Jeremy Corbyn Could Be Next British Leader Out The Door As His Party Begins Revolt

Jeremy Corbyn is walking, talking proof that David Cameron isn’t the only member of the U.K.’s government that is feeling the pinch, post Brexit. Cameron has already made it clear he has no intention of staying on as Prime Minister now that Great Britain is leaving the EU. If the revolt in the Labour party continues, Jeremy Corbyn may have to announce his resignation sooner, rather than later, as well.

Cornyn has already had to deal with a string of what is known as the “shadow cabinet” deciding they can no longer work with the Labour leader. Lord Falconer, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell, and Ian Murray have all departed the cabinet since Brexit became official. These exits came just days after Corbyn announced he had fired Hilary Benn, after the shadow foreign secretary told Corbyn he not longer had confidence in his leadership.

For his part, the BBC reports Corbyn has no intention of pulling a Cameron and resigning. The MP has pointed to the fact that he was democratically elected as reason enough to stay on, even if his party would rather he step down. It should also be pointed out that not everyone in his shadow cabinet has turned on Corbyn. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow cabinet members Andy Burnham, Diane Abbott, and Emily Thornberry have all given Corbyn their personal votes of confidence.

At the heart of the discontent is that the Labour party campaigned heavily to remain in the European Union. The vote to exit ended up being a rather embarrassing 52-48, and the British government as a whole has been pointing fingers at each other ever since. Cameron is the first leader to announce he’s going to be stepping aside, but wholesale changes have been called on by some.

Corbyn won’t be stepping down, at least for now, but he might be facing a vote of no confidence before all is said and done. One of the things that is hamstringing Corbyn right now is the perception he didn’t work as hard to keep the U.K. in the EU as he could have.

Some aren’t pulling their punches against the man in charge of the Labour party. Benn, who had already made his lack of confidence known, has come out and said his former boss simply isn’t “a leader,” according to The Telegraph. Another of the members of the shadow cabinet who resigned, Chris Bryant, tweeted out his resignation letter. During that series of tweets, he made it clear the party needed some new leadership in order to unite a now fractured group.

Just published: front page of the Financial Times, international edition, Monday 27 June pic.twitter.com/5bzlh0CvKu

— Financial Times (@FT) June 26, 2016

Just how fractured has the party become since the end of Brexit? The official count after a 24-hour period was 11 shadow ministers either leaving on their own or being fired. The Labour party is now in official crisis mode, with Corbyn, and the deputy, Tom Watson, said to be holding emergency talks at the beginning of next week.

While Corbyn has struck a more strident tone when it comes to all the turnover, Watson has been the man who has acknowledged there is some real sadness settling over the party, and the government in general. Watson also appears realistic about what the government has to do next. Watson explained his position to the media this weekend.

“It’s very clear to me that we are heading for an early general election and the Labour Party must be ready to form a government. There’s much work to do. I will be meeting Jeremy Corbyn tomorrow morning to discuss the way forward.”

Now it’s up to Jeremy Corbyn to get his house in order if he really wants to stay in his leadership position.

[Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images]