 "Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan speaks in front of Conservative Party candidate Zac Goldsmith, after winning the London mayoral elections at City Hall in London. (Photo: AP/PTI)")
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday called on fellow members of Britain's Labour party to vote out Jeremy Corbyn as its leader to be able to win elections, saying he has "failed to win the trust and respect" of the public.
Khan, whose landslide victory to become the city's first Muslim mayor in May marked the Labour party's best result in the local elections, also said Corbyn had lost the confidence of his party's MPs and "totally failed" in gathering support in the EU referendum for the 'Remain' camp.
"Jeremy has already proved that he is unable to organise an effective team and has failed to win the trust and respect of the British people," he writes in 'The Observer'.
"Jeremy's personal ratings are the worst of any Opposition leader on record and the Labour Party is suffering badly as a result.
"He has lost the confidence of more than 80 per cent of Labour MPs in Parliament and I am afraid we simply cannot afford to go on like this," he writes.
Khan called on the party to back Owen Smith, Labour's former work and pensions spokesperson who is challenging Corbyn for the top job after the leader lost a no-confidence vote of his MPs in June.
MPs who voted against Corbyn have criticised his leadership and his performance during the EU referendum, but supporters have argued that he has been undermined by his opponents in the party.
Khan had remained neutral in the leadership contest but now feels the EU referendum was a test for Corbyn to get his message out, which he had "totally failed".
"Throughout the campaign and aftermath, Jeremy failed to show the leadership we desperately needed. His position on EU membership was never clear - and voters didn't believe him. A third of Labour voters said they did not know where the party stood on the referendum just a week before polling day".
Labour had campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union (EU) but Corbyn - the extreme left-wing MP who was elected leader of the main Opposition party in a landslide victory last year - was believed to be more inclined towards Brexit despite campaigning for remain.
Khan said it was not enough simply to blame the media for the outcome of the referendum and "let Jeremy and his team off the hook".
He writes: "I know from my own election - up against a nasty and divisive Tory campaign - that if we are strong and clear enough in our convictions, the message will get through to the public.
"That's a test that Jeremy totally failed in the EU referendum. Why would things be different in a general election? His position on EU membership was never clear - and voters didn't believe him."
Khan's intervention comes a day before the official ballot papers for the Labour party leadership election start going out to party's membership in the post.
The deadline for the ballot papers to be returned is September 21 and the winner of the battle will be declared on September 24 at special conference in Liverpool.
