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Jeremy Corbyn lost his temper at Labour's local elections launch today, when he was asked about his performance as leader.

He tried to rally the troops with a speech in Newark this morning, promising a “real alternative” to the Tories based on saving the NHS, building more homes and better childcare.

The challenge facing Mr Corbyn was underlined by an ICM poll for the Guardian on Sunday which put Labour on 25% - its joint lowest rating by the polling company since 1983.

But he lost his temper in an interview with ITV News.

Reporter Paul Brand asked him, as he’s so worried about what the Tories are doing to Britain, if it wouldn’t be a good idea to step aside and let someone take over who has a better chance of winning.

Corbyn fumed: “You’re obsessed with this question, absolutely obsessed with it.

“We have a very strong opposition in this country, if you bothered to report what we were doing. If you bothered to report what Jon Ashworth was doing with the Health Service.

"If you bothered to report what Angela Rayner is saying on Schools. If you bothered to report what the Labour Party was actually saying.

“It’s your responsibility to make sure that the opposition voice is heard as well as the government’s. It’s your failings.”

And at the end of an interview with LBC Radio after the speech, he complained about being asked questions on what a good result for him would look like.

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The Labour leader said: "We are campaigning to win these elections. I am proud to lead this party and I was elected to lead this party and that's the duty I'm fulfilling. We'll carry on doing that. Thank you very much."

(Image: PA)

According to LBC's Vincent McAviney, the Labour leader then stood up and ended the interview, asking "Haven't you got anything else to ask about?"

Asked during the Q&A whether these elections would be his final test as leader, he said: “These elections are a chance for us to take our case out to the country, of how we want to make a fairer Britain.”

He added: “I’m urging people to support Labour, and our party is very strong and very active on the doorstep, so this is a chance for people to elect Labour councils, but also show their rejection of the Tory way of doing things.”

And asked why the Tories were 20 points ahead when they are failing on traditionally Labour territory, like the NHS and social care, Corbyn chose to attack the media.

(Image: PA)

He said: “I’m glad you’ve asked a question on life expectancy and on social care, because too often our media simply don’t deal with the issues that people face day-to-day. There are more than a million people waiting for social care in this country and there are many people stuck in hospital that cannot leave because there’s no social care there for them.”