Local Labour backs Corbyn

SOUTH West Wiltshire Labour Party met at the Laverton in Westbury this month and voted to back Jeremy Corbyn in the upcoming leadership election.

The packed meeting voted overwhelmingly in a secret ballot to support Jeremy Corbyn to remain as leader of the party.

The group’s press officer Tony Free said,  “There has been much discussion in the media about whether Corbyn can gain support from the wider electorate outside of the Labour party.

“The answer is simple. Last month, in our constituency alone,  130 new members joined and the vast majority support Jeremy Corbyn. Where else did these people come from if it was not the wider electorate? There are no hidden extremists of either the right or the left in our local party.”

The leadership contest is taking place between current leader Jeremy Corbyn and Pontypridd MP, Owen Smith, after 172 Labour MPs passed a vote of no confidence in Corbyn after the EU referendum.

The day after the Corbyn nomination decision, SW Wilts Labour enjoyed a decisive victory in a council by-election at North Bradley.

Winning candidate Mike Kettlety said, “Corbyn’s honest style of politics is already striking a chord with the public. The average person in the street now has contempt for politicians in general. But whatever side they are on, we find on the doorstep, great respect for Corbyn’s integrity.”

The Labour Party has grown so much in the constituency that it expects to be able to field candidates in all wards at forthcoming elections.