Jeremy Corbyn secures five times as many nominations in local constituencies as rival Owen Smith
Mr Corbyn received the backing of 285 constituency Labour Parties compared with 53 who nominated Mr Smith
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeremy Corbyn has secured more than five times as many nominations from local constituency parties as his leadership rival, Owen Smith.
The final result, as nominations close, suggests that the current leader is the firm favourite of party members committed enough to turn out to the meetings where votes were taken on whom to nominate.
Mr Corbyn received the backing of 285 constituency Labour Parties, including his own Islington North constituency, compared with 53 who nominated Mr Smith. Just under 300 local parties did not nominate.
But an indication of how allegations of anti-semitism in the Labour Party have damaged its leader, when the Jewish Labour Movement, which is affiliated to the party, held a vote on which candidate to nominate, only 4 per cent of those who took part voted for Mr Corbyn, with over 90 per cent backing Mr Smith.
Mr Corbyn also has the formal backing of eight trade unions, including the two biggest, Unite and Unison, and of the party’s youth wing, Young Labour. Mr Smith was also nominated by four trade unions, including the third and fourth biggest, the GMB and Usdaw, and from the Socialist Health Association and the Labour Movement for Europe.
The nominations will have no direct effect on the result of the leadership election, which will be announced on 24 September, because party members and supporters vote as individuals. Even so, the numbers are a morale booster for the Corbyn camp.
A spokesperson for the Jeremy for Labour campaign, said: “We're really grateful to have received so much support from constituency Labour parties across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“Jeremy Corbyn is the only candidate who can draw on support from Labour members right across our country. These results further suggest that Labour members strongly support Jeremy Corbyn in his bid to remain Labour leader.“
“Our campaign will continue to make the positive case for democracy in our party and for Jeremy Corbyn's plan to rebuild and transform Britain so that no-one and nowhere is left behind.”
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