Jeremy Corbyn’s bid to lead Labour was boosted today as the party tore itself apart over welfare cuts.
Left-wingers hailed the Islington North MP’s decision to become the only leadership candidate to vote against the Government’s Welfare Bill.
Other leadership contenders who failed to do so, including shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, who had called the Bill “unsupportable”, suffered attacks from their own side.
Almost 50 MPs defied interim leader Harriet Harman’s call to abstain in the vote on the reforms, which will gouge £12 billion out of welfare spending.
As the rift laid bare the scale of Labour’s woes, former cabinet minister David Blunkett admitted his party was suffering “emotional trauma”.
Ms Harman had wanted Labour to abstain in the vote in a bid to demonstrate her party understood a need to control the benefits budget.
A source said Ms Harman stood by her position today and had expected the rebellion along with “a period of turbulence”.
The source added: “You need that when you have been through something as brutal as the second election defeat and the public are in a different place to where you are.”
Mr Corbyn said he and other rebels who defied Ms Harman in last night’s vote, including 18 MPs elected in May, had strengthened Labour’s standing.
Speaking on BBC radio today he said he had no problem being seen as the party which “supports the poorest and most vulnerable”. He denied splitting Labour, adding: “What I’ve done, along with 47 other colleagues, is voted against the Government’s Welfare Bill.”
There are 232 Labour MPs but only 124 members of the Commons opposed the benefits reforms, including SNP, Liberal Democrat and other MPs.
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As the numbers emerged, along with news that leadership rivals Mr Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall had abstained, Labour supporters took to the internet to vent.
Maureen Grant wrote on Mr Burnham’s Facebook page: “Hang your head in shame... you and the rest of the contenders are a bloody disgrace.” She said she would vote for Mr Corbyn.
Mr Burnham sought to defend himself saying that he had backed Labour’s motion to temper the cuts.
London mayor hopefuls Sadiq Khan, David Lammy and Diane Abbott were among those who defied Ms Harman.
Ms Abbott tweeted: “We weren’t sent to Parliament to abstain.”
But former cabinet minister David Blunkett, a stalwart of Tony Blair’s government, said: “The Labour party is understandably in emotional trauma. It is bound to be after the loss in May and the bewilderment about where we go from here. What we are not doing is debating enough about where we go from here.
"Last night once again focused on us being divided, rather than what the Tories are doing, a lot of which is unacceptable. We have to be an effective opposition. But if that’s all we are and you are painted constantly by the Conservatives...you’ve got to avoid those traps.”
