Betty Boothroyd says Labour risks turning the clock back

Betty Boothroyd, former Speaker of the Commons, has warned Labour risks turning the clock back if it elects Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn is one of four people in the running to be Labour’s next leader – polls have suggested that he is the frontrunner in the contest.

Boothroyd was an MP from 1973 to 2000. She was the first and to date is the only female Speaker.  In an article in The Sunday Times, she criticised Labour’s decision to allow members of the public to pay £3 to sign up as supporters and vote in the leadership election.

“What party in its right mind would allow a combination of far-left enemies, militant trade unions and first-time supporters to decide its fate?

“What enterprise would allow first-time customers a say in its future in return for a one-off donation of £3? The ancients were right. Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad,” she said.

Boothroyd also critiqued Corbyn: “Now in the twilight of my public life, I watch with dismay as the clock is turned back. I can hardly believe that the battles we fought to save the Labour party are being fought all over again, this time against greater odds on more dangerous terrain.

“It may already be too late. The hard left is deluding a new generation with the same claptrap that it took my generation decades to discard.”

“My old party is galloping towards the precipice. I urge it to heed the jagged rocks before it is too late.”