Britain's Labour leader to face leadership challenge in bid to end party strife

The strife engulfing Britain's main opposition Labour party moved to a new stage Saturday when estranged leader Jeremy Corbyn learned he is to face a challenge for his top job.

Angela Eagle, once one of Corbyn's leading front bench politicians, confirmed Saturday she will force a leadership election by bidding to replace her old boss.

Eagle was shadow business secretary until she resigned along with virtually every other shadow cabinet member after an overwhelming vote of no confidence in Corbyn.

Eagle, Labour MP for Wallasey, near Liverpool, said in a statement Saturday she is to announce her leadership bid on Monday morning.

She said she had taken the decision saying Corbyn had failed to lead an organized and effective party. Eagle said she would set out her vision when she speaks on Monday morning.

Earlier Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson called off talks with top trade union bosses, called as a last ditch effort to find a breakthrough in the impasse between Corbyn and his Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). He said there was no chance of resolving the situation with Corbyn.

Corbyn has always insisted he will fight any challenge, insisting it would be a betrayal to the 250,000 party members who supported him in last year's leadership election when he was the runaway winner.

The left-wing Labour leader was spending the day at the Durham Miners' Gala in northeast England where he was given a rapturous welcome by tens of thousands of people. The gala, in its 132nd year, is one of the biggest gatherings in the world of trade unionists.

Addressing the crowd, Corbyn said a leadership is no pressure for him.

"Real pressure is not having enough food to feed your family, or being able to afford a roof over your head," said Corbyn, constantly referring to the need for solidarity.

"Do we go forward in solidarity or allow brutality to divide us?" said Corbyn.

His message, coming after Eagle's announcement, will be read as confirmation that he will face any challenge to his leadership from his own MPs.

In the aftermath of the June 23 EU referendum, there were complaints Corbyn had not effectively led the remain campaign as head of the party which officially backed Britain staying in the EU. It led to a vote of no-confidence, passed by 172 to 40 votes.

Since the no-confidence vote, a further 60,000 people have joined the Labour party, many of them believed to be Corbyn supporters eager to shore-up the under-siege leader.

Opinions within the party is divided on whether Corbyn will, as sitting leader, have the automatic right to see his name go forward on a ballot paper. Under party rules a candidate needs 51 MPs to back a candidate, but whether that would apply to Corbyn is still unclear.

Angela Eagle, who is 55, the first MP to announce a challenge to Corbyn, has a twin sister Maria Eagle, also an MP and a former minister and shadow cabinet member. Angela Eagle has been an MP since 1992 and last year was appointed First Shadow Secretary by Corbyn, standing in for him when he was not available at events such as Prime Minister's Question time. Enditem