Britain’s Labour Party leader loses no-confidence vote

LONDON — Britain’s opposition Labour Party, already reeling after voters defied its advice and chose to leave the European Union, was plunged further into crisis on Tuesday when its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, overwhelmingly lost a noconfidence motion among his fellow lawmakers.

The measure, which passed by a vote of 172-40, with four abstentions, opens the way for a challenge to Corbyn’s leadership. It technically changes nothing, as Corbyn has refused to step down, though it underscores his loss of authority among colleagues in Parliament.

“I was democratically elected leader of our party for a new kind of politics by 60 percent of Labour members and supporters, and I will not betray them by resigning,” Corbyn said after the vote by Labour members of Parliament. “Today’s vote by MPs has no constitutional legitimacy.”

He added: “We are a democratic party with a clear constitution. Our people need Labour Party members, trade unionists and MPs to unite behind my leadership at a critical time for our country.”

In the aftermath of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, Corbyn has been hit by the mass resignation of most of his leadership team.

About three-quarters of Parliament members opposed leaving the union, including the overwhelming majority of Labour members and a smaller majority of members from the governing Conservative Party.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Friday, the day after the referendum, that he would resign, and a power struggle has begun within the Conservative Party over who will succeed him.

Given the disarray in British politics, many Labour lawmakers are worried that a general election may be held soon, and they fear that, with Corbyn at the party’s helm, they will face even bigger losses than they did in the May 2015 election.

A left-winger, Corbyn was elected last year by an overwhelming majority of party members and supporters, but his support was very shallow among lawmakers.

Discontent at Corbyn’s performance was crystallized by his campaign in the referendum on European Union membership, in which the party’s policy was to remain within the bloc. While Corbyn, a lifelong euroskeptic, did urge Labour supporters to vote to remain, critics regarded his campaign as lackluster, and his message as lukewarm.

Corbyn’s staunch ally John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor of the Exchequer and the party’s top spokesman on economic issues, has said that Corbyn is “not going anywhere,” and even vowed to run Corbyn’s campaign if there were a new election among Labour Party members.

Supporters of Corbyn have called on his critics to either shut up or challenge him in a formal leadership contest. Under the Labour Party system, the final choice lies with party members and supporters, and Corbyn’s allies, who include influential labor-union activists, are confident that he would win reelection, despite some indications that support for him is weakening.