Pontypridd’s Labour MP Owen Smith Outlines his ambitions – for himself
Pontypridd MP Owen Smith has admitted to the New Statesman that he wants to be Labour leader.
It is the first time that he has publicly admitted this, although it has been obvious for some time that he is far more ambitious for himself than he is for his constituency. He has always put party before the people he represents and in fact admitted as much in a letter last July.
Following a vote in the House of Commons during which he and the majority of the Labour party abstained from a vote on the Conservative plans to cut Welfare Benefits he put out a letter of explanation. In the letter he stated that he disagreed with the decision to abstain, but
""That left me and others in the Shadow Cabinet with the choice whether to resign our positions to vote against the party in whose name, and on whose manifesto we were elected, or to be loyal to the leader (at the time Harriet Harman) and abide by her decision and the rules of collective responsibility."
Mr Smith of course opted not to resign.
He has since been moved to another Cabinet position under new leader Jeremy Corbyn – who he did not support for the leadership. Yet it is clear given his stated opinions that he will not oppose him in any way for fear of losing his Cabinet place.
People could expect little else from someone who at a pre-election hustings when asked what his greatest achievement as Pontypridd MP had been answered that he had helped make the Labour party a more socialist party.
Yet still people vote for them.
