According to a spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour party doesn't have nearly enough support to win the General Election in 2020, but he insisted that the party would witness a change of fortune following the triggering of article 50 to set in motion Britain's departure from the European Union.
Criticism of Corbyn continues to mount
The spokesperson echoed the sentiment of shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, who stated on Tuesday that he perceived that the Labour party had no chance of winning the next general election. Despite this, Corbyn has been backed by several senior party members.
Speaking in the Commons today, the spokesperson was asked if he agreed with Starmer.
'If nothing changes, we won't be winning the next general election. Clearly we have lost a lot of ground in opinion polls and if we don't try something different we can't win,' the spokesperson said.
In a recent YouGov poll, the Conservatives lead Labour by 17 points - a lead that would give Labour a 100 seat advantage in the Commons. Labour's popularity is at the lowest since Gordon Brown was Prime Minister in 2009.
Corbyn's spokesperson was optimistic that Labour could turn things around after Theresa May triggers article 50. 'Obviously, given the events of the summer and the autumn, we were always going to lose some support. Since Theresa May became the Prime Minister, the Conservative party have opened up a big lead in the polls-in the recent byelections you can see Ukip voters migrating to the Tory party.
We have to address these issues quickly and smartly in order to regain ground'.
Copeland a terrible result for Labour
On Tuesday, the shadow secretary for Brexit told journalists that he was not convinced by the explanations given by the shadow cabinet for losing Copeland, a Labour strong hold in previous years, to the Conservative party.
'I believe that the loss in Copeland was serious. I don’t believe some of the reasons forwarded and if things don’t improve quickly then there is no prospect of us winning an election,' Starmer said.
“It is a terrible result for Labour and we need to be honest about that,' Starmer closed with.
