Top Jeremy Corbyn aide Andrew Fisher to quit ‘by the end of the year’
2 min read
Andrew Fisher has said that he intends to stand down as a senior aide to Jeremy Corbyn “by the end of the year”.
The Labour leader’s head of policy said he was “choosing to prioritise” his wife and young son over the “stresses and strains” of the top party post.
In a statement seen by the BBC, Mr Fisher said he planned to stand down by the end of the year but would stay on if an autumn general election was called.
He told the broadcaster he was “immensely proud about what we have collectively achieved”, but added: "The long hours, stresses and strains that inevitably come from working in this high pressure environment mean I haven't managed to balance my commitments to my wife and young son.
“So after four years, I'm now choosing to prioritise them. I will stay on for any autumn general election, but will be leaving by the end of the year.”
The Sunday Times meanwhile reports that Mr Fisher revealed his decision to colleagues last Saturday, with a memo in which he claimed that Labour could not win a general election.
“I no longer have faith we will succeed,” he said.
He is also said to have blasted Mr Corbyn’s team for their “lack of professionalism, competence and human decency” while accusing them of a “blizzard of lies and excuses”.
The revelations come a day after the Labour leader was forced to step in to save Tom Watson’s job, after Jon Lansman tried to scrap the post of Labour deputy leader.
The Momentum chief launched a shock attempt to remove Mr Watson - with the support of the Unite union - at a meeting of Labour's ruling national executive committee on Friday night.
However Mr Corbyn instead announced a "review" of the post in a bid to prevent the party's annual conference, which began on Saturday, from descending into civil war.
He later told the Sunday Mirror that he would like to see the party have two deputy leaders “which reflects diversity within our society”.
“I told the national executive we need to review how the deputy leadership works and have an election process for two deputy leaders in the future which reflects diversity within our society so one would be a woman. It was agreed overwhelmingly.”
He added of Mr Watson: “Tom is the elected deputy leader of the party and so has an important role to play.
“I work with him and he’s done very well on media reform, online gambling and exposing the way sugar has a deleterious affect on our lives.”
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