British Labour Leader Loses No-Confidence Vote, Won’t Resign

MPs: Corbyn's Position 'Untenable'

A vote of no-confidence against the British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has passed overwhelmingly today, in a 172-40 vote among the party’s members of parliament. According to multiple MPs, Corbyn’s position is seen as “untenable” after the vote.

Don’t tell Corbyn that though, as he says he has no intention to resign, pointing out that the election of Labour leaders is done by general election from Labour members, and not simply the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).

At the same time, a poll of Labour voters showed that 27% of them are less likely to support the party in the next election, which is another huge blow for the already minority party. Though Corbyn remains wildly popular among a segment of Labour’s rank-and-file, it’s hard to see how he can survive such a split.

The revolt against Corbyn among Labour’s other leaders was largely the result of the Brexit vote to leave the European Union. Though Labour was officially against the Brexit, Corbyn was seen as “weak” on the matter, and several officials suggested he secretly supported it, and may have even voted “leave” on Thursday. Given the fairly close Thursday vote, many are blaming Corbyn for the defeat of the “remain” campaign.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.