Throughout Sunday as the shadow cabinet resignations mounted up (reaching 11 by the evening), Jeremy Corbyn’s allies insisted that he was unfazed. “He’s not wavering,” one told me, adding that Corbyn would seek to form a new frontbench. At 21:54pm, the Labour leader released a statement confirming as much. “I regret there have been resignations today from my shadow cabinet,” Corbyn said. “But I am not going to betray the trust of those who voted for me – or the millions of supporters across the country who need Labour to represent them.”
Corbyn added that “those who want to change Labour’s leadership” would “have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate”. The shadow cabinet, he said, would be reshaped “over the next 24 hours” (“On past experience, 24 hours to pick a shadow cabinet is ambitious,” a Labour source quipped in reference to January’s marathon reshuffle).
Any hope that Corbyn would retreat without a fight has been dispelled. Tom Watson will meet him tomorrow morning to “discuss the way forward”, a statement regarded as “ominous” by some of the leader’s allies. Labour’s deputy failed to back Corbyn’s leadeership and warned of the need to be “ready to form a government” following an early election. But even if Watson calls on the leader to resign (which insiders say is far from guaranteed), few believe he will do so.
Corbyn retains the support of his closest allies, John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and Jon Trickett, and has been backed by shadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry and Andy Burnham (“Those who put personal ambition before the party won’t be forgiven or forgotten,” a senior MP declared of the Manchester mayoral contender). He will look to repopulate the shadow cabinet with supporters from the 2015 intake, such as Clive Lewis, Richard Burgon, Cat Smith and Rebecca Long-Bailey.
The Parliamentary Labour Party will meet on Monday at 6pm and discuss a motion of no confidence against Corbyn, tabled by veteran MPs Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey. This will likely be followed by a secret ballot on Tuesday between 9am and 5pm. The rebels are confident of winning a majority (though dismiss reports that as many as 80 per cent will oppose Corbyn). But the Labour leader is still unlikely to resign at this juncture. Having entered office with the backing of just 15 MPs (now 14 following the death of Michael Meacher), he is untroubled by losing support that he never truly had. “He’s an oddity. Very gentle but very robust,” an ally told me.
At this point, Corbyn’s opponents would be forced to launch a direct leadership challenge, most likely in the form of a “stalking horse”. John Spellar, a veteran of Labour’s 1980s strife, Hodge and Barry Sheerman have been touted for the role. A matter of fierce dispute on Sunday was whether Corbyn would automatically make the ballot if challenged. Labour’s lawyers have told the party that he would not, forcing him to win 50 MP/MEP nominations to stand again (a hurdle he would struggle to clear). But Corbyn’s allies counter that their own legal advice suggests the reverse. “It could get very messy and end up in the courts,” one senior rebel lamented.
Some take the view that natural justice demands Corbyn is included on the ballot, the view expressed by Tony Blair to MPs. In a new leadership contest, Watson and/or Angela Eagle are regarded as the likeliest challengers, though there is still no agreed alternative. Many argue that the party needs a “Michael Howard figure” to achieve party unity and limit the damge at an early election. He or she would then by succeeded by a younger figure (a “Cameron”) such as Chuka Umunna, Dan Jarvis or Lisa Nandy.
But a Labour source told me of the potential contest: “Don’t rule out Yvette. The only grown-up candidate and I believe she wants it”. He emphasised the need to look beyond the task of “unifying the party” and towards the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. Cooper, an experienced economist, was best-qualified to lead at a moment of “national crisis”, the source suggested. Watson, he added, wanted “the leadership handed to him on a plate” with backing from grandees across the party. John McTernan, Blair’s former political director, said that he would be “very happy” to have the Brownite as leader. Despite Watson’s leading role in the coup against Blair in 2006, many from Labour’s right believe that he is best placed to defeat Corbyn and unite the party. Some point to Eagle’s fourth-place finish in Labour’s deputy leadership election as evidence of her limited appeal.
McDonnell, Corbyn’s closest ally, who MPs have long believed retains leadership ambitions, insisted on Sunday that he would “never stand”. Most believe that the shadow chancellor, a more abrasive character than Corbyn, would struggle to achieve the requisite 37 MP/MEP nominations.
The Labour leader’s allies remain confident that he would win majority support from members if challenged. Rebels speak of an “unmistakable shift” in opinion since Brexit but concede that this may prove insufficient. They are prepared to mount repeated challenges to Corbyn if necessary in order to “wear him down”. But an early general election, which Boris Johnson is expected to trigger if elected Conservative leader, could deny them the chance.
As the PLP assembles in Committee Room 14 at 6pm, the activist group Momentum will assemble in Parliament Square for a #KeepCorbyn protest. It is a fitting symbol of a party fatally torn between its members and its MPs. Unless the two can somehow be aligned, Labour will remain united in name only.
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