“I am sure Labour MPs will understand that the party has to come together in order to present to the British people the option of a different and better way of doing things”, he said.
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“All other leadership candidates will require nominations from 20 percent of the PLP and EPLP”, the spokesperson added.
Ms Eagle announced her decision to stand for the Labour leadership yesterday, and she has already secured the backing of 51 MPs needed for a formal challenge.
If they rule that he is not eligible for automatic inclusion, then Mr Corbyn will have to garner the support of at least 20% of Labour MPs [51], which will prove hard after he lost a vote of no confidence among Labour MPs by 172 votes to 40.
Without automatic inclusion in the race he would nearly certainly have been unable to defend his position.
The former shadow Cabinet minister – who opposed the Iraq War and did not become an MP until 2010 – will join Angela Eagle in taking on Jeremy Corbyn, who last night won the battle to stand again without a fresh round of nominations.
Michael Dugher, the former shadow culture secretary and Corbyn critic, said: “If you can’t even get 1 in 5 of your own party in parliament to have confidence in you, what possible moral authority do you have?” “And I am determined to win it”.
Mr Corbyn told reporters he was “delighted” with the outcome after he emerged from the talks to victorious chants from his supporters.
Britain’s Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith makes a speech during the second day of the Labour Party conference in the main hall of Manchester Central in Manchester, Northwest England, on September 22, 2014.
Corbyn has faced calls to resign as party leader ever since the June 23 referendum that called for Britain to leave the EU.
That’s the cost of becoming a “registered supporter” allowing people to take part in the ballot.
“It is bullying, it has absolutely no place in politics in the United Kingdom and it needs to end”.
Labour faces a summer of bruising clashes that threaten to split the party in two after the leader was guaranteed a place in the contest.
Meanwhile, staff at Ms Eagle’s office have begged for an end to the “violence” and “intimidating behaviour” they say she has faced since taking on Mr Corbyn.
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Allies of Jeremy Corbyn have called for unity within Labour as speculation has risen of an early parliamentary election in the United Kingdom after Home Secretary Theresa May became Britain’s prime minister-designate.
