TSSA backs Corbyn, calls on Eagle to pull back

10,000 supporters attend rally for Jeremy Corby in Parliament Square on June 27th 2016. Pic by David Braniff-Herbert

The TSSA executive has re-iterated its full support for Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party.

The union’s announcement comes just a day after Unite and CWU did the same. Corbyn has also been backed by ASLEF, BECTU, BFAWU, FBU, GMB, MU, NUM, UCATT and UNISON.

TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes has made a last minute call to challenger Angela Eagle urging her to pull back from “this dangerous game of brinkmanship” which will plunge the party into a harmful internal battle.

The statement from the Executive Committee to TSSA members says: “TSSA reaffirms our support of the democratically elected leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn. We condemn the behaviour of members of the PLP who have not cooperated with the leadership since he was democratically elected Leader.

“We supported Angela Eagle’s campaign to become Deputy Leader just 10 months ago, so it is with regret and great disappointment that we now overwhelmingly condemn her decision to launch a leadership challenge against Jeremy just 10 months since the last leadership election took place in which Jeremy was given an overwhelming mandate by party members and she lost the deputy leadership bid.

“Angela has no mandate for this action and the Brexit vote has made it obvious that this is a time time when the party – including all members of the PLP – should be uniting behind the democratically elected leader and taking the fight to a Tory Government left in disarray by the EU referendum.

“If Angela proceeds with this leadership contest, it will be a deliberate act of political sabotage which will deepen divisions and increase wounds within the party but it will not topple Jeremy who will easily be re-elected as Labour leader.”

Manuel Cortes said: “Jeremy has the largest mandate of any elected Labour leader in living memory. His stand against austerity and the Iraq war and his commitment to public services have revived the Labour brand, sent membership soaring and despite the mutinous mood in the PLP, he has steered the party steadily to by election success and lead 22 defeats of the government since becoming elected. This is a leadership the membership and the movement are rallying round. So must the PLP.

“I’m concerned Angela is being put up to this strategy by masters of the dark arts who are intent on splitting the Labour Party come what may, so I’m asking her even at this late stage to pull back from this dangerous game of brinkmanship.

“Let’s face it, if she doesn’t, it will be Angela Eagle’s name that may yet go down in history as the woman who split the Labour Party caused Labour electoral oblivion and paved the way for the new Thatcher clones Teresa May or Angela Leadsmen to lead yet more years of austere Tory government. It’s not an epitaph we would choose for Angela.

“So I hope she’ll reconsider in the national interest, in the interests of our working class people and in her own interest and not let PLP hot heads condemn us to another Tory government.”