Jeremy Corbyn arrives for crunch talks with Labour’s ruling body as his future hangs in the balance
Row over whether he will automatically be on the ballot paper looks set to wind up in the courts
JEREMY Corbyn's future as Labour leader hangs in the balance today as the Party's ruling body met to decide whether he will be allowed to fight on.
The hard-left leader pulled the plug on a speech today in Brighton at the 11th hour to head to crunch talks with Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) in London.
He arrived at Labour's London HQ 10 minutes before the meeting, forcing his way through a media scrum and ignoring reporters' questions to take up his place on the NEC's 33-member panel.
The NEC's delegates will decide on whether Mr Corbyn needs the nominations of 51 MPs and MEPs to stand in the upcoming leadership contest triggered by a challenge from shadow business secretary Angela Eagle yesterday.
Mr Corbyn has threatened legal action if his name is not on automatically on the ballot paper to Party members.
The NEC is split on the issue and will take a crucial vote on the matter this afternoon.
What is the NEC deciding?
In short, whether Jeremy Corbyn is automatically included on the ballot paper in what seems like an inevitable leadership contest.
NEC members are arguing over Party rules and whether it is only challengers who need the support of 20% (51) Labour MPs to be on the ballot paper.
The 33 members will debate Party rules before deciding yea or nay.
Corbyn has already said he will challenge the decision in the courts if he is made to seek the 51 nominations.
Ahead of the crunch talks, Unite general secretary and NEC member Len McCluskey said it would be a "sordid little fix" if Mr Corbyn was left off the ballot paper.
As the unions' most powerful figure he is understood to be trying to strong-arm all 13 trade union delegates on the NEC into backing Mr Corbyn.
One GMB member is said to have been absent from the meeting citing illness while Aslef and TSSA union delegates have already declared their support for Mr Corbyn.
It has also been reported a top Corbyn aide tried to organise the sacking of Jonathan Ashworth MP from the NEC - one of nine MPs on the panel - to secure enough votes for the Labour leader.
Veteran left-winger Dennis Skinner compared anti-Corbyn MPs to "scab" miners and told reporters outside Labour HQ it was "cut and dry".
Senior Labour MP Keith Vaz said the Labour leader was doing a "good job".
The vote is expected to go down to the wire.
Solicitors acting for Jim Kennedy, a trade union member of the NEC, have written to party general secretary Iain McNicol warning they will take "injunctive action" unless Mr Corbyn is automatically on the ballot.
The letter from Martin Howe states: "Our clients are very concerned that the purpose of the special meeting is to manufacture a situation whereby Jeremy Corbyn's name will be omitted from the leadership ballot. That is wholly unacceptable
"Any attempt to keep Jeremy Corbyn's name off the ballot for leader, whilst he remains leader, in light of the current challenge by Angela Eagle (or any other challenger) will be met with legal action for breach of contract, specifically for breach of the 2016 Rule Book Chapter 4 Rule 2Bii.
"We put you on the clearest notice that we will be instructed to apply to the High Court for immediate injunctive relief should Jeremy Corbyn's name not go forward automatically to the ballot."
The solicitors warn the case for Mr Corbyn's automatic inclusion on the ballot is "so patent and clear" that they are ready to pursue Mr McNicol personally for costs if he is not.
The NEC has been presented with conflicting legal advice over Mr Corbyn's position, with Labour-commissioned analysis stating he will need the nominations.
But Unite-backed advice from Michael Mansfield QC concluded he does not because he is a sitting leader.
The battle looks increasingly likely to end up in the courts, with Mr Corbyn vowing to fight any exclusion from the ballot paper but the anti-Corbyn camp weighing up a legal challenge if he is allowed to stand without the nominations.
National Executive Committee
Who makes up Labour's 33-member ruling body?
NINE MPs
Jeremy Corbyn
Tom Watson
Jon Ashworth
Jon Trickett
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Keith Vaz
Margaret Beckett
Dennis Skinner
Shabana Mahmood
13 TRADE UNION REPS
Unison: Keith Birch, Wendy Nichols
Unite: Jennie Formby, Martin Mayer, Jim Kennedy, Diana Holland
GMB: Cath Speight, Mary Turner
UCATT: Jamie Bramwell
CWU: Andy Kerr
TSSA: Andi Fox
USDAW: Paddy Lillis
BFAWU: Pauline McCarthy
SIX
Darren Williams - former employee of PCS union
Ann Black - former party chairwoman
Johanna Baxter - highly active grassroots campaigner
Christine Shawcroft - ex leader of Labour group in Tower Hamlets
Ellie Reeves - trade union lawyer
Pete Willsman - active in Labour machine since 1980s and 'enjoys a good disco'
TWO LABOUR CLLRS
Ann Lucas - ex leader of Coventry Council
Alice Perry - Cllr in Islington
ONE SOCIALIST SOCIETIES REP
James Asser - LGBT campaigner
ONE YOUNG LABOUR REP
Jasmin Beckett - party member for five years
ONE MEP
Glenis Willmott - Labour's leader in Europe
Meanwhile, a YouGov poll for the Election Data website found the Labour leader's union backing dissolving. Just a third of 1,221 trade union members from Unite, the GMB, Unison, Usdaw and the CWU, said he was doing well.
More than 75 per cent said it is unlikely that Mr Corbyn will ever become PM and 69 per cent said it was unlikely Labour would win the next election with him as leader.
The poll is significant as 12 of the NEC seats - around a third - are taken up by union representatives.
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Mr Corbyn failed to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) last night at which deputy leader Tom Watson told MPs talks over Mr Corbyn’s leadership had broken down over the weekend with union reps.
He said: "For years I've been told I'm a fixer. Well, I've tried to fix this, I've really, really tried, and I've failed.
“I've tried to find a way forward for the party between two apparently irreconcilable decisions.
"Clearly the vast majority of the PLP has already made it clear they wouldn't countenance a settlement that involved Jeremy staying in place."
Instead Mr Corbyn surprised Labour colleagues by attending a Cuba Solidarity Campaign event.
Meanwhile Mrs Eagle today was given police protection and was forced to change the location for an event after the original venue received death threats.
Her constituency office was bricked this morning and bombarded with abusive calls after she launched her official challenge to Mr Corbyn yesterday.