THE “resilience” shown by Labour members will “sow the seeds of future victories,” shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon told a rally last night.

Speaking at a packed meeting organised by the Arise festival in central London, Mr Burgon said: “It’s not easy when your heart is broken, when the exit poll comes through, when your favourite candidate doesn’t win.

“But we need to come through. We need to win next time.”

He insisted that he would “make no apologies for fighting the Establishment,” though he conceded that “just as we all accepted the collective praise” in the 2017 general election, “so must we accept the collective criticism at the same time.”

However, he urged the crowd to resist becoming embroiled in further debates over Brexit, saying that the movement “should be fighting the next battle, not the last one.”

Mr Burgon urged people to resist demoralisation and fight on, saying: “Even when we sometimes lose, the effort that we put in, and the resilience shown, sows the seeds for future victories.

“It’s our moral responsibility to get ready to win the next general election. I believe we can do it.”

Mr Burgon, who is standing to replace Tom Watson as Labour’s deputy leader, spoke alongside numerous figures, including new Labour MP Claudia Webbe.

Ms Webbe, a veteran Labour leftwinger who was elected to Parliament last month to represent Leicester East, said: “Going forward, we need to remain committed to opposing austerity.

“I’m here to warn that returning to austerity-lite policies would both hinder us challenging the Tories and lead us to losing more support. We have to stay firm.”