In a Sweeping Victory, Jeremy Corbyn Is Re-Elected as U.K. Labour Party Leader

After the summer saga that’s been dubbed the “chicken coup,” in which a group of Labour Party politicians tried to depose their leader, Jeremy Corbyn has emerged triumphant from another election, and this time with a larger majority. As BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg points out, winning 62 percent of the vote is not only evidence of his growing support, but “Mr Corbyn’s second defeat of the Labour establishment.”

The progressive leader has promised to set out to unite the party after a fractious year, according to The Guardian:

Speaking after the result was declared in Liverpool, Corbyn thanked his rival, Owen Smith, and urged the “Labour family” to unite after the summer-long contest.

“We have much more in common than that which divides us,” he said. “Let’s wipe that slate clean from today and get on with the work we’ve got to do as a party together.”

Corbyn secured 61.8% of the vote to Smith’s 38.2%. The victory strengthens his hold on a party that has expanded dramatically since the 2015 general election and now has more than 500,000 members. In last year’s contest, he won 59.5% of the vote. … The winner pointed out that he had secured his second mandate in a year and urged his colleagues to accept what had been a democratic decision.

Smith congratulated Corbyn for mobilising so many supporters in the party, and said he would reflect on how he could help Labour to win the next election.

Corbyn and his supporters celebrated in what the Mirror calls “the most Jeremy Corbyn thing ever.”

Shortly after the announcement he made a visit to the Neo Community Cafe in Birkenhead, where he donned some rubber gloves and put together a tasty snack.

He told Twitter followers he’d “spent some time cooking” at the cafe, which he described as an “innovative project”.

The cafe runs breakfast clubs, a food bank and offers surplus food to members of the local community.

Meanwhile, as the British media ponder what is next for the Labour Party, the question likely to be on many of Corbyn’s supporters’ minds is whether the party’s members of Parliament will accept their democratic decision this time or continue to plans ways to sabotage Corbyn.