Tom Watson: Labour 'has to do better' but Corbyn should stay

Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson has told supporters the party "has to change" but stressed "this is not the time for a leadership election".

Mr Watson was speaking at the Scottish Labour Party conference in Perth as leader Jeremy Corbyn faced calls to step down after the humiliating defeat in the Copeland by-election.

The Tory victory in the Cumbrian seat was the first gain for a governing party in a parliamentary by-election since 1982. The area had previously been held by Labour since 1935.

Scotland was once Labour heartland but has now slipped behind the SNP north of the border, with the Conservatives the second largest party at Holyrood.

Mr Watson admitted the party needed to change, but moved to end calls for Mr Corbyn to quit.

He told Scottish members: "You've seen what happens when Labour's long term supporters stop voting Labour - we can't afford to have that happen in England too.

"I've said it a lot recently but this is not the time for a leadership election - that issue was settled last year.

"But we have to do better.

"We cannot sustain this level of distance from our electorate, our natural supporters, so things do have to change."

He added: "We have to make it clear that we're on the side of the people who create prosperity as well as those who need the security of good jobs; and we have to find a way to deal with the issues that divide us."

Mr Corbyn is due to address the conference on Sunday and Sky's Chief Political Correspondent Jon Craig said delegates will be eager to hear what he has to say.

Craig said: "All eyes will be on him to see how he addresses the challenge Tom Watson has set down where he says 'we have to adapt, get back in touch with our members'.

"Of course Theresa May, when she went to Copeland, said Labour has lost touch with the public and the voters and that's why they won such a spectacular victory there."

Mr Watson was speaking after former Labour foreign secretary David Miliband told The Times the party was the weakest it had been in 50 years.

Mr Miliband, who was narrowly defeated by his brother Ed in the 2010 Labour leadership election, is still seen as a leader in exile and potential saviour of the party by some MPs still loyal to Tony Blair.

The 51-year-old said: "I'm obviously deeply concerned that Labour is further from power than at any stage in my lifetime."

Asked about his own future and a possible comeback, the former South Shields MP who quit to become a New York-based charity boss in 2013, said: "I honestly don't know what I'm going to do.

"It's hard to see, but what is the point of saying never."

But Mr Watson defended Mr Corbyn's position, telling the audience: "I know not everyone agrees with me on this but I strongly believe that when someone has so recently defied the bookmakers and romped home to an historic and unexpected victory, they have the right to see their vision through.

"You shouldn't just get rid of them just because results aren't going their way."

"But you're not here to listen to me talk about Claudio Ranieri," he joked, in reference to the recent shock sacking of the Leicester City manager.