Former party leaders – including Lord Kinnock – have also called on him to resign.
Advertisement
He swatted away claims he only half-heartedly campaigned for European Union membership in the referendum and so contributed to the vote for Brexit, – which triggered the current crisis – pointing out that two thirds of Labour voters backed Remain.
Labour former deputy prime minister John Prescott said he hopes there is no leadership contest but said Mr Corbyn would need to receive enough nominations to secure his place on the ballot paper if one takes place.
The plea for calm comes at the end of a tumultuous week that saw most of his front bench team walk out and 172 of his MPs back a motion of no confidence in his leadership.
The Wigan branch of union Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has called for Ms Nandy to resign from being an MP as she had “undermined the democratic mandate” of Mr Corbyn.
A Jewish Labour MP declared that the party “cannot be a safe space for British Jews” as long as Jeremy Corbyn is leader.
“If there is to be a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn, in terms of a leadership contest, that will emerge I suspect over the next few days”.
Labour went into the referendum campaign far more united with all but 10 MPs backing the Remain side.
“We’re now at the biggest membership we’ve been, certainly in all of my lifetime”. Last month, Labour become the largest party in the local elections.
Polling last week showed Corbyn would win a contest between the two, and Eagle’s Wallasey constituency Labour Party (CLP) wrote to her to express support for the Labour leader after her resignation from the frontbench. The referendum result, he said, has “scared the crap out of a lot of MPs who haven’t really been anxious about their job security ever before”.
“I was elected leader of our party, for a new kind of politics, by 60 per cent of Labour members and supporters”.
“I have the support to run and resolve this impasse and I will do so if Jeremy doesn’t take action soon”. But none of the options seemed to involve Corbyn quitting as leader, one ally told HuffPostUK.
The survey, carried out between Monday and Thursday as Mr Corbyn struggled to maintain his position, found 50% of Labour members surveyed would vote for Mr Corbyn but 47% would not – down from the 64%-33% lead in May.
Lord Neil Kinnock said Labour MPs were “doing the clear and honest thing when they are so fundamentally alarmed by the prospects of the party”.
Mr Corbyn’s supporters are calling for “democracy” in the Labour Party.
Jeremy Corbyn will be quizzed by MPs over anti-Semitism in the Labour Party after stoking controversy at the launch of a report into the issue last week.
Advertisement
Ms Eagle’s move came just hours after Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA union, urged MPs to “put up or shut up”.
