London mayor takes on Jeremy Corbyn

London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday urged party members to unseat boss Jeremy Corbyn in the upcoming leadership election, saying he had “failed to win the respect of the British people”.

“Jeremy’s personal ratings are the worst of any opposition leader on record and the Labour party is suffering badly as a result,” Khan wrote in the Observer.

“He has lost the confidence of more than 80 per cent of Labour’s MPs in parliament — and I am afraid we simply cannot afford to go on like this,” he added.

Mr Khan is backing Owen Smith in the upcoming party election, voting for which will begin on Monday.

Mr Corbyn, 67, stormed to the head of the party last September, securing 59.5 per cent of the votes of party activists. However, over 80 per cent of the party’s MPs recently backed a no-confidence vote in Mr Corbyn, and an election was triggered when little-known MP Owen Smith, 46, launched a leadership challenge.