http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-under-mounting-pressure-as-unison-leader-urges-labour-to-get-its-act-together-a6743506.html
Jeremy Corbyn under mounting pressure as Unison leader urges Labour to 'get its act together'
Dave Prentis's blunt words come as poll reveals six out of 10 voters believe Mr Corbyn would not keep them safe
eremy Corbyn’s leadership has been plunged deeper into crisis after a key union leader broke ranks to criticise him. Unison general secretary Dave Prentis, who backed Mr Corbyn for the leadership, said it could not “get any worse” for the party and warned it was time it “got its act together” before it lost any chance of returning to power in 2020.
His blunt words came as a damaging poll revealed six out of 10 voters now believe Mr Corbyn would not keep them safe. A poll for The Independent on Sunday shows Mr Corbyn’s support plummeted in the wake of his response to last week’s Paris terror attacks.
Overall, voters are now more than twice as likely to say they are unfavourable towards Mr Corbyn, after an 8 per cent increase since September in people who see him negatively.
t follows Mr Corbyn’s decision to criticise publicly David Cameron’s order for security services to “shoot to kill” armed terrorists attacking civilians in the UK.
Mr Prentis, the first union leader to attack the Labour leader openly, said the party under Mr Corbyn did not appear to understand people’s concerns – including “their need to feel safe and secure”. “Divisive rows over Trident or shoot to kill are distractions no one needs,” he said.
“It’s got to stop. If it doesn’t, Labour stands little chance of winning back the millions who deserted the party in May.”
Mr Prentis, who represents more than 1.3 million workers, said the Labour leader needed to turn things around quickly.
He said: “To many voters, Labour no longer seems to understand the issues that matter to ordinary people. Their money worries, their need to feel safe and secure. So Labour must stop with the verbal fisticuffs, and get back to showing ordinary people that the party is on their side.”
According to today’s ComRes poll, members of the public are now twice as likely to say they trust Mr Cameron to keep them and their family safe as Mr Corbyn – with 39 per cent backing the PM compared with 17 per cent for the Labour leader. Three in five people canvassed – 58 per cent – say they don’t trust Mr Corbyn to keep them safe.
Earlier last week, the former Labour frontbencher Chuka Umunna said this perception was a “disqualification from office”.
But Mr Corbyn has demanded more loyalty from Labour MPs and insisted he had a mandate from party members.