Sanders ‘delighted’ by Corbyn’s strong result in UK election

Former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has congratulated Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party for winning unexpected gains in Britain’s snap general election on Thursday.

“I am delighted to see Labour do so well,” the Independent senator from Vermont said in a Facebook post Friday.

“All over the world, people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality. People in the UK, the US and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the 1 percent,” Sanders said. “I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very effective campaign.”

According to a report in the UK’s The Guardian, members of Sanders’ campaign team helped Corbyn in campaigning ahead of the June 8 vote.

A number of Sanders’ campaign aides held training sessions for Labour activists to teach them how to effectively campaign.

While Sanders didn’t win the 2016 Democratic nomination, narrowly losing to rival Hillary Clinton who had the support of her party’s state committees, the outsider senator did win the vote in key states such as Indiana, New Hampshire and Michigan during primaries.

Corbyn had been trailing in polls behind Prime Minister Theresa May of the Conservative Party, who was widely expected to win the election she called three years early in a bid to strengthen her hand in the looming Brexit negotiations.

But in a catastrophic setback, the bet failed and she lost her overall majority.

The center-right Conservatives found themselves eight short of the coveted 326-seat mark after the Labour Party, led by socialist stalwart Corbyn, scored hefty gains. May was forced to reach out to Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which won 10 seats, to forge a working majority.

Observers said a surge in youth turnout fueled by anger over last year’s shock Brexit vote played a pivotal role in stripping May of her parliamentary majority.

The 68-year-old staunch leftist managed to harness popular anti-establishment sentiment to lead Labour to beat expectations and gain an estimated 29 seats in the House of Commons.

Throughout the campaign, he drew comparisons to Sanders as he railed against the establishment and harnessed public angst over May’s leadership in turbulent times.

One former Sanders aide who lent her knowledge to the Corbyn campaign told the Guardian she was drawn to the Labour Party leader by his sincerity, a trait she said he shares with Sanders.

“One thing for Bernie, and I think this applies for Corbyn too, is there is a certain integrity behind it,” said 30-year-old Erika Uyterhoeven.

“There’s a slogan – ‘You can’t buy Bernie.’ He’s never been swayed by money or political influence,” she said. “Corbyn is the same, he’s not doing this for glory or his ego or money, he’s there for the people. That’s a new thing in politics, and I think that’s what has got so many people involved.”

“The right can throw money at elections – we throw people,” Uyterhoeven added.

Agencies contributed to this report.