New Statesman labels Jeremy Corbyn 'unfit to be prime minister'
Labour bible the New Statesman refuses to back Jeremy Corbyn at the general election and calls him ‘unfit to be prime minister’
- The left-wing New Statesman magazine has been Labour’s bible for decades
- But in election editorial published today it decided not to back Jeremy Corbyn
- Said ‘reluctance to apologise’ over anti-Semitism means he should not be PM
Labour’s bible, the New Statesman magazine, has refused to endorse Jeremy Corbyn at the general election as it branded him ‘unfit to be prime minister’.
The left-wing publication has been required reading for the Labour Party for decades but today it published an election editorial in which it declined to support Mr Corbyn’s bid for power.
It said the Labour leader’s ‘reluctance to apologise’ for his handling of the party’s anti-Semitism crisis and his approach to Brexit meant he should not be put into Number 10.
The magazine’s devastating leader column represents a massive blow to Mr Corbyn’s hopes of reinvigorating Labour’s ailing election campaign with December 12 now just eight days away.
The party has trailed the Tories in every opinion poll published since the election was called with a new YouGov survey today giving the Conservatives a nine point lead.
Jeremy Corbyn, pictured in Nottingham on the campaign trail this afternoon, has suffered a blow to his election hopes after the New Statesman magazine said he is ‘unfit to be PM’
The New Statesman said in its leader that both Mr Corbyn and Boris Johnson are ‘profoundly unpopular’ and their ‘moral integrity has been compromised’ by events in their respective pasts.
The magazine said that ‘many voters despair at the choice before them’.
It argued that the Tories’ ‘weaknesses and divisions’ meant Labour had a ‘huge electoral opportunity’ and praised the party for putting forward a ‘bold manifesto’.
However, it concluded: ‘But the essential judgement that must be made is on Mr Corbyn himself.
‘His reluctance to apologise for the anti-Semitism in Labour and to take a stance on Brexit, the biggest issue facing the country, make him unfit to be prime minister.’
The magazine declined to endorse the Liberal Democrats, with the party accused of having shown ‘little intellectual ambition’.
‘Yet for the reasons outlined, we have resolved to endorse no party at this general election,’ it said.
Arguing that ‘voters deserve better’ it urged people to vote tactically next week to deprive Mr Johnson of a majority to scupper his plans for a ‘hard Brexit’.
A YouGov poll suggests the battle for Number 10 is settling down with Mr Corbyn’s attempts to energise his party’s campaign appearing to have fallen flat.
A new YouGov survey puts the Tories down one point to 42 per cent and Labour also down one point to 33 per cent – a lead of nine points
The new survey, conducted between December 2-3, puts the Conservative Party down one point on 42 per cent overall when compared to the company’s previous poll on November 29.
But Labour is also down one point with an overall rating of 33 per cent, giving the Tories a nine point lead in the run up to December 12.
The data is likely to prompt much soul searching in Labour HQ because the party would have been hoping to see opinion polls narrow as the campaign enters its final phase.
In contrast, the Tories will be thrilled with the latest numbers because they suggest that not only are they holding off the Labour challenge but also that Mr Johnson appears to still be on course to win a majority.
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