.uk and you can follow us @mirrorpolitics on Twitter.
Thanks,
Mirror Politics |
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