Eagle defiant over LabourList article in which she condemned “coup” against Corbyn

Angela Eagle today fended off critics who highlighted a LabourList article of less than a year ago in which she called for the “political elite” to “lay off” Jeremy Corbyn and criticised any plans for a coup in the party.

Eagle, who formally launches her leadership bid today, said she stood by “every word” of the piece, which was written in July 2015 and circulated widely on social media this weekend after she carried out a series of broadcast interviews.

Some Labour members and supporters queried her decision to run and highlighted the article, written at the height of the Corbyn surge last summer, in which she attacked centrist MPs who were alarmed at the prospect of a win by the veteran left-winger.

“The unwelcome briefings and the public prophesies of doom and destruction from senior figures in the Labour Party over the past week about Jeremy Corbyn are doing more damage to the Party than they are to the leadership candidate himself,” Eagle wrote last year.

“Not only are they harmful, they are disrespectful to Labour Party members and supporters who want the widest possible debate in this Leadership contest… The political elite need to lay off him or  run the risk of alienating swathes of Labour supporters.”

Any discussion of a “coup” or MPs refusing to serve in Corbyn’s frontbench have “no place” in the party, she added.

Today Eagle issued a defiant response amid claims she had reversed her stance on co-operation with Corbyn’s leadership.

She told LabourList the party now needed a change of direction from Corbyn’s “confused” performance.

“I stand by every word of this article that I wrote during the Leadership Election in 2015. I thought the attacks on Jeremy during the Leadership Election were unwarranted and unhelpful for our Party.

“That’s why while those elections took place, I pledged to serve whoever our members chose to be leader. And I was true to my word. I took the Government on over their malicious Trade Union Bill, defeated their plans to end protection for shop workers on Sunday, worked to expose their failed economic policy, and passionately made the case for our continued membership of the EU.

“But nine months later, it is increasingly clear that things just aren’t working. Our performance in the local elections in May was disappointing. And following Jeremy’s confused, lacklustre and equivocal performance in the EU referendum, the Parliamentary Party and thousands of members have lost faith in his leadership.

“It is time for a change. I’m a practical socialist who wants to get things done. That’s why I’m standing to be Leader of the Labour Party.”