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Owen Smith joins Labour leadership race

Smith said he did not want to split the party, and would stand by the result of the contest.n “I will be Labour until the day I die”, he said.

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Easington MP and chair of Labour Left, Grahame Morris, who is a Corbyn supporter, re-posted a Tweet from Mr Corbyn’s team’s official account, which said: “Jeremy is on the ballot paper, I repeat Jeremy is on the ballot paper”.

Promising to campaign “on all the things that matter”, he asked MPs who disagree to “come and talk about it”.

“I respect that mandate, it’s a responsibility I am carrying out”.

He stated that he does not expect MPs opposed to his tenure to launch a legal challenge. I think we now need a real debate about the future direction of our party.

Mr Corbyn posed for selfies with supporters as he emerged from the tense negotiations that lasted more than six hours.

However, advice backed by the Unite union – the party’s biggest financial backer – concluded he should automatically be included on the ballot as a sitting leader.

The vote was 18-14, according to Michael Crick.

The union says Mr Corbyn must be on the ballot paper and has made clear legal action will be sought if not.

Ms Eagle now faces a major battle to overturn his support among the grassroots.

Reaching the 51 target was by no means certain as many of his party’s politicians at Westminster recently voted against him in a no confidence motion.

“I’m in this contest to win it and that’s what I intend to do”.

Corbyn called for calm in the wake of the attack on Eagle’s office, urging all sides of the bitter dispute in the Labour party to avoid violence and threatening behaviour.

All other leadership candidates will require nominations from 20% of the PLP and EPLP.

Transport union TSSA said “good sense” had prevailed at the meeting.

A second British Labour opposition lawmaker entered the contest to topple leader Jeremy Corbyn on Wednesday, boosting the veteran left-winger’s chances of being re-elected by splitting the support of those who oppose him. But others are equally as determined to stop him – nervous now that if he wins once more, that the Labour Party itself it might not survive.

When Labour’s national executive committee met to decide the rules for the contest, Unite was so keen to maximise support for the embattled leader that Martin Mayer, one of Unite’s delegates on the executive, was whisked back from holiday in France.

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Corbyn was elected leader in September 2015 after an election prompted by the resignation of Ed Miliband when Labour lost the May 2015 general election.

Owen Smith To Fight For Labour Leadership