Jeremy Corbyn was within 'moments of resigning' in 2016, book reveals

Jeremy Corbyn came within ‘moments of resigning in 2016’, according to a new book on the Labour Party.

Extracts from Ten Years in the Death of the Labour Party by former Labour MP Tom Harris, published in the Telegraph, reveal how deputy Labour leader Tom Watson tried to get Mr Corbyn to stand down in the wake of the EU referendum and a vote of no confidence by his own MPs.

According to the Telegraph extract Harris, who was Labour MP for Glasgow South from 2001 to 2015, described Watson as “a deal maker” who could convince Mr Corbyn to resign.

He said: “at one point, a request from Watson for a private one-on-one with his leader was rejected because Corbyn’s staff feared Watson might end up “bullying” Corbyn into doing something Corbyn might later regret”.

The book is said to describe how the men did meet and Mr Corbyn seriously considered the suggestion that he stand down.

But a source close to Watson is said to have told Harris: “He only changed his mind because Angela Eagle announced she was standing against him and that decided it for him.”

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The conversation in June 2016 came in the wake of a vote of no confidence in Mr Corbyn passed by the party’s MPs.

The 172-40 vote, which was not binding, followed resignations from the shadow cabinet and called on Mr Corbyn to quit but the Labour leader refused to quit, saying he would not “betray” the members who voted for him.