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JEREMY CORBYN’S Labour leadership campaign storms ahead tonight with a sold-out rally in London, but one MP supporting him has warned that “complacency kills.”
As the momentum behind Mr Corbyn builds, Norwich South MP Clive Lewis called on the leftwinger’s supporters not to get “carried away” by his current surge in popularity.
His call for composure came after thousands turned out to hear Mr Corbyn speak in Birmingham, Liverpool, Coventry and Preston at the weekend.
And more than 1,500 people have already registered for a rally in Norwich on Thursday — three times more people than there is space for.
Speaking to the Star about the explosion of interest in Mr Corbyn’s campaign, Mr Lewis said there was clearly “a hunger for what Jeremy has to say.”
But he added: “This is the heady part of things and everyone is getting excited by it.
“We’ve changed the terms of the debate, but complacency kills.
“We know that the other three camps are already running ‘anyone but Jeremy’ campaigns and, unless Jeremy can get 50 per cent plus one, he’s not home and dry.”
Mr Lewis warned that Liz Kendall, who won just 18 nominations from local Labour parties, could still drop out to support Yvette Cooper.
“It could be enough to bring Yvette close enough to Jeremy to get her over the line with Andy Burnham’s second preferences,” he said.
Even if Mr Corbyn manages to win the contest, Mr Lewis believes that is when “the real problems will come.”
“The reality of the job facing us if Jeremy did win would be immense. There’ll be all sorts of arguments and debates.
We’ve got to keep the party together and we’ve also got to take on a hostile media.”
In a pre-emptive strike against a brewing right-wing rebellion, Mr Corbyn issued a “unity statement” at the weekend.
He promised that there would be a place in his shadow cabinet for Blairites such as Ms Kendall, saying: “When the dust has settled, we will still all be Labour.”
Mr Lewis believes that, whatever the result, the Blairite faction will emerge as the big losers from the contest.
“That kind of alliance between the soft left and the hard right of the party is breaking, or has broken, and there’s now an opportunity for a realignment,” he said.
