Labour luvvie Diane Abbott claims Jeremy Corbyn will close the massive gap on Tories in less than a YEAR – despite by-election disasters
The London MP said that Labour had only failed to perform so far because of "commentators" and "Jeremy's enemies within the party"
LABOUR luvvie Diane Abbott has heaped pressure of failing leader Jeremy Corbyn by promising the party will close the gap on the Tories within the next 12 months.
The London MP, who is one of Corbyn's closest allies, claimed that the party had only failed to perform under his leadership so far because of "commentators" and "Jeremy's enemies within the party".
Abbott, appearing on the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show, was interviewed by stand-in presenter Nick Robinson and pressed on why Labour had performed so poorly in recent by-elections - including in Richmond where they have more members than they received votes.
The Shadow Home Secretary said: "I am confident we are going to close the gap in the coming 12 months."
Labour hit a seven-year low in the polls earlier this week when a YouGov survey put them on 25 per cent, 17 points behind Theresa May's Tories.
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She was later pressed on her claim, and insisted that things would get better "within the coming 12 months."
While Abbott remains loyal to Corbyn, the 12-month target has been seen by analysts as a goal that could pile pressure on the Labour leader.
And others began poking fun at her claim.
Asked why she was so positive about Labour's future despite poor by-election performances, she said: "I think we are coming together now, we’ve got a new chief whip, Nick Brown, who’s one of the most experienced party managers in the House of Commons.
"I think that as we come together, as you hear less noises off, I believe we can close the polling gap."
Ms Abbott went on to defend the party's stance on Brexit, saying party colleague Steve Reed was wrong to suggest the party could not represent the views of both Leave and Remain voters.
She added: "Access to the single market and freedom of movement are inextricably linked and it would be wrong, and the Labour party has said this over and over again, it would be wrong to put the economy anything other than first.
"There's going to be negotiation, but it's misleading to suggest to people, as some people do, that we can access to the single market and just dump freedom of movement."
