Corbyn insists he will contest Labour leadership

Jeremy Corbyn has promised that his name will "definitely" be on the ballot in a Labour leadership contest if he faces a formal challenge following the loss of support of more than 80 per cent of his MPs.

Pressure continued to mount on the Labour leader yesterday, with some of the most senior figures in the party, including deputy leader Tom Watson and both Mr Corbyn's immediate predecessors, saying he should go.

Ed Miliband said that although he respected him and his policies, he had concluded that Mr Corbyn's position was unable to rise to the challenge of leadership. "I've supported Jeremy Corbyn all the way along because I think that was the right thing to do. I've reluctantly reached the conclusion that his position is untenable," the former party leader said.

“The question is, what is the right thing for our party? I’m not a Blairite, I’m not a plotter. The best thing is that he stands down, as painful as that is for him and his supporters.”

Globalisation

Former prime minister

Gordon Brown

said he believed Mr Corbyn would resign following such a massive loss of support in the parliamentary party.

“The real issue comes down, however, to whether we decide we are a party of power and not a party of protest. And that means a party of power with principles that we should implement in practice and the biggest issue we’ve got to face up to is how we manage and take globalisation to the future,” Mr Brown said.

“Either the Labour Party will become an anti-globalisation protest party or it’s going to be the party that’s able to tell people how we can best manage and change and transform globalisation and the global economy in the interests of working people.”

National interest

In the House of Commons,

David Cameron

told Mr Corbyn during prime minister’s questions that it was time for him to step down. “It might be in my party’s interests for him to sit there; it is not in the national interest. I would say: for heaven’s sake man, go!”

If Mr Corbyn does not step aside, he will face a challenge, probably from former business secretary Angela Eagle. Mr Watson, who has strong union links and won a big mandate from party members at the same time as Mr Corbyn, is seen by some MPs as a more formidable internal challenger.

But Ms Eagle, who is from the soft left of the party but supported bombing Syria last year, is a more effective media performer and is viewed as more likely to appeal to the broader electorate.

Mr Watson told the BBC he was trying to persuade Mr Corbyn to quit but he would not be challenging him.

Labour MPs were still hoping last night that Mr Corbyn would avoid a head-to-head confrontation with a single challenger by resigning of his own accord.

In a strongly-worded statement, former acting leader Harriet Harman said he had no right or mandate to stay in office: "Jeremy earned the right to take up the leadership of the party with a big majority. But he has failed and he has no right or mandate to stay in office despite his failure and take the party down with him," she said.

“Leading the party is a privilege not a right. You earn the opportunity to lead by being elected, to lead the whole party, our voters, members, councillors and MPs.”

Supporters

Mr Corbyn retains the support of some of Britain’s biggest unions, and his supporters are confident that most of the party members who voted for him last year would do so again.

However, Labour MPs say that they have received a flood of messages from members who voted for Mr Corbyn who now want him to go.