THE former MP for Thurrock has described the position of the under-fire leader of Labour, Jeremy Corbyn as "unsustainable".
The leader of the opposition sacked his shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn at midnight. Since then over half a dozen shadow cabinet members have resigned.
Andrew MacKinlay, MP for Thurrock between 1992 and 2010 believes that the shadow leader faces a close to impossible position.
Mr MacKinlay said: "The lack of support from within the parliamentary Labour party is crippling.
"I would advise Mr Corbyn to re-submit himself for re-election."
YT asked Mr MacKinlay what he thought would happen if Mr Corbyn won again.
He said: "He may do but I repeat again, that he may still find his position unsustainable."
Realise the vote was emphatic in our heartlands, think about Labour’s future, not your own and for the good of the party, take your leave peacefully.
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Statement from John Kent, Leader of Thurrock Labour
"I have to say that I did not vote for Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party but as a democrat I accepted the party’s decision and over recent months I came to admire his calm and thoughtful approach.
However, at the same time I have been concerned that this same quiet and careful demeanour does not equate to good, strong leadership.
I fear leadership has been missing in Parliament and in the country and Labour’s message has been lost – we have not been able to get our message across to those who traditionally support Labour, nor to those whose support we need to form a government.
It seems the Westminster-based political class – of all parties – is in a state of flux and this is probably the best time for Labour to regroup under a new leader and prepare to put forward and properly campaign on those principles we stand for: fighting for the less well-off in our society; supporting the vulnerable, the elderly, and the young; and defending the rights and hopes of working people.
I fear that over recent years that message has been lost.
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Statement from candidate for South Basildon and East Thurrock in the General Election of 2015, Mike Le-Surf.
"The unrest within the Parliamentary Labour Party has clearly come to a head. MPs are contemplating the possibility of a general election sooner rather than later in the wake of the referendum result and Cameron’s resignation. At this stage who knows what the outcome will be?
"One thing is clear. To win a general election, Labour needs to win in Thurrock and Basildon. Whoever leads us into the next election, I suggest South Essex is one area of the country where Labour needs to focus some attention and where we may actually also find some answers to our current problems."
Basildon Labour councillor Gavin Callaghan said: "I realise the vote was emphatic in our heartlands but I would implore Mr Corbyn to think about Labour’s future, not your own and for the good of the party, take your leave peacefully".
