Rivals doing deal to pit a single candidate against their leader
THE two rival candidates hoping to replace Jeremy Corbyn are locked in talks over which one of them will go forward to formally challenge him.
Angela Eagle and Owen Smith, who both quit the shadow cabinet last week, are working on a deal over which one of them will take on the Labour leader.
Party grandees believe it is essential that one MP emerges who can win the support of the Left-wing unions and socialist activists while steering the party to a more moderate position.
If Mr Corbyn stands for re-election against two rivals, that would split the vote, making him harder to defeat, moderate MPs believe.
Ms Eagle, who quit as shadow business secretary last week, is now facing a backlash from some of her most sen- ior colleagues, who say she mounted her challenge too soon.
The steady stream of shadow cabinet resignations was building pressure on Mr Corbyn and his critics believe he was almost ready to quit. But when it transpired that Ms Eagle had the support of the 51 colleagues she would need to launch a leadership challenge, Mr Corbyn’s team decided they could “sit back and say ‘bring it on’.”
Last week, allies of the Labour leader insisted he was happy to fight a leadership challenge against Ms Eagle or Mr Smith, who resigned as shadow work and pensions secretary.
Mr Smith’s supporters say that his stronger Left-wing credentials mean he would be more likely to defeat Mr Corbyn in a ballot of the party’s members. A deal between Ms Eagle and Mr Smith is expected next week. A senior Labour source said: “There are talks. We’re in the process of working this out and we will settle it so our single best candidate goes forward. Hopefully then we can get rid of Jeremy.”
Ms Eagle and Mr Smith are planning to hold off on challenging Mr Corbyn until after the publication of the Iraq War inquiry report by Sir John Chilcot on Wednesday. As a leading anti-war campaigner, Mr Corbyn is thought to be determined to use the Chilcot Report as a moment to unleash a tirade against Tony Blair, the former prime minister. Some Labour figures hope he will then leave voluntarily having had his say on Mr Blair’s Iraq legacy.
Another Labour source said: “He will try to get to Chilcot – his moment of glory – on Wednesday and then be urged out.”
The news came as Ms Eagle called on Mr Corbyn to do the “right thing for the party and the country”. “Let’s face it, the country is in a crisis and we need strong opposition,” she told
Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, is continuing to seek a meeting with Mr Corbyn’s team to find a way of negotiating a settlement.
In the last week around 60,000 people have joined Labour with the prospect of taking part in a leadership election. Momentum, the grassroots movement that supports Mr Corbyn, dismissed claims that the leader could go after being offered a settlement that would ensure his top priorities were continued under his successor.
James Schneider, a national organiser, told BBC Radio 4’s programme: “Jeremy Corbyn has shown incredible steel in staying there and not falling, and staying there on behalf of the principle of democracy in the party.”