Jeremy Corbyn Labour Leadership Campaign Backed By Hundreds Of Councillors

Look Left: #JezWeCan Gets Fresh Boost
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LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 16: Jeremy Corbyn poses for a portrait on July 16, 2015 in London, England. Jeremy Bernard Corbyn is a British Labour Party politician and has been a member of Parliament for Islington North since 1983. He is currently a contender for the position as leader of the Labour Party. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
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Jeremy Corbyn's bid to lead the Labour party won fresh momentum today after 230 councillors backed his campaign.

The veteran leftwinger told the Huffington Post UK that he was delighted by the showing of support from local politicians across the country.

The endorsements come just days after Mr Corbyn emerged as the front-runner in nominations from Constituency Labour Parties, ahead of Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall.

A private poll this week claimed also to have the Islington North MP in first place, 15 points ahead of the Shadow Health Secretary.

Mr Corbyn said: “It’s great to have so much support from Labour councillors.

“Labour councillors are Labour’s backbone, representing communities across Britain and having to deal with the consequences of the government’s deep cuts to local government funding. We need to listen more to local government and prepare to revitalise local government under Labour from 2020.

"This government have centralised power while devolving the pain inflicted by cuts to local councils. It is the most deprived communities in the country that are bearing the brunt of the government’s economically flawed programme.

"We in the Labour movement must stand for strong, democratically accountable public services and support our councils in delivering them."

Earlier this month, 100 councillors came out for Ms Kendall, while both Ms Cooper and Mr Burnham also have above 150 each.

The fresh raft of endorsements comes ahead of the latest official hustings in the contest, which is due to take place today in Brighton.

Although Mr Corbyn initially struggled to get the required 35 MPs to get on the ballot, his campaign has since struck a chord on Facebook, where he has the biggest presence of any candidate, and Twitter.

Modernising Shadow Cabinet ministers and Kendall backers Chuka Umunna and Tristram Hunt this week warned of a return to the 1980s 'comfort' zone for Labour if Mr Corbyn was elected leader.

Mr Umunna even suggested that his party had reacted to the general election defeat 'like a petulant child'.

Meanwhile, Mr Burnham today announced that if elected Labour leader he would campaign for a legal pardon for all men convicted under historic homosexuality laws, without the need for families or individuals to apply.

“It would send a strong message to millions of LGBT individuals around the world, who still live in fear of persecution, and to the Governments and national leaders that refuse to recognise equal rights," he said.

The full list of Labour councillors backing Mr Corbyn includes:

Councillor Margery Abbott, Cambridge

Councillor Abdifatah Aden, Brent

Councillor Dipu Ahad, Newcastle

Councillor Jim Ainslie, Hartlepool

Councillor Seyi Akiwowo, Newham

Councillor Danny Aldington, Nuneaton and Bedworth

Councillor Suzanne Armstrong, Hull

Councillor Elizabeth Atkins, Preston

Councillor Jane Avis, Croydon

Councillor Neil Baldwin Redcar & Cleveland

Councillor Steve Battlemuch, Nottingham

Councillor Tony Bavington, Barbergh District

Councillor Lorraine Beavers, Lancashire

Councillor Alice Bennett, Liverpool

Councillor Sharon Blank, Chesterfield

Councillor Jordan Blyth, Middlesbrough

Councillor Robert Boswell, Preston

Councillor Andy Botham, Derbyshire

Councillor Mick Bowman, Newcastle

Councillor Lesley Brennan, Dundee

Councillor James Broach, Hatfield West

Councillor John‐Paul Bromley, Warwick

Councillor John Brooks, Lichfield

Councillor Pamela Brooks-Osborne, North Tyneside

Councillor Matthew Brown, Preston

Councillor Tim Brown, Ashfield

Councillor Amanda Brown, Ashfield

Councillor John Browne, Preston

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield

Councillor Janet Burgess, Islington

Councillor Cheryl Butler, Ashfield

Councillor Paul Carey, Glasgow

Councillor Yvonne Cartey, Tameside

Councillor Lauren Cassidy, Halton

Councillor Jilani Chowdhury, Islington

Councillor Peter Clarke, Hull

Councillor Bob Clay, Swansea

Councillor Uta Clay, Swansea

Councillor Alan Clinch, North Lanarkshire

Councillor Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Islington

Councillor Rosalind Copeland, Sunderland

Councillor Richard Cotton, Camden

Councillor Van Coulter, Oxford

Councillor Jim Creamer, Notts County Council

Councillor Simon Cronin, Worcester

Councillor Peter Curling, Hillingdon

Councillor Claire Darke, Wolverhampton

Councillor Shelly Darwin, Ipswich

Councillor Nick Davies, Swansea

Councillor Wynn Davies, Greenwich

Councillor Don Davis, Ashfield

Councillor Daniel De'Ath, Cardiff

Councillor Theresa Debono, Islington

Councillor Alex DeWinter Blaby District Council

Councillor David Dodds, West Lothian

Councillor Catherine Donovan, Gateshead

Councillor Ryland Doyle, Swansea

Councillor Sue Duffy, Bradford

Councillor Richard Dunbar, Bradford

Councillor Alan Dutton, Stoke on Trent

Councillor Dawn Elliot, Broxtowe

Councillor Geoffrey Ellis, Lincolnshire

Councillor Sinead Engel, Bradford

Councillor Aysegul Erdogan, Islington

Councillor David Evans, Flintshire

Councillor Tom Evans, Blackburn

Councillor David Fagan, Airdrie South

Councillor Anis Faruki, Preston

Councillor John Ferguson, Salford

Councillor Pat Ferguson, Nottingham

Councillor Kat Fletcher, Islington

Councillor Darren Foley, Channock Chase

Councillor Dot Foster, Calderdale

Councillor Tina Funnell, York

Councillor Drew Gale, Preston

Councillor Troy Gallagher, Islington

Councillor Osh Gantly, Islington

Councillor Emma Gillan, Glasgow

Councillor Daniel Gillard, Manchester

Councillor Paul Gleeson, Boston

Councillor Brian Gordon, Dundee

Councillor Richard Greening, Islington

Councillor Alice Grice, Notts County Council

Councillor Joe Hale, Swansea

Councillor Mouna Hamitouche, Islington

Councillor Carl Handley, Lewisham

Councillor Andy Hannan, Devon

Councillor Kate Hannan, Exeter

Councillor Tracy Harvey, Middlesbrough

Councillor Gary Heather, Islington

Councillor Jack Hemingway, Wakefield

Councillor Juliana Heron, Sunderland

Councillor Julie Heselwood, Leeds

Councillor Maja Hilton, Lewisham

Councillor Andrew Hinchliff, Llanfairfechan

Councillor Ruth Hirschfield, Liverpool

Councillor John Hodges, East Sussex

Councillor Kate Hooker, Ashford

Councillor Rachel Hopkins, Luton

Councillor Harry Howard, Halton

Councillor James Hull, Preston

Councillor Emine Ibrahim, Haringey

Councillor John Illingworth, Leeds

Councillor Nicky Jerrome, Wokingham

Councillor Karen Jewitt, Croydon

Councillor Gary Johnston, Caerphilly

Councillor Iris Johnston, Thanet

Councillor Bert Jones, Redbridge

Councillor Jean-Roger Kaseki, Islington

Councillor Edward Kelly, High Peak

Councillor Nigel Knowles, Wyre Forest

Councillor Joyce Korczak-Fields, Hull

Councillor Mike Langley, Bristol

Councillor Trisha Lawton, Hartlepool

Councillor Sue Lent, Cardiff

Councillor Kate Lewis, Salford

Councillor James Leyshon, Lancaster

Councillor Michael Lilley, Colchester

Councillor Mary Lloyd, Southampton

Councillor Janet Looker, York

Councillor Steve Lydon, Gloucestershire

Councillor Keith Martin, South Ribble

Councillor Craig Martin, Weymouth & Portland

Councillor David Mayer, Newport

Councillor John McGhee, Northamptonshire

Councillor Paul McGlinchey, West Dunbartonshire

Councillor Annie McMahon, Rossendale

Councillor Pat Merrick, Chesire West & Chester

Councillor Allie Miles, Calderdale

Councillor Tom Miller, Brent

Councillor Roma Mills, St Albans

Councillor Lauren Mitchell, Ashfield

Councillor John Montgomerie, North Ayrshire

Councillor Angela Moohan, West Lothian

Councillor John Mooney, West Dunbartonshire

Councillor Keith Moore, East Riding

Councillor Lachlan Morrison, Ashfield

Councillor Keir Morrison, Ashfield

Councillor Graham Munn, Tunbridge Wells

Councillor Gordon Munro, Edinburgh

Councillor Joe Murphy, Salford

Councillor Chris Murphy, Stockport

Councillor Alan Napier, Durham

Councillor Tony Norbury, Wirral

Councillor Rachael O'Byrne, Liverpool

Councillor Una O'Halloran, Islington

Councillor Mick O'Sullivan, Islington

Councillor Stef Parkins, Warwick

Councillor John Paschoud, Lewisham

Councillor Keith Patience, Waveney

Councillor Sheila Peacock, Haringey

Councillor Ashley Pearce, Reading

Councillor Sue Pearson, Newcastle

Councillor Shaun Pender, Stoke on Trent

Councillor Rupert Perry, Islington

Councillor Gareth Phillips, Bridgend

Councillor Bob Piper, Sandwell

Councillor Andy Platt, Stoke on Trent

Councillor David Poyser, Islington

Councillor Susan Press, Calderdale

Councillor Richard Price, Maltby

Councillor Rodney Price, Selby District

Councillor Kevin Price, Cambridge

Councillor Mike Pringle, Nottinghamshire County Council

Councillor Alec Proffitt, Barrow in Furness

Councillor Shabana Qadir, Waltham Forest

Councillor Frank Radcliffe, North Hertfordshire

Councillor Habibur Rahman, Newcastle

Councillor Tony Randerson, North Yorkshire

Councillor Peter Rankin, Preston

Councillor Joe Rayment, Bath & North East Somerset

Councillor Kelly Ready, Wigan

Councillor Louise Reecejones, Wirral

Councillor Carl Richardson, Hartlepool

Councillor Kevin Ritchie, Leeds

Councillor Brian Roberts, Cheshire East

Councillor Roger Robinson, Camden

Councillor Christopher Robinson, Rotherham

Councillor Chris Robinson, Stoke on Trent

Councillor Andrew Roddison, Rotherham

Councillor Peter Rooney, Cheshire West and Chester

Councillor Ruth Rosenau, Stoke on Trent

Councillor Olivia Rowley, Wakefield

Councillor Dave Rowson, Manchester

Councillor Margot Russell, Midlothian

Councillor Lorna Russell, Camden

Councillor Naomi Rylatt, Bristol

Councillor Michelline Safi Ngongo, Islington

Councillor Rosmary Sales, Hackney

Councillor Gary Sanders, Blaby

Councillor Peter Sarris, Cambridge

Councillor Cathy Scott, Kirkllees

Councillor Kenny Selbie, Kirkcaldy Central

Councillor Nabil Shabbir, Peterborough

Councillor Asima Shaikh, Islington

Councillor Dave Shaw, Doncaster

Councillor Bill Shields, North Lanarkshire

Councillor Stephen Simkins, Wolverhampton

Councillor Chris Simmons, Hartlepool

Councillor Brian Smedley, Sedgemoor

Councillor Aidan Smith, Greenwich

Councillor Chris Spence, Silverdale Parish Council

Councillor Sally Spicer, Southampton

Councillor Andrew Spowart, Airdrie North

Councillor Chris Spriggs, Wirral

Councillor David Stockdale, Newcastle

Councillor Jane Streather, Newcastle

Councillor Neil Swannick, Manchester

Councillor Samuel Tarry, Barking & Dagenham

Councillor Sylvia Tempest, Hartlepool

Councillor Stephen Thomas, Hartlepool

Councillor Ross Thomas, Bridgend

Councillor Kieran Thorpe, Welwyn Hatfield

Councillor Michael Titherington, South Ribble

Councillor Nigel Todd, Newcastle

Councillor Frank Toner, West Lothian

Councillor Gregory Udeh, Merton

Councillor Ian Watkinson, South Ribble

Councillor Cathy Watson, Welwyn Hatfield

Councillor Gillian Watson, Cheshire West & Chester

Councillor Claudia Webbe, Islington

Councillor Debbie Wheeldon, Stoke on Trent

Councillor Michael Wheller, Weymouth & Portland

Councillor John Robert White, Barking & Dagenham

Councillor Adam White, Tameside

Councillor John Wilkinson, Nottinghamshire County Council

Councillor Darren Williams, Cardiff

Councillor Janette Williamson, Wirral

Councillor Paul Woodward, Reading

Councillor Norma Wright, Sunderland

Councillor Bill Wright, Blaby

Councillor Jonathan Wynne Evans, Cardiff

Councillor Dave Young, Calderdale