Tom Watson to hold crisis talks with unions to try and get Jeremy Corbyn to resign as Labour leader
Hopes are the discussions will lead to veteran leftie Corbyn finally walking away
LABOUR’S deputy leader Tom Watson is to hold emergency talks with trade union bosses in a last ditch attempt to end the stalemate over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Yesterday Watson had a one-to-one meeting with Corbyn where he told him he could not carry on as party leader without the backing of the party's MPs.
And this is something he definitely does not have with them voted overwhelmingly in favour of a vote of no confidence in him last week – by 172 to 40.
But last night Watson told a packed meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party that Corbyn had again made it clear that he had no intention of walking away.
Instead Corbyn issued a renewed appeal to supporters to unite behind his leadership.
In the wake of the failure of this latest attempt to break the deadlock, Labour sources said union leaders had "reached out" to Mr Watson to see if they could find a negotiated settlement.
"It is the last throw of the dice," the deputy leader told MPs.
Separately Watson met former shadow business secretary Angela Eagle and ex-shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith, who are both considering a challenge to Corbyn if he continues to resist calls to go.
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Both were said to have agreed to hold back while there was still a chance of a negotiated settlement which would see Corbyn finally walk away.
One source said: "They accept that is the right thing to do while there is a chance of some kind of deal.
"Tom said he is aware the window is closing very rapidly.
“The Parliamentary Labour Party have made their views very clear.
“I don't think they will regard any settlement that sees Jeremy remain in place as being acceptable."
In a video posted on social media, Corbyn insisted he was carrying on with the responsibility given to him when elected leader by an overwhelming majority of grass roots members and called for the party to "come together"
The veteran leftie said that since then Labour had won every by-election it stood in, and that two thirds of his voters had backed Remain in the EU referendum.
Mr Corbyn also took credit for forcing the Tories into U-turns on cuts to tax credits, disability benefits and police funding, along with the forced academisation of schools.