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Jack Straw: Labour needs a Corbyn successor like a hole in the head

Labour’s Rebecca Long Bailey formally announced her leadership bid last night, and formally planted her flag as the Corbyn continuity candidate. In a piece in the left-wing Tribune magazine, the aspiring Labour leader said the she didn’t just agree with Jeremy Corbyn’s policies at the last election, she ‘spent the last four years writing them’, and blamed the party’s loss on its lack of a ‘coherent narrative.’

But some are clearly not a fan of the party continuing with Jeremy Corbyn’s legacy. This morning, former Labour Foreign Secretary Jack Straw certainly didn’t hold back from criticising Long Bailey’s view that the party should avoid its ‘Tory-lite policies’ of the past. In an interview with Sky News, Straw suggested that:

‘The Labour party needs a true, loyal successor to Jeremy Corbyn like it needs a hole in the head.’

Before adding that:

‘If [Labour] goes with someone who says he or she is the “continuity candidate” that is signing a collective suicide note.’

The Labour party is certainly coming together this leadership contest…

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Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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