Labour Party 'Civil War' Inevitable With Corbyn As Leader – UK Ex-Minister

Jeremy Corbyn’s landslide victory of the UK Labour Party leadership would trigger major disagreements within the party, former Foreign Minister Kim Howells said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Major disagreements between members of the UK Labour Party are unavoidable following Jeremy Corbyn’s landslide victory in the leadership election, according to former Foreign Minister Kim Howells in Wednesday comments.

On September 12, leftist Corbyn won an election for the leadership of the UK Labour Party after gathering over 59 percent of the vote in the first round.

"There is going to be a civil war inside the parliamentary Labour Party. It's nothing new, it's happened in the past. So the party's got to make its mind up — does it really think it's going to win again in the future, with Corbyn as the leader?" Howells suggested to the BBC.

Howells added that Labour Party members must have consensus to win the 2020 UK general elections.

During his political career, Corbyn has consistently challenged UK political regimes by voting against Britain’s participation in the Iraq war, criticizing ex-Labour leader Miliband for overbearing austerity programs, and making it a cornerstone of his campaign to speak out against the renewal of the British Trident nuclear missile-equipped submarine deterrent infrastructure.