Jeremy Corbyn, the previously obscure British parliamentarian whom The Guardian likened to Bernie Sanders in the U.S., has been elected leader of the Labour Party with 59.5 percent of vote — “a stunning first-round victory that was bigger than the mandate for Tony Blair in 1994.”

The Guardian reports:

Minutes after his victory, announced in front of an audience of party members in London, [Corbyn] thanked Labour for a “huge democratic exercise” involving more than half a million people, showing the party as passionate, democratic, diverse and determined in its quest for a decent and better society.

He also thanked former leader Ed Miliband, saying he had a very long conversation with him a couple of days ago. He said he admired the way Milband had dealt with the brutal treatment meted out to him by the British media in the runup to the vote.

Corbyn said the message of his victory is that people are “fed up with the injustice and the inequality” of Britain.

“The media and many of us, simply didn’t understand the views of young people in our country. They were turned off by the way politics was being conducted. We have to and must change that. The fightback gathers speed and gathers pace,” he said.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...

This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.

At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.

Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.

Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.

Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.

Donate now.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG