Corbyn’s team plot to force out party leader
Hilary Benn coordinates plan for shadow cabinet resignations in attempt to force Corbyn to quit
Shadow cabinet members unhappy at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership are plotting to force him to quit, by resigning en masse. Amid a protest coordinated by Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, they say his position is “untenable”. A no-confidence vote will be held on Tuesday.
HILARY BENN, the shadow foreign secretary, is orchestrating a mass resignation of Jeremy Corbyn’s senior team in an effort to remove the Labour leader, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Mr Benn is understood to have called shadow cabinet ministers yesterday afternoon to ask for their support to demand Mr Corbyn’s resignation and to gauge numbers for a planned mass resignation if he refuses to step down.
Meanwhile Mr Corbyn accused Labour voters who backed Brexit because of concerns about EU migration of “lacking understanding” of the way migrants “enrich” the UK, prompting fury among MPs.
At a speech in London yesterday, Mr Corbyn, who had been criticised for his lack of commitment to the EU referendum campaign, also said free movement of people would continue despite the decision to leave.
His remarks prompted Labour MPs to accuse him of a “complete lack of understanding” of immigration, while a shadow cabinet member said the speech made his position as leader “untenable”.
Another senior MP said Mr Corbyn “can’t stand back and say this is nothing to do with him”, adding: “If we go into a snap election this year with him as leader, we will be toast.”
Labour MPs will debate Mr Corbyn’s future at a tense meeting tomorrow night, and a no-confidence vote will be held on Tuesday, it is understood. It came as the plot emerged, led by Mr
Benn, to remove Mr Corbyn by requesting he step down. Relations between the two men have been strained since they clashed over Syria. A senior Labour source told The Sunday Telegraph the shadow foreign secretary had called colleagues asking for their backing to approach Mr Corbyn and noting their support for a mass resignation next week if he refuses.
A spokesman for Mr Benn said: “No comment” when asked about the plot.
A number of Mr Corbyn’s senior team are understood to be considering resigning to trigger a fresh election but will wait until after the debate tomorrow night when Mr Corbyn will respond to concerns.
Angela Eagle, Tom Watson, Stephen Kinnock and Heidi Alexander have all been named as possible replacements, with Margaret Hodge as a potential stalking horse.
A shadow cabinet source said: “His speech has only made it worse. Every interview he has done since the result has made his position less and less tenable, so the Labour Party is in more and
‘It’s not a question of diversity – that we don’t value it – it’s that diversity can be drowned in sheer numbers’
more danger should there be a snap general election.”
They added that the party can only be successful without Mr Corbyn as leader and that conversations about how to ensure that are going on.
Mr Corbyn was heckled for his EU referendum stance at a Pride rally in London yesterday. Tom Mauchlind, a Labour Party member, shouted, “You need to resign” at the leader, who can be heard to say “I did all I could,” as he walked away.
Mr Mauchlind told Buzzfeed News: “He turned up for a photo and lots of people were really annoyed … really angry. We blame him for the places that voted out. Those were meant to be our people and it was very clear he didn’t want to do anything.”
But a defiant Mr Corbyn said yesterday that he would continue as leader, even if a coup was launched against him, adding he had been “amazed” by the 145,000 people who have signed a petition calling for him to stay.
He said: “There are some people in the Parliamentary Labour Party particularly who would probably want someone else running the party – they have made that abundantly clear.
“I represent a constituency that is very mixed, very diverse, with people from all over the world. I’m very proud of that.
“I understand other parts of the country don’t have that level of diversity: they maybe have a lesser level of understanding of diversity.”
Despite recognising that freedom of movement of people had caused a “backlash” that prompted many to vote to leave the bloc, he said the UK would have to accept it if we negotiated to stay inside the single market.
Some Leave campaigners have claimed that freedom of movement may continue even after the UK leaves the EU, to secure favourable trading arrangements with other member states. But Mr Corbyn’s stance is at odds with many in his party. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, Chuka Umunna, the former shadow business secretary, and Tom Watson, the deputy leader, have called for reforms of the rules.
In his speech, Mr Corbyn said: “Across many parts of Britain there is a feeling of powerlessness in communities that have effectively been abandoned.”
He added: “The European referendum revealed a divided Britain. London and Scotland voting for remain, Wales and every other English region voting to leave. But there is another divide between the thriving, often multicultural, cities that were more likely to vote Remain and often post-industrial smaller urban areas that voted to leave.”
His speech prompted a fresh outpouring of scorn following reports that MPs Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey have tabled a motion of no confidence in him. The decision has triggered the secret vote on Tuesday.
One senior party source said: “That speech was arguing for higher migration, not lower – it’s the equivalent of going up to the PLP and throwing acid in their faces.”
Frank Field, the senior backbench MP, accused the leader of living on “an island” in Islington and of failing to understand the concerns of the rest of the country.
He said: “It’s not a question of diversity – that we don’t value it, it is that diversity can be drowned in sheer numbers, and it’s the numbers factor he has to wake up to and realise that north London is an island. It is not like the rest of the UK.”
Another party source warned that even if Mr Corbyn was forced to stand again, he would win again as he has the support of grass roots members and powerful organisation Momentum.