John McDonnell apologises for loss before blaming the media for the result
John McDonnell has apologised this morning for Labour’s crushing election defeat, while also blaming the media for Jeremy Corbyn’s unpopularity.
The shadow chancellor said he must “own this disaster” and he apologised to Labour MPs who lost their seats.
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However, when pressed about the unpopularity of Corbyn, he reverted to blaming the media for doing “a number on jeremy for four years solid”.
Speaking to the BBC, McDonnell said: “Every day. Every attack, every smear was going on.
“It wasn’t just Jeremy – they did the same to Ed Miliband, they did the same to Neil Kinnock.
“I think it’s anyone who challenges the establishment. Why? Because the establishment own the media in this country.”
He also blamed Brexit for the loss, saying “either way we were going to be hammered”, because of the split between leave and remain voters within the party.
McDonnell’s comments come after an Opinium poll yesterday showed 43 per cent of people who did not vote Labour said it was because of Corbyn, 17 per cent said it was the party’s Brexit position and 12 per cent said it was the party’s economic policies.
The shadow chancellor said he and Corbyn will be gone from the leadership by spring, and gave the strongest indication yet that his preferred candidate is shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey.
“You know my view, I think Becky Long-Bailey has done a great job, but you’ve got a team there,” he said.
“Becky is brilliant and she could be a brilliant leader.”
Meanwhile, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy gave a strong indication she would run for the leadership.
Nandy is seen as someone who could provide a strong challenge to Long-Bailey and the left-wing faction of the party.
When asked by the BBC this morning if she would run, Nandy said: “The honest answer is – I’m seriously thinking about it.”
Labour had its worst election result since 1935 on Thursday, after losing many seats in its traditional northern heartlands.
Nandy, born and raised in greater Manchester, said the party needed to decentralise its operation and move party headquarters to the north.
“We have to think seriously how we rebuild the coalition that has propelled us into power three times in the last 100 years,” she said.
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“There is absolutely no reason decision making is concentrated in central London.
“Our headquarters should be moved out of London, our regional offices should take real decisions, we should move our part conferences back to towns as well as cities.”