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Brexit live: Heidi Alexander first shadow minister to resign after Hilary Benn sacking
Brexit live: 'Corbyn is a decent man, but he's not a leader,' Hilary Benn says
(35 minutes later)
10.17am BST
10:17
McDonnell rules out standing for the Labour leadership
Q: Corbyn said on Friday morning the government should trigger article 50, to start the EU withdrawal process, immediately. Twelve hours later he was saying that should be delayed.
McDonnell says Labour wants what is best for the country.
Q: Are you on leadership manoeuvres.
McDonnell says he will never stand for the leadership of the Labour party.
If there is another contest, McDonnell says he will chair Corbyn’s leadership contest.
Q: To clarify - if Corbyn was not a candidate, you would not stand?
McDonnell says Corbyn would be standing.
Q: Why is Seema Malhotra, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and part of your team, been ringing around MP canvassing support for a leadership bid by you.
McDonnell says she is not doing that.
Q: We have been told she has.
McDonnell says he has not spoken to her about that. But he thinks this is not true.
And McDonnell’s interview is over. I will post a summary soon.
10.12am BST
10:12
John McDonnell's interview on the Sunday Politics
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor and Jeremy Corbyn’s closest ally, is being interviewed on the Sunday Politics.
He says Jeremy Corbyn is not going anywhere. He says he was elected with a huge mandate less than a year ago.
He says if shadow cabinet ministers resign, they will be replaced.
He says Labour is on course to win the general election. Every electoral test Corbyn has faced since he was elected, he has won.
Q: Except for the EU referendum.
That was not just Corbyn’s challenge, McDonnell says.
He says Corbyn was expected to deliver Labour supporters and young people. And both those groups backed Remain.
10.09am BST
10:09
Hilary Benn's Marr interview - Summary
Here are the key points from Hilary Benn’s interview on the Andrew Marr show.
[Corbyn] is a good and decent man, but he is not a leader.
9.57am BST
09:57
This is from the BBC’s Callum May.
BBC News understands Lillian Greenwood, the shadow transport secretary, will resign later
9.56am BST
09:56
Q: Does Labour need a new structure to cope with having a PLP out of tune with the membership?
Benn says that is not a matter for today.
He says he does not blame Corbyn for the referendum result. But he did not bring much enthusiasm to the task, he adds.
And that’s it. I will post a summary in a moment.
Updated
at 10.07am BST
9.55am BST
09:55
Q: Should Corbyn resign now?
Benn says he no longer has confidence in him. That would be the right thing for him to do. But it is up to him.
Q: Do you have a preferred alternative leader?
No, says Benn. He says this is not about pushing an alternative.
Q: If Corbyn is trounced in the confidence vote, is it over for him?
Benn says it would be very difficult for him to survive.
Updated
at 10.07am BST
9.53am BST
09:53
Q: Even if the parliamentary party rejects Corbyn, the membership will choose him again, won’t it?
Benn says that depends. He says there are people who voted for Corbyn who are now saying it is not working.
The party has to be an effective political force, he says. He says there are polling figures showing a third of people who supported Labour in 2015 would not vote for the party now.
Updated
at 10.08am BST
9.52am BST
09:52
Q: Could Labour stand for election on the basis that it would overturn the referendum result?
Benn says he thinks the party has to respect the decision the country has taken.
Q: Would you stand for the leadership?
No, says Benn.
9.51am BST
09:51
Q: Corbyn was elected with a large majority less than a year ago. Isn’t this the worst time to be doing this?
Benn says he wanted Corbyn to succeed. But it is clear he is not succeeding. He says Labour has a duty to provide the country with a strong opposition.
Q: Do you think Corbyn will have to go on Tuesday, when the no confidence motion is voted on?
Benn says we need strong leadership to deal with the challenges the country faces. We need to work out what relationship we have with Europe.
He says he wants the UK to retain access to the single market.
Updated
at 10.08am BST
9.49am BST
09:49
Q: Do you accept you were disloyal?
Benn says he said what he thought was true. That is important, he says.
9.48am BST
09:48
Hilary Benn's interview on Andrew Marr
Hilary Benn is on the Andrew Marr Show now.
He says it was becoming increasingly clear to him that there was increasing concern in the party about Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. He told Corbyn this last night. Corbyn then dismissed him.
He says he is not confident the party could win a general election with Corbyn as leader.
Q: Will there be more resignations?
Benn says it is for each individual to make their decision.
He says:
[Corbyn] is a good and decent man, but he is not a leader.
9.44am BST
9.44am BST
09:44
09:44
Anushka Asthana
Anushka Asthana
This is from a shadow cabinet source.
This is from a shadow cabinet source.
I have been struck by the number of grassroots party members getting in touch with me over the last 24 hours who said they had voted for Jeremy but now he has to go.
I have been struck by the number of grassroots party members getting in touch with me over the last 24 hours who said they had voted for Jeremy but now he has to go.
9.43am BST
09:43
Corbyn won't resign, and would stand again in a second leadership election, an ally says
Anushka Asthana
According to one of Jeremy Corbyn’s allies, Corbyn will not resign. And if Labour MPs trigger a leadership challenge, Corbyn will stand again as a candidate. The source told me:
They don’t have a candidate, they don’t have a programme, they don’t have the supporters to win a leadership election, rather than just engage in self indulgent destabilisation. They should work with Labour leadership to respond to the a momentous national event that needs a united Labour party.
Jeremy is not going to resign, and if there is a challenge he will fight it.
Anyone that resigns can be replaced. It is obviously disappointing and a distraction. If they want to challenge Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership they can collect the nominations and stand. He will be standing for election.
9.39am BST
09:39
The Labour MP Ian Lucas is calling for Corbyn’s resignation, and he says his local party support him.
I told my Party I wanted Jeremy Corbyn to resign and they supported me. https://t.co/nwHAy3xtmC
9.36am BST
09:36
Hodge and Coffey write to Labour MPs saying party faces 'political oblivion' under Corbyn
Dame Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey, the two Labour MPs who are calling for a vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn, have written a joint letter to other Labour MPs saying the party faces the prospect of “political oblivion” under Corbyn’s leadership. It said:
If a general election is called later this year, which is a very real prospect, we believe that under Jeremy’s leadership we could be looking at political oblivion.
We all see at first-hand the terrible problems that exist in our constituencies and we can’t do anything about them while the Tories run the country.
We believe Jeremy is standing in the way and preventing us from securing the confidence of a majority of voters.
Ukip is targeting our traditional heartlands, not only do we need strong leadership to reconnect with these voters but also to make connections with those who voted to remain in the EU ...
We must never forget that adulation at rallies of activists hearing exactly what they want to hear is not a substitute for votes at the ballot box. We need to be able to communicate our passion with alienated voters who have shown their anger not their apathy. The lesson of Scotland should be at the front of everyone’s mind.
We believe that Jeremy needs to consider his position. Throughout the referendum campaign he did not show the leadership that the party or the country needed. When he did engage it was half-hearted and in the end Labour party members and voters didn’t know where the leader really stood on this crucial issue.
9.29am BST
09:29
Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum, the Labour group for Corbyn supporters, and a very close ally of Corbyn’s, has been tweeting this morning. He was unhappy about Hilary Benn being invited on the Andrew Marr Show.
I hear BBC has taken John McDonnell off Marr to be replaced by Hilary Benn. What happened to supposed BBC balance? #BBCpoliticalbias
I’m told Marr has relented - McDonnell re-invited. It seems being conspired against does justify an interview https://t.co/LGR0BgGvrQ
And this is what he said about the Heidi Alexander resignation.
Heidi Alexander has resigned. Why do some shadow cabinet members think now’s the time for Labour MPs to engage in a war with the membership
9.26am BST
09:26
These are from the New Statesman’s George Eaton.
Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray expected to resign. Job would have to be filled by non-Scottish MP. https://t.co/u6n1T9WUHU
Diane Abbott promised post of shadow foreign secretary, Labour source tells me. https://t.co/u6n1T9WUHU
9.25am BST
09:25
Earlier I mentioned that Jeremy Corbyn was heckled at Pride. Craig Murray has an alternative view of what happened here, on his blog.
Updated
at 9.37am BST
9.23am BST
09:23
Hilary Benn, the former shadow foreign secretary, was doorstepped by reporters as he left his house this morning. He said:
We need strong and effective leadership of the Labour party. I told Jeremy Corbyn last night that I no longer had confidence in his leadership and he dismissed me from the shadow cabinet. I want to thank him for having given me the chance to serve our party.
He will be on the Andrew Marr Show later.
9.12am BST
09:12
This is from my colleague Anushka Asthana.
I suspect that people who will go include: Angela Eagle, Lucy Powell, Jonathan Ashworth, Lisa Nandy, Chris Bryant, Luciana, Gloria, Andy B.
Also - my suspicion: Charlie Falconer, Rosie Winterton, Ian Murray..
9.11am BST
09:11
Labour source: @jeremycorbyn won't have a Shadow Cabinet by the end of the day. And significantly no-one to replace them. So no opposition
There is a lot of ‘what if’ Labour speculation around this morning. What if half of the shadow cabinet does resign? Jeremy Corbyn probably could just about find enough supporters in the parliamentary Labour party to replace them, but it would be a struggle and the shadow cabinet would have a distinctive D-list look to it.
On Sky News, the Daily Mirror’s Kevin Maguire has also been speculating about the Labour party in the country and the parliamentary Labour party electing different leaders.
Updated
at 9.12am BST
9.06am BST
09:06
Andrew Sparrow
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire.
Sunday morning is often a busy time politically, but that is because it is dominated by set-piece political interviews on the TV programmes. Instead, this morning we’re in the midst of a dramatic running story; what is effectively a shadow cabinet coup against Jeremy Corbyn is under way. Colleagues are urging him to resign, but his office is saying he is not budging. He is engaged in a trial of strength with his party. It is possible that by the end of the day he may have resigned.
Only a few weeks ago Labour MPs were discounting the possibility of a leadership challenge. That was partly because Labour’s performance in the local elections was not as bad as some people as predicted, but also because a YouGov survey of Labour members in May showed that Corbyn was even more popular with members in May than he was when he was elected in September last year. It said 64% of members would vote for him in another contest.
So what has changed? Two factors are crucial.
First, there is general consensus that Corbyn’s performance in the EU referendum campaign was lacklustre. Labour party members (unlike Labour voters) are strongly in favour of EU membership, and it is widely felt that Corbyn did not pull his weight. This Politico.EU long read puts the case against him well. A measure of how much unhappiness this has caused is the fact that Corbyn was heckled when he spoke at Pride yesterday.
And, second, the vote for leave in the EU referendum has made the prospect of an early election much more likely, The Conservative party is due to elect a new leader by October, and it is thought that the new prime minister will want a fresh electoral mandate - particularly if he or she thinks Labour is in a weak position. In theory the Fixed-term Parliaments Act means that there will not be a general election until 2020, but a vote of two-thirds of MPs can over-ride that.
