Labour ‘s Owen Smith says Jeremy Corbyn is unpatriotic and out of touch
Party leadership hopeful says Jez's outlook is 'metropolitan' with nationalism not 'part of his make-up'
LABOUR leadership candidate Owen Smith has lashed out at Jeremy Corbyn as unpatriotic and out of touch with Labour supporters in his most vicious personal attack to date.
Mr Smith argued the Labour leader's outlook is “metropolitan” and that nationalism was not "part of his make-up".
Speaking on BBC Newsnight, Mr Smith said: “I think Jeremy to be honest doesn’t really understand sometimes the way in which people have a very strong perhaps socially conservative, conservative with a small ‘c’, sense of place, sense of where they’re from.
“I’m not sure I’ve heard him talking much about Scotland as an identity, or Wales as an identity, or indeed about England, an identity. I suspect Jeremy has a rather more metropolitan sense of that and that’s not one I think central to the Labour tradition.” Probed to whether he was calling Mr Corbyn unpatriotic, Mr Smith replied that it was “not something that is core to his set of beliefs”.
He added: “He’s got a set of liberal perspectives and Left perspectives on things, and nationhood and nationalism and patriotism aren’t really part of his make-up.” It is not the first time Mr Corbyn has been accused of being unpatriotic.
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Former prime minister David Cameron called Mr Corbyn “Britain-hating” after he did not sing the national anthem at a Battle of Britain memorial service.
During the Newsnight interview the former shadow work and pensions secretary also said he would commit the party to keep spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence.
He said: “One of the weaknesses that we’ve had recently is that people worry that Labour isn’t serious about security, that it’s a lesser issue for Jeremy as it were.
“I’m not sure that’s right, but he’s certainly got a different perspective on some of those things, on patriotism if you like, and on security and on defence. I think I’ve got a more traditional Labour perspective on that… But that’s a big difference between us.” In a speech today, Mr Smith is expected to announce he will protect employment rights and improve people’s life chances.
He is expected to say: "We need to rediscover a sense of national mission for Britain.
"A faith in our country as having a future as bright as it’s past. And one where the fruits of our collective success are shared more equally between us.
"Where outcomes can be equal, not just the opportunities we create. That is why I am in politics. The Labour Party has achieved so much for social justice, but we need to be more than just our history. So in the next few weeks I'll be setting out my vision for Labour's future.
"A future of fair taxes, fair employment and fair funding. That means investment, not cuts with a British New Deal to defeat Tory austerity and re-balance the country.
"And under my leadership, it would mean a strengthening of employment rights including creating a new shadow cabinet Secretary of State for Labour tasked with making Britain the envy of the world for the quality of our jobs and the protections they have, so workers have access to better terms and conditions."