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Labour MPs divided over how to depose Jeremy Corbyn MPs divided over Corbyn as Eagle delays leadership challenge
(about 5 hours later)
Labour MPs who wish to depose Jeremy Corbyn are divided over the most effective way to mount a challenge after Owen Smith collected enough nominations to put his name forward, effectively paralysing Angela Eagle as a unity candidate. Angela Eagle has delayed an expected leadership challenge to Jeremy Corbyn for at least 24 hours as Labour MPs who wish to depose Labour’s leader remain divided over how best to mount a challenge.
Sources said Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, had collected 51 nominations. He is backed by MPs who want to give the deputy leader, Tom Watson, and the chief whip, Rosie Winterton, more time to encourage the Labour leader to step down of his own accord. The former shadow business secretary was expected to declare that she was going to run as a “unity candidate” at a 3pm press conference.
Senior figures in the party are still trying to persuade Corbyn to stand down, but are struggling to organise a meeting with the under-siege leader. They say his advisers are deliberately keeping him away from his critics in the parliamentary Labour party. However, her associates claim she has decided to hold off because of the turmoil engulfing the Conservatives and to give more time for Labour MPs to pressurise Corbyn in to handing in his resignation.
“We have to give them some more time; if Angela challenges him and we lose, it could split the party permanently,” a pro-Smith Labour MP said. “There is no need for a challenge to happen today, or even this week. It’s self-interest. That’s what’s motivated people to come out and back Owen.” Her decision to stand was also delayed when the former shadow welfare secretary Owen Smith collected enough nominations to put his name forward, following concerns that Eagle may not be able to win over the party in a ballot of members.
He said there was no consensus in the PLP about a single candidate to back and many feared Eagle’s vote in favour of the Iraq war in 2003 would significantly damage her vote among the party membership as it stands. Corbyn responded by issuing a defiant statement, released via his Twitter feed. “Labour has the responsibility to give a lead … We need to bring people together, hold the government to account, oppose austerity and set out a path to exit that will protect jobs and incomes.
A former shadow cabinet minister said they believed delay was crucial to persuading Corbyn to stand down. “Today is clearly not the day, with the news about Boris. There’s huge weight behind the idea in the PLP that waiting is now the best thing. There’s still an urgency but it’s a question of strategy and how to best effect him standing down.” “I was elected leader of our party, for a new kind of politics, by 60% of Labour members and supporters. The need for that different approach now is greater than ever,” it said.
The former shadow minister said MPs were detecting a shift in the tone of letters and emails from party members, away from Corbyn. “The longer Jeremy goes on, not challenging the Tories, not being effective, the more difficult it is for him to stay. As soon as there’s a challenger, his supporters will swing behind him.” Sources close to his office said he addressed staff on Thursday, telling them he would carry on for the good of the party. As if to emphasise that it is business as usual, Corbyn attended a service on Thursday night, held at Westminster Abbey in central London, to commemorate the battle of the Somme.
Watson has said he will not challenge Corbyn himself, but Labour sources hinted Smith was running as a proxy candidate, on behalf of Watson, to deter Eagle from challenging too soon. His enemies in the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) still plan to challenge him, but they must still decide when – and who will be the favoured candidate.
Eagle, who was drafted into Corbyn’s top team as the shadow business minister and first secretary of state last year, is one of 20 members of the shadow cabinet to have quit since Sunday in protest at his leadership. She also has the 51 nominations required to run, members of her team said. A source close to Eagle insisted she would stand. “It is a delay, that is all,” the source said, adding that Eagle has the 51 nominations required.
“This Boris-Theresa thing does mean there’s a bit too much white noise,” said one source close to Eagle. “But it’s clear that Angela’s ready to do it, and to get on with it.” Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, has also collected 51 nominations. He is backed by some MPs who want to give the deputy leader, Tom Watson, and the chief whip, Rosie Winterton, more time to encourage the Labour leader to step down.
However, he added that there were still hopes Corbyn might choose to go of his own accord. “I think people on our side just need to let that stew a bit.” Some MPs are concerned that Eagle will face hostility from many members over her support for the Iraq war. The Chilcot report into the buildup, conduct and aftermath of the war is due to be published on Wednesday.
Writing for Guardian, the popular Labour MP Lisa Nandy hinted that the search was still on for a unity candidate, although it was not clear whether she thought Eagle would fit the bill. Labour MPs have been urged to contact police about threatening behaviour amid reports that the attempted coup against Corbyn has resulted in some politicians receiving death threats.
In an email, the PLP’s director of political services, Sarah Mulholland, writes: “It is clear that some of our MPs are currently experiencing abuse and threats. As per the security briefings, this information should be passed to the police immediately.”
She says the party wants to monitor the situation and asks MPs to pass information on. In the note, passed to the Guardian, she acknowledges that many Labour MPs are facing a challenging time.
Vicky Foxcroft, the MP for Lewisham Deptford, revealed that she had been threatened with violence if she refused to back Corbyn; Lisa Nandy said that colleagues had been bullied and harassed; while John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor and staunch Corbyn ally, responded to complaints by urging supporters not to protest outside MPs’ offices.
Senior figures in the party are still trying to persuade Corbyn to resign, but they are struggling to organise a meeting with the besieged leader. Some say his advisers are deliberately keeping him away from his critics in the PLP.
One pro-Smith MP said there should be no rush to challenge Corbyn. “We have to give them some more time; if Angela challenges him and we lose, it could split the party permanently. There is no need for a challenge to happen today, or even this week. It’s self-interest. That’s what has motivated people to come out and back Owen,” the MP said.
The MP added that there was no consensus in the PLP about a single candidate to back.
A former shadow cabinet minister said they believed a delay was crucial in persuading Corbyn to stand down. “Today is clearly not the day, with the news about Boris. There’s huge weight behind the idea in the PLP that waiting is now the best thing. There’s still an urgency, but it’s a question of strategy and how to best effect him standing down.”
Watson has said he will not challenge Corbyn himself, but sources indicated he would stand if the party was leaderless.
Related: Whoever the leader is, Labour may never recover from this crisis | John HarrisRelated: Whoever the leader is, Labour may never recover from this crisis | John Harris
She wrote: “The battle lines in the leadership contest have been drawn, and both sides have signalled they are unwilling to stop. In taking this path we are consigning ourselves to irrelevance at a time when the sensible majority in the country – who want to see a sensible, measured, respectful conversation focused on the things that unite us – desperately need a voice.” Eagle was seen as a frontrunner alongside Watson before he ended speculation by saying he would not challenge Corbyn directly. At that point, a large number of MPs seemed to be happy with either of the two candidates.
But Eagle was certainly seen as a frontrunner along with Watson, before he ended speculation by saying he would not challenge Corbyn directly, and still wished his leader would resign. At that point a large number of MPs seemed to be happy with either of the two candidates.
“Angela has support from all wings of the party to be a strong unity candidate. There is a time for calm and careful thinking for the sake of the country and our party. The party needs to unite – late-night egos on the terrace of the Commons are not the way forward,” said a politician backing Eagle.“Angela has support from all wings of the party to be a strong unity candidate. There is a time for calm and careful thinking for the sake of the country and our party. The party needs to unite – late-night egos on the terrace of the Commons are not the way forward,” said a politician backing Eagle.
Meanwhile, the party’s national executive committee will meet to vote on whether Corbyn ought to be automatically placed on the ballot or if he will have to collect the nominations of MPs. Corbyn’s supporters argue that, as the incumbent, he would automatically be on the ballot paper in the event of a challenge, with the prospect he could again mobilise the grassroots activists who propelled him to the leadership last year.
One piece of legal advice, leaked to the Guardian, suggests that he does not need support, but can simply run again. But NEC sources have suggested that there is a second document, which has not been seen, showing the opposite, with many pointing to a 1980s contest in which Tony Benn challenged the then leader Neil Kinnock. They point out that Kinnock was expected to collect nominations. If he resigned, however, allies such as McDonnell might struggle to get the nominations they need to enter the leadership race.
There were further calls for Corbyn to quit, with a letter signed by 540 Labour councillors posted on the LabourList website saying he was “unable to command the confidence of the whole party, nor of many traditional Labour supporters we speak with on the doorstep”.
In a further indication of the mayhem within Labour ranks, MP Rob Marris resigned from his role in the shadow Treasury team during the committee stage hearings on the finance bill.
Meanwhile, the party’s national executive committee is expected to meet soon to vote on whether Corbyn ought to be placed on the ballot automatically or if he will have to collect the nominations of MPs.
Corbyn is expected to spend Friday at the Somme battlefield in northern France.