I will not stand idly by – ideological purity intact – and watch the Tories steamroller their way through working class towns

Last September, I watched with glee as Jeremy Corbyn was swept to a landslide victory in the leadership election. He gained my support because I thought he could deliver a legitimate alternative to the Conservatives’ brutal austerity measures, whilst his support of “straight-talking honest politics” appealed to my desire to make our politics more inclusive and representative.

But Jeremy failed to deliver on his key pledges. For months, we had no clear vision. A man ill-equipped and unprepared for leadership flip-flopped on his economic policy, and had no strong media strategy.

Knocking on doors during May’s local council elections, voters were relaying the same concerns to me as they did in the general election: they didn’t trust Labour on the economy, didn’t think we were tough enough on national security and said that our leader was unfit for the role of prime minister.

By-election victories in strong Labour areas mean nothing to residents of marginal constituencies such as Cleethorpes, where we need to actively reach out to Conservative voters and convince them we are a party of Government; not a protest movement. Our terrible local election performance – the worst of any Opposition for decades – demonstrated to me that we were repeating the same mistakes of the past.

But despite all of this; despite all of my doubts, when the first members of the shadow cabinet stood down, I wasn’t sure how to feel or what I wanted to happen. I was worried we would see a challenge from another centrist MP whose politics, fundamentally, I could not support.

And then Owen Smith emerged. Here was a leader whose politics I completely agreed with, but was also showing the leadership and the vision to take the party forward.

I have been enthused by Owen Smith’s campaign. His radical and credible vision for the future of our country goes beyond platitudes. As a medical student, I am pleased to see concrete policies that will help solve the crisis in the NHS. Standing alongside junior doctors on the picket lines this year, we cried out for additional funding for the NHS. Owen’s plans for an additional £60bn for our NHS during the next parliament, properly costed through five fair tax increases, addresses our concerns and would allow us to fund mental and social care sufficiently. And Owen has been able to clearly communicate these plans through careful use of the media. This is because, despite the evident media bias against Labour, Owen is still willing to – and more than capable of – engaging with journalists to ensure that our message is delivered to vital swing voters.

With my junior doctor colleagues announcing plans for further industrial action, it is now clearer than ever that we need a Labour government. Under Jeremy, we haven’t been this far away from forming one since the 1980s. A recent ICM poll shows that we are third behind UKIP with over 65s. Jeremy Corbyn is also third behind “don’t know” when voters are asked who would make the best prime minister – him or Theresa May.

I am still, in many ways, glad that Jeremy won. I do think the Labour Party needed a wakeup call; needed to be more clearly and proudly anti-austerity and show why we are different to the Tories. But we also need a leader who can deliver on these anti-austerity pledges. And that leader is Owen Smith.

There is nothing noble in defeat. There is nothing socialist about ushering in decades of Tory rule. I refuse to idly stand by and watch, my ideological purity intact, whilst the Tories steamroll their way through working-class communities like my own, robbing children of the opportunities I was given by the previous Labour government.

And of course, it is very easy in a leadership contest to focus on individuals. But it is important to remember that the Labour Party is a movement, it is not just one person. Looking at Corbyn and his supporters I can’t help but feel that our party is quickly turning into “the Corbyn Party” rather than a Labour movement. We need a leader who can bring together the membership, the PLP and the affiliates; someone capable of engaging with people from all wings of the party.

This election is not about left and right; it’s about the kind of party we want to be. We need to be a party where abuse is not tolerated (not just “ignored”, as Corbyn would say). A party where our membership is mobilised not just to fight for one person but to get out on the doorstep and fight for the party as a whole. And a party which reaches out to and engages with the electorate, so that we can deliver a Labour victory and a Labour government.

Only Owen Smith can unite us, build a real movement and take the fight to the Tories, and that’s why I voted for Owen.

Stephen Naullis is a medical student at Imperial College London.