Labour contender Emily Thornberry told Jeremy Corbyn backing election was folly

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has entered the British Labour leadership race.

Emily Thornberry and Jeremy Corbyn meet in London after retaining their seats at the election last week. Picture: Getty Images

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has entered the Labour leadership race, declaring that she had warned Jeremy Corbyn that backing a general election would be an “act of catastrophic political folly”.

Ms Thornberry, a close ally and long-term friend of Mr Corbyn, announced late on Wednesday that she would run, even though the process has not formally begun, with a pledge to rebuild the party and gain the trust of the public.

She said her party needed to move on from Brexit and choose a successor best placed to take on Boris Johnson. She said: “When the Labour leadership contest begins, and I hope to be one of the candidates, the first question shouldn’t be about their position on Brexit, or where they live in our country.”

Earlier, shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer pledged not to abandon Mr Corbyn’s “radicalism” for a move back to the Blairite centre ground, as he set out his pitch for the party leadership.

Sir Keir’s comments will be seen as a pitch to grassroots members on the left who are also being targeted by Mr Corbyn’s preferred successor, Rebecca Long Bailey.

Mr Corbyn said he would stand down, after leading Labour to its worst election result since 1935. Mr Johnson won a majority of 80 in the 650-seat House of Commons on December 12.

The Times