Owen Smith joins Labour leadership race
A new candidate has joined the race to win the UK opposition party leadership contest whose winner will be announced in September.
Labour lawmaker Owen Smith announced his decision Wednesday, saying, “I will stand in this election and I will do the decent thing and fight Jeremy Corbyn on the issues.”
“Just as he (Corbyn) will do with me, and at the end of that I will stand behind whoever the leader is,” Smith told the BBC. "But I hope and I expect it will be me."
Smith, a former shadow cabinet member, said he would be a "radical and credible" leader who could bring back power to Labour.
In addition to Smith, Angela Eagle is trying to wrest the party leadership in the contest which began in the wake of Britain's June 23 vote to leave the European Union.
Many of Corbyn’s shadow cabinet members have resigned and publicly stated they had no confidence in his leadership.
Corbyn is accused of not working hard enough to prevent Britons’ vote in favor of Brexit.
However, the party ruled Tuesday that he can partake in the contest for leadership again without having to seek support from lawmakers.
The Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) ruled that Corbyn could automatically appear on the ballot without any support for nomination from 51 lawmakers.
The power struggle within the Labour peaked when his leadership was challenged by party lawmaker Eagle on Saturday.
NEC’s ruling, however, could raise hopes for the 67-year-old Labour politician to remain in control.
"The NEC has agreed that, as the incumbent leader, Jeremy Corbyn will go forward onto the ballot without requiring nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party and the European Parliamentary Labour Party," a party spokesman was quoted as saying by Reuters.
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