Labour leader under pressure

THE future of opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn looked shaky yesterday after two members of his top team quit and others seemed set to follow over his handling of Britain’s EU referendum.

Corbyn’s allies said he had no intention of resigning, but the veteran socialist is facing a revolt over concerns that he is ill-equipped to deal with the fallout from Britain’s seismic decision to quit the bloc.

“He’s a good and decent man, but he is not a leader, and that’s the problem,” Labour MP Hilary Benn told BBC television after being sacked as foreign affairs spokesman on Saturday for challenging Corbyn’s leadership.

Health spokeswoman Heidi Alexander resigned early yesterday, and media reports suggested half the 30-strong shadow cabinet could follow.

“As much as I respect you as a man of principle, I do not believe you have the capacity to shape the answers our country is demanding,” Alexander wrote in her resignation letter to Corbyn.

One third of Labour voters chose to leave the European Union in Thursday’s historic vote, against the advice of the majority of their party’s MPs and the leadership.

Critics say Corbyn, who for decades had expressed eurosceptic views, could have done more to sway voters.

Two Labour MPs tabled a vote of no confidence in Corbyn on Friday, which is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party today.

But the veteran socialist indicated he was going nowhere, as did his allies.

Any challenger to Corbyn would need the support of 20% of the party’s 229 MPs and it would then be put to party members.