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Following a disastrous general election result in December 2019 Mr Corbyn announced he would stand down as leader of the party once a replacement was chosen. The Labour Party won 59 fewer seats compared to 2017 general election, however, Ms Long Bailey has praised Corbyn's leadership in an interview with ITV’s Political correspondent Paul Brand while implying Labour members should have done more to rebut criticism of the Islington North MP.

Mr Brand asked: "How would you rate Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership on a scale of 1-10?" Ms Long Bailey replied: "I thought Corbyn was one of the most honest, kind, principled politicians I've ever met. "I'd give him 10 out of 10 because I respect him and I supported him all the way through. "What we can't ignore was that Jeremy was absolutely savaged by the press. READ MORE: Labour MP sparks Twitter backlash by mocking Brexit date celebrations

Long Bailey described Corbyn as an honest, kind, principled politician

The Shadow Business Secretary is a close ally of Mr Corbyn.

"His character was taken to pieces from day one." She continued: "We have a role as party to develop the image of our leader and to put them forward in the most positive way. "We also have a duty as a Labour movement to rebut criticism and attacks against our leader when those happen. "I think we needed to have a rebuttal unit, a clear structure in place to rebut the attacks against him."

Rebecca Long Bailey and Jeremy Corbyn embracing

During the 2019 election campaign, Long Bailey became something of a rising star in the Labour Party, standing in for Jeremy Corbyn during one televised election debate. Ms Long Bailey now joins Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry, Clive Lewis, Lisa Nandy and Jess Philips in the race to become the next leader of the Labour Party. Prior to her parliamentary career, Ms Long Bailey worked as a solicitor. Currently MP for Salford and Eccles, she has been Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since 2017. DON'T MISS

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Long Bailey stood in for Jeremy Corbyn during one televised election debate

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