General election 2019: Jeremy Corbyn apologises over heavy labor defeat – BBC News, Bbc.com

        

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Jeremy Corbyn has apologized to Labor supporters over his party’s heavy defeat in the general election.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror and the Observer, he acknowledged the party’s failings in the poll and said he accepted his responsibility for it.

It comes as two likely leadership candidates – Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips – have set out their stalls ahead of the race to succeed Mr Corbyn. Boris Johnson will unveil his Queen’s Speech on Thursday.

It will include a commitment to enshrine increases in spending on the NHS in England in legislation.

Mr Johnson won a Commons majority of in Thursday’s general election , his party’s biggest election win for years, sweeping aside labor in its traditional heartlands.

In con trast, Labor suffered its worst election result since and saw its vote share fall by 8 points.

In his open letter to the Mirror on Sunday, Mr Corbyn said: “I will make no bones about it. The result was a body blow for everyone who so desperately needs real change in our country.

“I’m sorry that we came up short and I take my responsibility for it.”

But Mr Corbyn insisted he remained “proud” of the party’s campaign, and that it had offered a message of “hope” in the election.

The Labor leader – who is expected to stand down early next year – added that the party is determined to regain the trust of lifelong labor voters who had abandoned it.

Labour’s “red wall” across the Midlands and the north of England- the bedrock of the party’s support for generations – crumbled as the Conservatives claimed key marginal seats on Thursday night and into Friday.

            

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Mr Johnson went to former prime minister Tony Blair’s old seat of Sedgefield on Saturday to thank voters in the north of England for “breaking the voting habits of generations” to back the Conservatives.

In a speech, he acknowledged “how difficult” that decision could be and said the Conservatives would repay people trust.

Writing in the Observer, Mr Corbyn said his own election campaign had successfully re-set the terms of debate and his manifesto would be seen as

“I am proud that on austerity, on corporate power, on inequality and on the climate emergency we have won the arguments and rewritten the terms of political debate, “he said.

However, he said there was” no quick fix to overcome the distrust of many voters. “

            

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Among the potential candidates to take over the Labor party leadership are Birmingham Yardley MP Ms Phillips and Wigan MP Ms Nandy.

In the Observer, Ms Phillips appeals to people tojoin Labor to change it, and argues that too many working-class people do not believe Labor is better than the Tories.

While Ms Nandy has said the party haslost touch with the day-to -day livesof the people it wishes to represent.

There will be initial discussions next week on drawing up a timetable for electing a new labor leader.

The party’s ruling national executive is likely to take the final decision at a special meeting in early January.

                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                      

Following the Conservatives’ election win, MPs will return to Westminster on Tuesday and begin the process of swearing in, before the Queen formally opens Parliament on Thursday.

Mr Johnson’s Queen’s Speech will include a commitment by the party to put its NHS spending plan into law as a symbol of commitment to the health service.

The Tories have said that NHS spending will reach £ (******************************************************************. 9bn each year by 2023 / 4.

                                                                                                                      

Downing Street has confirmed there will be a review of Whitehall departments – and the Sunday papers report that the prime minister will work over Christmas on plans to merge and split different government offices.

The Sunday Telegraph says the PM’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings is preparingan overhaul of the civil serviceto ensure it delivers on Mr Johnson’s agenda.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times claims up to a third of cabinet ministers

face the sack in February, Whitehall departments could be abolished and civil servants replaced by external experts.

It’s also been confirmed that the government has ordered a review to consider decriminalizing non-payment of the BBC license fee – which costs £ 154. annually.************                         

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