Controversy as Owen Smith says he wants to ‘smash’ Theresa May ‘back on her heels’
Labour leadership candidate is also accused of nicking Ministry of Labour policy from Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell
OWEN Smith has sparked a domestic violence row by saying he wanted Labour to “smash” Theresa May “back on her heels”.
The Welsh MP used the controversial phrase as he drifted off script while delivering a speech in Yorkshire – sparking fury from campaigners.
His remarks were branded “sinister, violent and sexist” as they overshadowed a radical leftie policy platform set out by the leadership hopeful.
Ukip MEP Jonathan Arnott tweeted: "Unbelievable and sexist from Labour politician seeking leadership, talking about desire to 'smash' female politician 'back on her heels'."
And Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly member Simon Thomas posted: "Aggressive, macho, 1970s Valleys Labour - pleasing the core Corbynista vote."
And it sparked fresh claims that Labour is the new “nasty party” following vile online abuse and violent threats to MPs.
But when questioned by journalists about his choice of language, he just described it as “robust rhetoric”.
He said: “We should be smashing the Tories back on their heels.
“Their ideals, their values, let's smash them, let's get Labour in.
"It's rhetoric, I don't literally want to smash Theresa May back on her heels, I'm not advocating violence in any shape or form."
Former shadow cabinet minister Lisa Nandy, an ally of Mr Smith's, said his choice of language was wrong but insisted he was not sexist.
"I think he has recognised, rightly, that was the wrong choice of words," she told BBC Radio 4's World At One.
"He regretted the choice of words that he used because it created an impression that he was talking about Theresa May's heels when, actually, what he was trying to say is it's horrendous that in the last few months we haven't been able to take on the Government about some of the things they are doing."
She urged people to look at Mr Smith's record on fighting for women's pensions and ending the gender pay gap, adding: "I don't think you can accuse him of being a sexist, really."
And Labour MP for Barnsley East, Michael Dugher, tweeted his support:
A spokesman for Mr Smith said he apologises for the comments. He said: "It was off-script and, on reflection, it was an inappropriate choice of phrase and he apologises for using it.”
And Jeremy Corbyn's campaign spokesman called for a more careful use of words during the leadership contest.
He said: "We need to be careful of the language we use during this contest as many members, including many female Labour MPs, have said they feel intimidated by aggressive language.
“Jeremy has consistently called for a kinder, gentler politics.
“We should all reflect that in our political rhetoric.”
This is not the first time Owen Smith has caused controversy with his comments.
Shortly after being elected as the MP for Pontypridd in the 2010 he had to apologise for an online article in which he compared the coalition’s spending cuts to “domestic violence” against the Liberal Democrats.
He said the Lib Dems, who were in a coalition government with the Tories at the time, would "file for divorce as soon as the bruises start to show through the makeup".
And during a 2015 election debate he suggested to Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood that her “gender helps” when it comes to being invited on Question Time.
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This morning Mr Smith agreed that a poll suggesting many former Labour voters would now prefer Mrs May as PM reflected a "major problem" for the party.
"I read that in the paper this morning and my heart sank," he said.
"What a measure of how low we have fallen as Labour - it should be a wake-up call for us all in Labour that it is high time for us to become a much more powerful opposition and a government in waiting.”
Speaking at the highly symbolic site of the former Orgreave coking plant in South Yorkhire, he set out a wide-ranging vision about what he would do if elected as a Labour Prime Minister including offering a £3bn wealth tax, a 4% a year increase in spending on the NHS and the return of the 50p tax rate to pay for it.
He rejected claims that his policy of scrapping the Department for Work and Pensions and replacing it with the Ministry of Labour was stolen from the Corbyn camp, and had already been put forward by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
Mr Smith said: "It passed me by, I think it passed the country by, if John McDonnell said he was going to do anything about employment rights and create a minister for labour.
"That's the problem. We haven't been strong enough in taking the fight to the Tories over the last nine months.
“We've been a weak opposition.
"And worse than being a weak opposition, we haven't laid out in anything like enough detail a credible prospectus for government.
"For the last nine months, Jeremy has just been walking around the country saying he wants to end austerity without saying at all how he would do it."
“It's about time Labour pulled its socks up."