Jeremy Corbyn has hit back
at Barack Obama after the outgoing US President suggested Labour under
his leadership had disintegrated and lost touch with reality.
In a valedictory interview before leaving the White
House, Mr Obama was asked if he feared the Democratic Party would lurch
to the left after Donald Trump's election, like Labour in the UK.
And
in a brutal assessment of the state of the Labour Party, the President
said he had no such worries and even claimed left-wing presidential
challenger Bernie Sanders was a "pretty centrist politician" compared to
Mr Corbyn.
The criticism provoked a defiant response from the
Labour leader's spokesman, who said his ideas were "common sense" to
"most people in Britain".
Mr Sanders has been compared to Mr Corbyn because of his age and left-wing policies
The President's damning verdict on Labour under Mr Corbyn came in an
interview with former Obama aide David Axelrod, who also advised Ed
Miliband during the 2015 General Election campaign.
Mr Axelrod asked the President: "Are you worried about the Corbynisation of the Democratic Party?
"The
Labour Party just sort of disintegrated in the face of their defeat and
moved so far left that it's in a very frail state. And there is an
impulse to respond to the power of Trump by, you know, being as edgy...
on the left."
Mr Obama responded: "I don't worry about that,
partly because I think that the Democratic Party has stayed pretty
grounded in fact and reality."
Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says Mr Obama's comments are a 'wake-up call' for Labour
In response, Mr Corbyn's spokesman said Labour and the Democrats both
"have to challenge power if they are going to speak for working people
and change a broken system".
He added: "What Jeremy Corbyn stands
for is what most people want: to take on the tax cheats, create a fairer
economy, fund a fully public NHS, build more homes, and stop backing
illegal wars.
"For the establishment, those ideas are dangerous. For most people in Britain, they're common sense and grounded in reality."
In
a letter to The Guardian, filmmaker Ken Loach defended Mr Corbyn and
said his critics within Labour were responsible for "any disarray or
disunity" in the party.
He said: "This bunch of political losers are intent on the destruction of a Labour Party they cannot control."
Meanwhile,
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron mocked Mr Corbyn over the US
President's comments, calling them a "wake up call" for Labour.
He
said: "Since the General Election, Labour have written the textbook on
how to make a divided and divisive government look half competent."
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