Eagle sets sights on Labour leadership in bid to oust Corbyn

Angela Eagle insisted she has not embarked on a political 'suicide mission' as she launched her bid to topple '¨Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader.

Former shadow business secretary Angela Eagle says she will unite, not divide and accused Jeremy Corbyn of not being up to the job of leading Labour. Picture: Getty

The former shadow business secretary said she could make Labour electable again after the “howl of pain” expressed in the Brexit vote by people who felt they had been ignored for too long.

“I don’t go in for suicide missions,” Ms Eagle said when asked if her chances were doomed if Mr Corbyn is allowed on the ballot paper.

Ms Eagle insisted it was a matter for the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) whether Mr Corbyn needed to be nominated by 51 MPs and MEPs to be allowed to stand as a candidate.

The ex-minister said she had no choice but to move against Mr Corbyn because Britain was in danger of becoming a “one-party Tory state” under his leadership.

Her bid looks set to trigger civil war within the party and comes after 172 Labour MPs indicated that they had no confidence in Mr Corbyn in a vote in which he garnered the support of just 40 Westminster colleagues.

Describing herself as a “practical socialist”, Ms Eagle said Mr Corbyn was not up to the job.

“He has been hiding behind a door not talking to his Members of Parliament – that’s not leadership. He’s opened the party to new ideas, but we need other people to take them forward. This isn’t about splitting the Labour Party, it is about creating a strong, united party.

“I am a person who brings people together, I don’t drive them apart. I will unite, I will not divide,” Ms Eagle said.

Ms Eagle has the backing of the 51 MPs needed for a formal challenge but it remains unclear whether Mr Corbyn will also have to secure the support of MPs in order to fight the leadership battle.

Meanwhile, Owen Smith, another potential leadership contender, expressed fears Mr Corbyn and his allies are prepared to split the party in order to remain in place.

In a further sign the party is on the verge of all-out civil war, Mr Smith said that at a meeting with Mr Corbyn he asked him three times whether he is prepared to see a split but “he offered no answer”, while the leader’s ally and shadow chancellor John McDonnell “shrugged his shoulders and said ‘if that’s what it takes’”.

Ms Eagle said she was ready to “take on all comers” for the leadership.

Asked if her persona was “too gloomy” to lead the party, Ms Eagle said: “Well, we all have our moments.”

Labour’s general secretary Iain McNicol said: “I have now received sufficient nominations to trigger a contest for the position of leader of the Labour Party.

“I will now ask the chair of the National Executive Committee to convene a meeting to confirm arrangements for an election.”

When Ms Eagle was asked if she wanted an immediate general election after 
the announcement that Theresa May will take over as Prime Minister on Wednesday, she told Sky News: “I’ll support any calls for a general election if we are going to get legitimacy. But I think that this means that we just have to get on with the Labour leadership race.

“We need to have a party that’s united, that can be a strong opposition and actually lead us into a general election with policies that appeal to Labour voters and the country as a whole, and I don’t think that Jeremy has been able to do that.”

Last night Labour faced mounting anger from unions over the calling at short notice of a crucial meeting of the NEC to discuss the leadership crisis.

Union representatives on the NEC have protested that it might not be possible for those based outside London to attend today’s meeting.

Sources at the TSSA rail union said it was considering an injunction.

It is understood that unions have contacted Labour general secretary Iain McNichol to complain about the meeting being called at such short notice. At least two trade union members are on holiday.

It is being suggested that a secret ballot of NEC members will be held over whether Jeremy Corbyn will automatically be able to stand in the leadership election triggered by Angela Eagle, rather than by a show of hands.

Union sources also claimed that legal advice on whether Mr Corbyn will have to be supported by around 50 MPs and MEPs will not be presented until the meeting starts.

The 33-member NEC is made up of representatives of the parliamentary party, trade unions, MEPs, constituency groups, socialist societies and others.

Deputy leader Tom Watson abandoned so-called “peace talks” with trade union leaders after Mr Corbyn insisted he would not go quietly, meaning the NEC is set to meet today to chart a course for the challenge from Ms Eagle.

Mr Corbyn’s backers say that as leader, he has an automatic right to stand, especially as he won 59 per cent of the membership vote last September.

However, former leader Lord Kinnock has cited the precedent of him needing to be nominated when challenged by Tony Benn in 1988.

Mr Corbyn’s backers claim that is irrelevant as Labour had an electoral college system at the time and the leadership was not decided by the direct vote of members as it is now.

Leadership election rules appear to be open to interpretation, as the key passage regarding the need for nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) states: “Where there is no vacancy nominations may be sought by potential challengers each year prior to the annual session of Party conference.

“In this case any nomination must be supported by 20 per cent of the combined Commons members of the PLP and members of the EPLP. Nominations not attaining this threshold shall be null and void.”