Jeremy Corbyn says he will mount legal challenge against his own Labour party to cling to power
Leader is prepared to drag contest into the courts after Angela Eagle says her rival will need 50 nominations from MPs
JEREMY Corbyn will go to court so he can fight his party’s leadership contest.
A furious row is raging over whether the Labour chief will be allowed on ballot papers.
His challenger Angela Eagle said yesterday he needs the backing of 51 MPs and MEPs first.
Mr Corbyn said: “I’m expecting to be on the ballot paper because that’s what the rules indicate.
“I’ve taken soundings from lawyers.”
A showdown meeting of Labour’s National Executive tomorrow will arbitrate on the dispute.
If it rules against him, Mr Corbyn insisted: “I will challenge that.”
Mr Corbyn also pleaded for Ms Eagle to have an 11th hour rethink over her leadership bid, which will formally start today.
Speaking about it for the first time yesterday, Ms Eagle said it was to heal and unite the party.
Talking about Mr Corbyn, the ex-Shadow Business Secretary said: “I don’t think he’s been able to communicate with the electorate and he has lost the confidence of the parliamentary party.
“He is hiding behind closed doors denying this.
“That’s not leadership.”
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Ms Eagle attempted to frame the upcoming contest as being about Mr Corbyn’s personal failings rather than a rejection of his left-wing socialism.
She said: “I’m on the Left. It’s not about individual policies, it’s about effective leadership and whether we can return to government.”
The MP for Wallasey also issued an appeal for moderates to join Labour after 100,000 new members signed up in the past two weeks.
Labour MPs are furious with Mr Corbyn for not stepping down after losing an MPs’ no-confidence vote and the party risks splitting in two.
Bookies yesterday made him favourite to win the new contest and keep the Labour crown with Ladbrokes offering 4/7 odds.
Ms Eagle was given a 5/2 chance of toppling him and the Labour Party splitting is 2/1.
How does a Labour leadership contest work?
As Angela Eagle is poised to formally launch her bid to oust Jeremy Corbyn we explain how the process might work:
*A secret ballot of Labour MPs showed the vast majority - 172 against the leader, compared with just 40 behind him - had lost confidence in the veteran left-winger
* Any Labour MP wanting to challenge Mr Corbyn will require the support of at least 20% of their parliamentary colleagues in Westminster and the European Parliament - at current levels, with 231 MPs and 20 MEPs, that equates to 51 signatures
* If the 20% figure be reached, a formal contest would then take place at the Labour Party's autumn conference at the end of September
* Mr Corbyn claims legal advice indicates under the party's rules he will automatically be on the ballot paper. But critics of the leader interpret the rules as meaning he too will have to secure nominations from MPs - something that is unlikely to happen
* The party's National Executive Committee is expected to make a decision on the rules, but there is a possibility it could end up facing a challenge in court
* Once a line-up of candidates is finalised, the election would then take place on a one-member-one-vote basis with members, affiliates and registered supporters taking part
* If there were more than two candidates, voters would rank their choices and the winner would be the first to secure more than 50% of the vote
* If nobody did so in the first round of counting, the last placed candidate would have their votes reallocated and so on until a winner emerges
Labour grandees' plea on Eagle bid
LABOUR grandees are urging MP Owen Smith not to wreck Angela Eagle’s challenge to Jeremy Corbyn by also joining the race.
The former Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary hinted he may try to take on his hard-left boss.
He said yesterday: “I am not prepared to stand by and see our party split.”
Mr Smith, who represents Pontypridd, will make a final decision after talks with Mr Corbyn today.
But in a veiled hint for him to back her instead, Ms Eagle said: “It’s really important we have a strong, united party.”
Mr Smith attacked Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell after challenging him and Mr Corbyn on whether they were prepared to see the party split.
He claimed Mr Corbyn “offered no answer” and Mr McDonnell “shrugged his shoulders and said ‘if that’s what it takes’”.