Jeremy Corbyn's team forced to reassure people they do actually think he's electable

Allies of Jeremy Corbyn have blamed the GMB union's backing of Owen Smith on the "leading" ballot paper question that asked who would be best placed to serve as... prime minister, according to a report in the Guardian.

While you would be right in thinking that is the usual end goal for party leaders, Corbyn supporters allegedly felt that the question - who do you think is best placed to lead the Labour party to a general election victory and serve as prime minister? - was leading as it made reference to electability. It was reported that the allies also blamed the close relationships between the union's political officers and deputy leader Tom Watson.

Does this mean that allies of Corbyn have doubts about his ability to run the country? Matt Zarb-Cousin, media spokesman for Corbyn, told indy100:

That quote didn't come from our office or from Jeremy's campaign.

The term ally could mean quite a few people - it is not the view of our team or Jeremy.

While some supporters might have their doubts, Corbyn is way ahead of Smith. So far, of the 213 constituencies that have made supporting nominations, Smith has 27 and Corbyn has 186.

When asked who the Guardian quote might have come from, Zarb-Cousin said: "the mystery goes on". Indeed it does...

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