Update: Now all Labour’s MEPs have also called for Corbyn to resign. I say again, Tom Watson is the Leader of the Opposition.
Letter to Corbyn from 20 Labour MEPs: We find it hard to see how any Labour leader can continue if they do not have the support of their MPs
— Andy McSmith (@andymcsmith) June 29, 2016
Jeremy Corbyn’s last PMQs was brutal. His MPs were silent, and Cameron told him to go for the sake of the country. But the fact is, Corbyn should not have been there. The slot at PMQs is reserved for the Leader of the Opposition. That is not the same as the Leader of the Labour Party, or indeed any party, but the man or woman who commands the votes of the second-largest parliamentary bloc.
When Labour MPs vote no confidence in a leader, he is no longer leader of the PLP. Tom Watson, as Deputy, is now the de facto Leader of the Opposition, even if he is not yet Leader of the Labour Party. Should Corbyn refuse to resign, Watson should make constitutional moves to replace Corbyn at all Opposition functions, including on security briefings. He no longer has a Parliamentary position.
On the same basis, the Labour party should take legal advice and bar Corbyn from standing in any leadership election – before they do mundane things like change the rules on voting and membership. Corbyn does not command a majority of Labour MPs and therefore, constitutionally, can never be Prime Minister. He should be unable to stand.
Because Labour needs time to remove any entryists and expel Momentum, rather as Neil Kinnock laid the groundwork for 1997 in expelling Militant Tendency, there should be no immediate leadership election. Tom Watson, as Deputy Leader, directly elected, enjoys the confidence of the PLP and should become Acting Leader for at least several months.
Even before the vote, Watson, who is left-wing and union-backed, had made noises about ending free movement, since his union rep pals were feeding him the anger of working people. He does understand the huge disconnect between PLP Europhiles like Chris Bryant and Labour’s working class core vote. Bryant’s constituency voted 56-44 Leave. A huge 7 point lead. Watson could really take the fight to a Boris led Tory party, knowing that Boris’s weapon is likeability and intellectual heft. He should make the bold moves of appointing Gisela Stuart, Frank Field, and John Mann to his topmost team. That would stuff the Tories in England. In Scotland, Watson is likely to make huge gains and he should work with Tom Harris to do so.
