Birkenhead MP Frank Field gives his views on the overwhelming leadership election victory of veteran Left-winger Jeremy Corbyn.

THE Labour Party must face up to the question of why Jeremy Corbyn won so handsomely. No doubt the new voting system played a part, and perhaps more than a part, in explaining this outcome.

But to stop there and foster all sorts of conspiracy theories would simply duck the crisis the Labour Party is in.

The last general election result was catastrophic for Labour, and our grossly unfair electoral system minimised the extent of the Tory victory and our defeat.

If our present system worked more fairly the proportion of the Tory vote would have delivered them a majority in excess of 250.

If ever there was a time for rethinking fundamentally why Labour is ceasing to matter to an ever growing part of the electorate it was in the leadership campaign. I nominated Jeremy in the hope of stimulating that fundamental rethink.

No such rethink happened. Jeremy presented beliefs he’s always held. His opponents offered the thin gruel of Blairism in one form or another.

All the evidence we have suggests that Jeremy will lead the party in to a political cul de sac. Some of his supporters accept that Jeremy’s ideas could not form the basis of successful election programme in 2020.

The journey to a mega 2020 defeat will be heavily disguised. Jeremy’s Labour Party will take on the mantle of the Lib Dems as the party of protest.

By-elections, local and European elections will, I believe, see a rise and rise in the Labour vote.

And then, in the election that really counts – the 2020 general election – we will get a good smack in the face and be found unfit for government.

So now we must have the debate that should have happened in the leadership contest. There is a programme that will win widespread appeal and take Labour support into areas dominated by Tory and UKIP voters.

As chaos engulfs European borders it’s clear to any thinking voter that we must again seize control of our borders – never mind what the EU says. But where is the alternative Labour leadership on this issue?

Likewise voters across parties call for a total welfare rethink.

The electorate will demand that rules governing entitlement to social security benefits must reinforce how we define the borders to this country.

No contribution, no benefit. Where is the alternative Labour leadership on this issue?

A National Insurance-based health system would help man our borders. It would overturn our health system from being an international health service to a truly national health service. But where is the alternative Labour leadership on this issue?

Only by controlling our borders and building in the scrubbier areas of the green belt can we ever offer decent housing to all our citizens.

But where is the Labour leadership on this issue?

Politics has never been more exciting or important in my lifetime.

Will Labour rise to the challenge? Or will we sink beneath the ocean to political oblivion?