Extreme left-wing MP Jeremy Corbyn was on Saturday elected leader of Britain’s main Opposition Labour Party in a landslide victory here, a development that threatens to further divide the party.
The 66-year-old socialist, who began the contest as a rank outsider, was widely projected to win and saw off a challenge from frontbenchers Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall.
He gained 2,51,417 or 59.5 per cent of first preference votes - 40 per cent more than his nearest rival Burnham, who got 19 per cent. Cooper was third on 17 per cent and Kendall a distant fourth with 4.5 per cent of the votes.
Corbyn’s victory marks a sea change in British politics with the far Left gaining control of a party that had defined itself as “New Labour” for years, having moved more towards the political centre ground, marking a departure from strong links with the country’s trade unions.
The result has also sparked talk of a deep split within the Labour party that was thrown into turmoil by David Cameron’s shock May election win.
The leftwinger, who has spent his entire 32-year career in the House of Commons on the backbenches, promised to fight for a more tolerant and inclusive Britain - and to tackle “grotesque levels of inequality in our society”.