Cooper won’t rule out challenge to Corbyn

Cooper, who stood unsuccessfully for the party leadership last year, was making a speech this morning at the Centre for European Reform on leadership and negotiating the UK’s exit from the EU.

In an attack on the leader, she said that Corbyn was failing to bring the party together, and in a dig at the leader’s supporters who claim he is taking Labour back to its roots, said he was losing support in the places “that built the labour movement in the first place”. She slammed him as having “no plan” – but added that it was not his fault that the referendum was lost.

“At a time when the world has changed, when an election is looming, I am very concerned that Jeremy Corbyn has no plan to re-unite the Labour movement, no plan to respond to the deep and serious issues the referendum has thrown up, and no plan for a looming general election,” Cooper said.

“I got to know Jeremy last year and I always found him a kind, friendly man. He won well and he has brought more people into the party. He did not lose the referendum – the Prime Minister lost the referendum he called. But Jeremy did not show he had any of the campaigning zeal our Party needs in a tough fight.

“But he is losing us Labour support across the country – and particularly in the towns and coalfields that built the labour movement in the first place.

“Jeremy would be letting down Labour voters and communities across the country who badly need a strong Labour voice right now, and who badly need a Labour government, if he drags this out any longer. I hope he does the right thing in the party and stands down swiftly because we cannot drift and leave Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Iain Duncan Smith to shape Britain’s future.”

Cooper is one of the big-hitters rumoured to be a potential challenger to Corbyn if he does not resign – but Corbynsceptics agree that there should only be one candidate standing against the incumbent, and it is believed that others would have a better chance of bringing together the divided party. There is believed to be increasing support for former shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle – although she has not commented yet on rumours she could stand.