I have received a large amount of correspondence regarding the leadership of the Labour Party in recent days, with roughly equal numbers of party members and constituents asking me to back or oppose yesterday’s vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn.

As constituents may be aware, I did not support Jeremy for the leadership last year as I did not feel he was the candidate that could secure a Labour Government in 2020, when the next General Election was anticipated to take place.  Dealing on a daily basis with the devastating impact of the Coalition and current Conservative Government on constituents and vital public services across Newcastle North, I am acutely aware of just how important securing a Labour Government is.

My reservations notwithstanding, I recognised the overwhelming mandate Jeremy achieved during the leadership election and I was honoured to be invited to join his Shadow Cabinet, as Shadow Attorney General, in September. However, I left that post at the beginning of this year, largely for personal reasons, but also because I was unhappy about the unproductive nature of the debate surrounding his leadership and I felt I could better serve my constituents – and hold the Conservative Government to account – from the backbenches.  That is exactly what I have focussed my time and energies on since then, and I have not made any public comment about Jeremy’s leadership in the meantime.

The position in which the Labour Party – and of course the country at large – now finds itself is deeply distressing.  I worked very hard to secure a Remain vote in last week’s EU referendum because I believe the UK’s EU membership is clearly in the best interests of Newcastle and the North East. Indeed, the question I put to the Prime Minister on Monday about just some of the impact of our leaving the EU highlights this point, and my distress at the referendum outcome is made worse by the knowledge that the leader of the Labour Party, and his team (whether deliberately or not), did not do everything within their power to secure a Remain vote. I now want a Labour Party leadership that is capable of fighting tooth and nail to secure the best possible outcome from this devastating result, for the North East and the rest of the UK.

It is also becoming increasingly clear that we could face a General Election later this year, and I believe it is more important than ever that we secure a Labour Government for constituencies like Newcastle North that have been disproportionately and unfairly affected by the Government’s cuts. Whilst I fully acknowledge that Jeremy Corbyn is a man of longstanding principle, I simply do not believe he is up to that significant task, and nothing he has said or done since last Thursday’s result has persuaded me otherwise.

Therefore, having given this issue very serious consideration over recent days, I voted in favour of the motion of no confidence.

I will of course continue to bear constituents’ views in mind in the coming days and weeks as we move forward as a party and as the Official Opposition.