Pro-Remain Labour MP Clive Lewis to run for Labour leader
Norwich South Labour MP Clive Lewis. Picture: Kate Wolstenholme - Credit: Kate Wolstenholme
Clive Lewis has announced he will stand in the upcoming race to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader.
The shadow Treasury minister, in an article for the Guardian, said he wanted to "unleash" the Labour movement to win its first general election since 2005.
The Norwich South MP said the party had suffered "its own Dunkirk" at the polls, but that a comeback was possible.
He wrote: "I am standing to be leader of the Labour party for the simple reason that if I do not, certain necessary truths may go unspoken during the debates of the coming months.
"Even at this dark hour, as Labour suffers its own Dunkirk, as retreat is forced on us, I'm an optimistic."
You may also want to watch:
Lewis wrote that should he be selected he would place more faith in party members to help shape policy and make the party more open, democratic and inquisitive.
He wrote: "Jeremy Corbyn's first promise as leader was never fulfilled. The party was never democratised on the scale or
Most Read
- 1 Tory MP blames 'chaotic parents' for children going to school hungry
- 2 Boris Johnson 'hid in bedroom' to avoid grilling on Brexit stance days before becoming PM
- 3 Danny Dyer praised for criticisms of Tory party - pointing out Etonians can't run the country
- 4 George Osborne says it is 'game over' for Boris Johnson over free school meals
- 5 UKIP set to select 'Dr Gammons' as candidate for London mayoral election
- 6 Liz Truss' department slammed for false claim about cost of soy sauce after Brexit
- 7 Andy Burnham could have been 'halfway through tenure as PM by now', claims commentator
- 8 Minister sparks concerns about pig semen after Brexit
- 9 Minister says he 'doesn't understand' accusation he's starving kids in holidays
- 10 Brexiteer in lockdown denial over 49% drop in constituency Covid-19 cases
to the extent that members
were led to expect - they were never empowered to campaign, select candidates or determine policy on the scale that was required.
"This must now change. We don't need foot soldiers, we need an army of activists who think critically, treat each other with respect and have a serious democratic stake in the movement.
"I don't want to manage the labour movement, I want to unleash it."
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
