DUDLEY North MP Ian Austin says it is business as usual for him at Westminster - despite the rise to party leader of the man he warned would scupper Labour's chances of winning power.

Mr Austin made it clear in the run-up to the leadership election result, announced on Saturday, that he opposed Jeremy Corbyn's stance on a raft of issues.

He said on his website: "Winning the next election will be very difficult for any Labour leader, but Jeremy Corbyn will take Labour further away from the centre ground where elections are won and could even put us out of business altogether."

But, following Mr Corbyn's resounding victory among Labour members, Mr Austin has so far said only: "Now that the leadership election is over I will be doing what I always do, which is working hard, listening to people in Dudley and coming up with fair and reasonable answers to their concerns."

He would not talk about how he might vote if the new leadership came up with proposals that he does not agree with, saying: "I am not answering hypothetical questions.

"Let's wait and see and have those debates when they happen."

Just the day before Mr Corbyn's victory, he posted a message on social networking site Twitter saying: "Think of it this way: in May we offered people egg & chips. They said no. Very clearly. So tomorrow we're going to offer double egg & chips."

And last Wednesday he tweeted: "Just saw a Labour MP carrying a Harrods bag! Never been there myself. Not sure it'll be allowed after Saturday."

At the end of last month Mr Austin issued a statement on his website criticising Mr Corbyn's stance on a wide range of issues and he said those views remained for people to read.

"His top economic policy is massive spending paid for by what he calls 'quantitative easing' but what everyone else calls printing money," said Mr Austin's pre-leadership election statement.

"That was necessary in a financial emergency caused by a worldwide economic collapse.

"But printing money every year to pay for things you can’t afford would weaken our currency, hit investment and drive up inflation."

He added: "All the polls showed immigration is a top concern for many voters.

"We can’t ignore them, and we have to come up with fair and reasonable answers, but he won’t accept any concerns about immigration and even said UKIP voters are 'motivated to some extent by racism' which won’t help us win them back.

"The world is a more dangerous place than ever with terrorists trying to develop dirty bombs and nuclear weapons, yet he still believes in unilateral nuclear disarmament.

"He opposes every attempt to use British forces – not just in Syria and Iraq, but even Kosovo where the UK intervened to prevent thousands being slaughtered.

"He blames the West for Putin’s aggression in Ukraine and wants a closer relationship with Putin’s Russia when we should be hitting them with tougher sanctions."

Mr Austin also attacked Mr Corbyn for his friendship with terrorist organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.