Technology Secretary Peter Kyle hit out at ‘chaotic’ Jeremy Corbyn as Labour responds to the launch of a his party – which could take a sizeable number of voters away
A Cabinet member has taken a brutal swipe at “chaotic” Jeremy Corbyn as Labour reels with the threat of his new party.
Mr Corbyn announced he was setting up the group alongside fellow independent MP Zarah Sultana on Thursday. Their party, provisionally named “Your Party”, is expected to take a sizeable number of voters away from Labour.
Mr Corbyn claimed Labour is a “top-down” outfit full of “control freaks” as he vowed his new movement would “take on the rich and powerful”. He and Ms Sultana – who quit Labour a year after being suspended for rebelling – called for a a “mass redistribution of wealth and power”.
Hitting back, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle claims Mr Corbyn does not “think about governing, he thinks about posturing”. He went on to claim the expelled Labour leader was wrecking his new party already – and said he is “not a serious politician”.
Mr Kyle told Times Radio: “I was a Member of Parliament in the Labour Party when Jeremy Corbyn was leader, and the chaos and instability that he brought to our party I’m now viewing him wreak in his new party, and I’m just very glad that I’m looking on it from the outside this time, rather than having to experience it from the inside.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump flees to Scotland as backers admit Epstein files could lead to impeachment
And asked about Mr Corbyn’s comments about the Labour leadership, he said: “Well, look, Jeremy says a lot of things, but the thing that worries me the most about what he says is that he doesn’t want to spend money defending our country, that he is against the money that Labour is investing into the defence of our country.
“At the moment, these are the things that should fundamentally worry us about the words of Jeremy Corbyn. He’s not a serious politician. He doesn’t think about governing, he thinks about posturing.”
On Thursday Ms Sultana was forced to clarify that Your Party is not the name of the group – stating it would be for supporters to decide what to call it. Mr Kyle said: “They can’t even agree a name before launching their party. This is the kind of chaotic circumstances that follows Jeremy around like a trail… I never quite understood his leadership, even when I was experiencing it up close, but that’s for them to decide.”
Defending Mr Starmer, the Technology Secretary said: “The Labour Party is now led by somebody who has the very clear interest of our country at heart. It is country first, and that’s the kind of thing I think people are responding to.
“We see Keir acting incredibly well on the international stage in recent months, tackling some of the big issues facing the world and its economy and he’s thrown himself into fixing our public services. I think this is the kind of leadership that people respond to, not that of the chaotic Jeremy Corbyn.”
Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana issued a statement describing Israel’s offensive as a “genocide”. “Millions of people are horrified by the government’s complicity in crimes against humanity,” they said.
“Now, more than ever, we must defend the right to protest against genocide. We believe in the radical idea that all human life has equal value. That is why we will keep demanding an end to all arms sales to Israel, and for the only path to peace: a free and independent Palestine.”
Their statement continued: “The system is rigged when 4.5 million children live in poverty in the sixth richest country in the world. The system is rigged when giant corporations make a fortune from rising bills. The system is rigged when this government says there is no money for the poor, but billions for war.
“We cannot accept these injustices – and neither should you. We will only fix the crises in our society with a mass redistribution of wealth and power. That means taxing the very richest in our society.
“That means an NHS free from privatisation and bringing energy, water, rail and mail into public ownership. That means investing in a massive council-house building programme. That means standing up to fossil fuel giants putting their profits before our planet.”
READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster