MPs Submit Corbyn No Confidence Motion
BBC World Service
Two Labour MPs have submitted a motion of no confidence in Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Dame Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey confirmed the move in a letter to the Parliamentary Labour Party chairman.
The motion has no formal constitutional force but calls for a discussion at their next PLP meeting on Monday.
It will be up to the PLP chairman to decide whether it is debated. If accepted it would be followed by a secret ballot of Labour MPs on Tuesday.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell dismissed the motion of no confidence in Mr Corbyn, saying he had a mandate to lead the party and predicted even if Labour MPs forced a fresh leadership election, the party members and supporters would again back Mr Corbyn.
Earlier Mr Corbyn defended his role in the UK's EU referendum, in which Labour campaigned on the losing Remain side. His critics said he was half-hearted in calling for Labour voters to unite behind Remain.
Dame Margaret Hodge said Mr Corbyn should resign because the EU referendum had been a "test of leadership" that he had "failed".
This left Labour voters "not getting a clear message", she added.
Dame Margaret is the MP for Barking and the former chairwoman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, while Ms Coffey is the MP for Stockport.
'Win again'
Mr Corbyn said the point he had made during the campaign was that "there were good things" about the EU but also "other things that had not been addressed properly".
Mr McDonnell denied that Mr Corbyn was responsible for the vote to leave the EU, and added that a general election looked likely before the end of the year, because a new Conservative leader would want to seek a mandate.
Former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie said there were "failures" in Labour's campaign, saying he would need "an awful lot of persuading to have confidence in Jeremy's leadership into a general election", while former minister Ben Bradshaw said he would support the no confidence motion.
However, an online petition on the website of campaign organisation 38 Degrees calling for "a vote of confidence in Jeremy Corbyn after Brexit" has attracted over 40,000 signatures.
And in a joint statement, union leaders have backed Mr Corbyn to continue as leader, saying the "last thing Labour needs is a manufactured leadership row of its own".
They called for Labour to "unite as a source of national stability" and challenge any attempt to use the referendum result to "introduce a more right-wing Conservative government by the backdoor".
In a leaked briefing note, Labour had told its MPs to say the party "best placed" to re-unite the country following the UK's decision to leave the EU.
The briefing note said Mr Corbyn was "uniquely placed" because he understood why many people had voted to leave.
Mr Corbyn won an overwhelming victory in last year's Labour leadership contest, but did not have the backing of most MPs.
Two Labour MPs have submitted a motion of no confidence in Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Dame Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey confirmed the move in a letter to the Parliamentary Labour Party chairman.
The motion has no formal constitutional force but calls for a discussion at their next PLP meeting on Monday.
It will be up to the PLP chairman to decide whether it is debated. If accepted it would be followed by a secret ballot of Labour MPs on Tuesday.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell dismissed the motion of no confidence in Mr Corbyn, saying he had a mandate to lead the party and predicted even if Labour MPs forced a fresh leadership election, the party members and supporters would again back Mr Corbyn.
Earlier Mr Corbyn defended his role in the UK's EU referendum, in which Labour campaigned on the losing Remain side. His critics said he was half-hearted in calling for Labour voters to unite behind Remain.
Dame Margaret Hodge said Mr Corbyn should resign because the EU referendum had been a "test of leadership" that he had "failed".
This left Labour voters "not getting a clear message", she added.
Dame Margaret is the MP for Barking and the former chairwoman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, while Ms Coffey is the MP for Stockport.
'Win again'
Mr Corbyn said the point he had made during the campaign was that "there were good things" about the EU but also "other things that had not been addressed properly".
Mr McDonnell denied that Mr Corbyn was responsible for the vote to leave the EU, and added that a general election looked likely before the end of the year, because a new Conservative leader would want to seek a mandate.
Former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie said there were "failures" in Labour's campaign, saying he would need "an awful lot of persuading to have confidence in Jeremy's leadership into a general election", while former minister Ben Bradshaw said he would support the no confidence motion.
However, an online petition on the website of campaign organisation 38 Degrees calling for "a vote of confidence in Jeremy Corbyn after Brexit" has attracted over 40,000 signatures.
And in a joint statement, union leaders have backed Mr Corbyn to continue as leader, saying the "last thing Labour needs is a manufactured leadership row of its own".
They called for Labour to "unite as a source of national stability" and challenge any attempt to use the referendum result to "introduce a more right-wing Conservative government by the backdoor".
In a leaked briefing note, Labour had told its MPs to say the party "best placed" to re-unite the country following the UK's decision to leave the EU.
The briefing note said Mr Corbyn was "uniquely placed" because he understood why many people had voted to leave.
Mr Corbyn won an overwhelming victory in last year's Labour leadership contest, but did not have the backing of most MPs.
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