Corbyn Didn't Mean To Say We Won't Lose Seats

Labour has said that Jeremy Corbyn's claim the party was "not going to lose seats" in the local elections was "misinterpreted".

The Labour leader had apparently intended to say that the party was "not in the business of losing seats", according to his spokesman.

But it didn't come out like that.

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In fact, speaking at a poster launch on Tuesday, it came out like this: "We are not going to lose seats, we are looking to gain seats where we can."

Political pundits expressed some surprise at the boldness of Mr Corbyn's statement in the face of polls suggesting Labour could lose as many as 150 seats on Thursday.

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On Wednesday his spokesman said: "I think that may have been slightly misinterpreted. What he said was that he would make no predictions about the number of seats to be won or lost.

"We are not in the business of losing seats, we will be fighting to win as many as possible tomorrow…I’m telling you what he was intending to say."

The elections are seen as the biggest test of Mr Corbyn's leadership so far and come amid a party row over anti-Semitism.

While his support among Labour members remains high, his popularity with the electorate is not.

In angry pre-election scenes at Prime Minister's Questions Mr Corbyn clashed with David Cameron on the anti-Semitism row .