Corbyn will not lead another general election campaign but intends to oversee ‘period of reflection’

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

Jeremy Corbyn has said he will remain in place as Labour leader while his party undertakes a “period of reflection” after suffering catastrophic election losses in its traditional heartlands.

Speaking at his own count in Islington North, Corbyn insisted Labour’s policies had proven popular with the electorate, and attacked the media’s portrayal of him and his party.

“I will not lead the party in any future general election campaign. I will discuss with our party to ensure there is a process now of reflection on this result and on the policies that the party will take going forward. And I will lead the party during that period to ensure that discussion takes place and we move on into the future,” he said.

Corbyn said Labour had put forward a manifesto “of hope, unity that would help to right the wrongs and the injustices and inequalities that exist in this country”. He said the manifesto’s policies were “extremely popular during the election campaign and remain policies that have huge popular support all across this country”.

Bitter recriminations broke out in the Labour party almost immediately after the publication of the exit poll at 10pm.

Corbyn’s allies sought to blame the party’s grim performance on the fact that Brexit had overshadowed issues such as the future of the NHS, where Labour was on stronger ground.

But several defeated Labour candidates called on Corbyn to resign immediately, and claimed his leadership had alienated many working-class voters.

Ruth Smeeth, who has repeatedly called on Corbyn to take more action against antisemitism, said she had lost her Stoke-on-Trent North seat, and that Labour had become “the nasty party, the racist party”.

She called for Corbyn to resign immediately. “There is absolutely no justification for why he’s still there,” she said.

Phil Wilson, who lost in Tony Blair’s old seat of Sedgefield, said: “I genuinely believe that the Corbyn leadership is the issue in this election and to say that it isn’t is delusional.”

Another Labour candidate who expected to lose their seat told the Guardian: “The only upside of this is that Corbyn will have to go now. He can retire to the Chagos Islands. They own this lock, stock and barrel.”

This is clearly a bad night for Labour, which requires careful analysis. Diane Abbott

Corbyn allies were keen to stress that Labour should not shift to the right, despite the electorate’s rejection of the party in scores of seats, some of which had been Labour-held for many decades.

The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, tweeted in the early hours of the morning that the party should continue to follow principles set out by Corbyn, repeating the election mantra: “For the many, not the few.”

She wrote: “This is clearly a bad night for Labour, which requires careful analysis. But it could be much worse than a bad night for all those who rely on our public services and the NHS. Which means we still need a leadership that fights for the many, not the few.”

The Labour campaign group Momentum, which supports Corbyn, said the party must stay socialist, despite the poor verdict from the public on what the party had to offer.

Laura Parker, Momentum’s national coordinator, said Brexit had dominated the election but that Labour should be careful about lurching back towards centrism.

She said: “Obviously we need to wait for the full results but it looks like Brexit dominated. It’s unquestionable that Labour’s policies are popular. Every poll shows it, and there is absolutely no appetite to go back to the centrist policies of old. But in this election we were squeezed by Brexit and it was the defining issue.

“We will keep the Labour party socialist.”

Play Video 1:24 'Extremely disappointing': John McDonnell admits shock at election exit poll – video

However, Nathan Yeowell, the director of the centrist Labour campaign group Progress, said it was time to change the party’s direction and replace Corbyn with a leader fit for the next decade.

He said: “This has been a catastrophe. We need to now get rid of the cronyism associated with Corbyn and find someone more relevant for the next decade. Hopefully he will do the honourable thing and stand down on Friday. Labour now needs a phase of colossal reconstruction.”

He said Jess Phillips and the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, were leadership contenders he would want to see coming forward.

The founder of Momentum, Jon Lansman, echoed Corbyn’s argument that the party should take some time to consider what should happen next, arguing that any decision could wait, “until the new year”.

UK election: what we know so far – at a glance Read more

“You know Jeremy has always been a reluctant leader, I don’t think he’ll overstay his welcome,” he said.

The shadow international development secretary, Barry Gardiner, said the exit poll was a “devastating blow” for the party.

He said: “I do believe that for many people we were offering what they needed and wanted. I think Brexit rather overlaid all of that.”

While shadow cabinet figures were quick to deliver lines suggesting the Tories’ Brexit strategy and Labour’s position had hit the party hard, others said the left should not be able to get away with blaming Brexit.

A senior Labour source said of Corbyn: “His leadership was inevitably a problem and it meant it was very tough to cut through to the manifesto.”

At Labour HQ at 9.30pm on Thursday, it is understood the team around Corbyn were still discussing the potential of a hung parliament and the scale of the exit poll caught them by surprise.

Caroline Flint, who lost her Don Valley seat to the Tories, said: “We’re going to hear the Corbynistas blame it on Brexit and the Labour uber-remainers blaming Corbyn. Both are to blame for what looks like a terrible night for Labour. Both have taken for granted Labour’s heartlands. Sorry we couldn’t offer you a Labour party you could trust.”