'It’s not my interpretation!' Adam Boulton ROASTS Labour front-bencher over Copeland loss
SHADOW SECRETARY Andy McDonald was roasted by a Sky News host after he refused to accept that Labour’s vote share was falling under Jeremy Corbyn.
Adam Boulton grills Labour shadow minister on falling votes
The Labour MP admitted he was “disappointed” that his party did not win in Copeland, despite holding off a Ukip challenge in the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election.
Conservative candidate Trudy Harrison completed a historic victory in Copeland with a majority of 2,147 despite Labour holding the Cumbrian constituency for over 80 years.
Sky News host Adam Boulton tore the Labour shadow secretary of state for transport apart as he discredited the party’s leadership hopes in the next general election.
He said: “That really is the problem for the Labour Party now isn’t it, this isn’t just one historic defeat in a by-election in Copeland… the party is a million miles from winning the next general election.”
The 58-year-old Labour MP Mr McDonald replied attempting to defend the disappointing night for the party.
He said: “There’s no getting away from it, it was a huge disappointment not to win in Copeland.
“It’s a loss, we lost Copeland, we won Stoke. So it was one loss, one victory.
“I think you do have to look at those very particular circumstances that obtained in Copeland, were very unusual and we are living in very uncertain times post-Brexit and Article 50 not having been triggered.”
The Sky News presenter took Mr McDonald to task for not answering the question before grilling him over the Labour Party’s standing following the by-election results.
“For the record, your vote share was down, even here in Stoke,” he said. “So the point is the prospect going forward is that Labour looks like a side-show not a potential party of government and surely you have got to change to do something about that?”
Side-stepping the facts the Labour MP ignored the vote share arguing that it was simply the hosts “interpretation”.
Boulton exploded at the shadow secretary telling him that he was simply reading out the facts.
No it’s not my interpretation, I’m looking at how the votes are falling
“No it’s not my interpretation, I’m looking at how the votes are falling,” he added.
The Labour MP sarcastically replied before suggesting that Labour was not in crises and insisting that they would be in power following the next general election.
He said: “Oh sorry for interrupting, while you were speaking.
“It’s ridiculous, in the extreme to suggest that the Labour and trade union movement in this country is a side-show. It’s still a hugely significant political force, and a party of government and we will be the government in 2020.
Conservatives win Copeland in historic by-election victory
“We are not helped when people within our own party like Peter Mandelson coming out and telling us that he gets up everyday trying to destroy the leader of the Labour Party.”
The main opposition party has only lost by-elections to the party in power on three occasions since 1945.
The Conservative candidate won the Copeland by-election with 13,748 votes with 44 per cent of the vote.
Labour managed to retain their seat in the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election as their candidate Gareth Snell held off competition from Paul Nuttall with a majority of 2,620.