LONDON – Voting will begin today to decide if veteran leftist Jeremy Corbyn will remain leader of Britain’s Labour party, with an ill-tempered campaign deepening divisions that threaten the party’s future. Ballots and online voting forms were due to be sent to party members, who will have until September 21 to decide whether to replace Corbyn with MP Owen Smith, previously little known outside Westminster. The 46-year-old triggered the election by declaring his candidacy last month, warning that Corbyn’s leadership was making the possibility of a split in the party "dangerously real". But he has failed to win over many of the party’s MPs, 80 percent of whom backed a recent vote of no-confidence in their leader. Corbyn has the support of many Labour members, and since February 2015 party membership has surged from 200,000 to 540,000.

Source: Viet Nam News August 22, 2016 04:07 UTC