Now, Corbyn’s challengers are fighting each other in Labour contest

LONDON: Two candidates seeking to take on Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn in a leadership contest–Angela Eagle and Owen Smith – battled each other on Sunday, each

LONDON: Two candidates seeking to take on Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn in a leadership contest–Angela Eagle and Owen Smith – battled each other on Sunday, each claiming higher support than the other.

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Eagle and Smith appeared on Sunday television to set out their vision for the party and the country, including on Brexit. The official Labour position was for Britain should remain in the EU, but Corbyn was flayed for allegedly not campaigning strongly enough for it.

Wednesday is the deadline for the nominations for the contest, with Corbyn already on the ballot paper as one of the candidates. His rivals, however, insist that he, like other candidates, should be supported by at least 51 party MPs, which he cannot be sure of, given last week’s no-confidence motion against him.

The three could go ahead for a vote of Labour members, registered supporters and union affiliates. Eagle and Smith are keen to whittle the choice down to Corbyn and one opponent.

“I think one of us standing would be better, is the honest answer,” Smith told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show .“But I think the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) has got to be a grown-up organisation and come to a decision in the next couple of days as to who it is.” Asked if the party should pick its leader based on who had more nominations, Smith said: “That’s one way in which we could do it.”