EX-LABOUR deputy Tom Watson has revealed he voted to try and boot Jeremy Corbyn out in the 2016 leadership race.
The former MP said he decided to leave politics because of the “brutality and hostility” he faced within the Labour party.
In an interview with The Guardian he blamed poor organisation and messaging for the party’s worst election result in decades.
Mr Watson revealed he opted for challenger Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership race, which was called following a vote of no confidence in the leftie boss Mr Corbyn.
However, the party leader’s army of loyal followers voted for him to stay in the top post.
Mr Watson said: I did vote for Owen, but Ive never said it publicly before.
“I thought, as soon as the leader loses the confidence of the parliamentary party its almost impossible to see how you can form a government.
“I thought Jeremy should have resigned, and he nearly did.”
After the referendum MPs tried and failed to boot him out of the top job, but he went on to lead the party for another three and a half years.
The Labour boss finally said earlier this month he would quit next year, after a terrible election result.
The leadership race will likely kick off in the new year, and a new boss will be elected in March.
Among those expected to enter the race are Shadow Business Secretary, Rebecca Long Bailey, Shadow Brexit boss Sir Keir Starmer, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, and backbenchers Yvette Cooper and Jess Phillips.
Mr Watson also told the newspaper he didn’t know what the message of the party’s campaign was.
He added: “There were announcements everywhere, but none of them got through because there were so many.
“You knew what Boris Johnsons was: Get Brexit done. What was the Labour strapline?”
He said now was the time to take a leap and “do something different”.
The Labour deputy, who has faced criticism from those in the party for not aligning with Mr Corbyn, has lost a whopping eight stone in weight after strict dieting, and even begun to retrain as a fitness instructor.
