Smith's ISIS gaffe would come back again and again if he won.

One of the major aspect of Owen Smith 's leadership campaign campaign is that whilst he largely doesn't disagree Jeremy Corbyn on policy, he believes Corbyn can not win a General Election.

He doesn't admit that he believes this because nearly all of the media will be turned against Corbyn and that Labour should at least appease the likes of Rupert Murdoch.

Mr Smith as had an easy ride from the media including the BBC  as they have constantly  run negative stories about the Labour leader whilst ignoring the clear inadequacies of Smith's campaign

Take his suggestion that  the so-called Islamic State could be involved in negotiations with the West in the future.

Mr Smith said all conflicts ended in "dialogue", during a two-hour debate with Jeremy Corbyn on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

The Labour leader said he would not negotiate with so-called Islamic State.

The pair also clashed over allegations of abuse within the Labour Party, nuclear weapons and the EU referendum.

Commenting after the debate, Mr Corbyn's campaign team called Mr Smith's comments on IS "hasty and ill-considered".

But Mr Smith stressed he was not suggesting "we're going to be able to bring ISIS round the table right now."

Pressed on how soon it might happen, he told BBC News: 

"We don't know. We would all hope that it happens quickly, we would all hope they stop being a murderous terrorist organisation and try and bring about peace. But at the moment there's no evidence of that, is there?"

If the views have been reversed  then they would have been splashed all over the front pages and been a lead story on the BBC, in the same way Corbyn  refusal  to say he would defend a NATO ally which comes under attack has been spun today

In a hustings event in Birmingham, the famously-pacifist Labour leader was asked four times if he would use British troops to defend a fellow European country if it was invaded by Russia.

“I would want to avoid us getting involved military, by building up democratic relationships,” Mr Corbyn replied.
“I don't wish to go to war - what I want to do is achieve a world where we don't need to go to war.” 

It will of course be used by  the media against Corbyn if he still Labour leader at the next General Election .

However it would be nothing in comparison to the disdain  Smith would face if he was Labour's choice for PM  where he will be portrayed as being prepared "to surrender to ISIS".


Both portrayals would be wrong but it just go to show where the plans to topple Jeremy Corbyn has gone wrong.

The idea that replacing him would somehow get the Right Wing or even the"liberal" media of thier backs  is farcical.

There is a myth about the Blair victory in 1997 in that it was moving to the right that saw the media dump support for Major and the Tories.

The fact is the electorate  was tired of constant Tory government and gone for a much more radical alternative anyhow.

Does anybody in Labour  think that that the Media are going to back any Labour leader against the Tories who replaces Corbyn  let alone the hapless Smith who appears to be willing to say anything he thinks will appeal to the left but who we all know will revert to a  Blairist position the day after he became leader of the opposition