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Britain's Labour Party in turmoil over Brexit vote results
| CNN | - |
London
(CNN) The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party has vowed not to
step down amid challenges to his leadership as the fallout from the UK's
momentous vote to leave the European Union continues.
Britain's Labour Party in turmoil over Brexit vote results
Story highlights
- Four senior Labour MPs resign from shadow cabinet, calling for new leadership
- Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn won't resign, his spokesman says
London (CNN)The
leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party has vowed not to step down
amid challenges to his leadership as the fallout from the UK's momentous
vote to leave the European Union continues.
Four
senior MPs resigned from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet
Sunday, and a fifth was sacked by Corbyn for reportedly plotting against
his leadership in the wake of Britain's startling vote to leave the EU
in last Thursday's referendum.
"There
will be no resignation of a democratically elected leader with a strong
mandate from the membership," a spokesman for Corbyn told CNN.
Under
Britain's parliamentary system, the shadow Cabinet is a senior group of
opposition MPs (members of Parliament) tasked with criticizing the
government's policies; each is given a specific portfolio on which to
act as spokesperson.
Plotting alleged
The turmoil began when Corbyn fired shadow foreign secretary Hilary
Benn from his shadow Cabinet on Sunday following reports that Benn was
planning a coup against his leadership, Britain's Press Association
reported.
British Labour MP Hilary Benn in London Sunday following his sacking from the shadow cabinet.
The agency quoted a Labour spokesman as saying: "Jeremy has sacked him on the grounds that he has lost confidence in him."
Benn described the events that led to his sacking to the BBC Sunday, saying it had become "increasingly clear that there is growing concern in the shadow cabinet, in the parliamentary Labour Party, about (Corbyn's) leadership."
"I
said to him that I no longer had confidence in his leadership. He then
dismissed me from the shadow cabinet, which is understandable, and I
thanked him for having given me the opportunity to serve as shadow
foreign secretary," he said.
MPs resign from shadow cabinet
Benn's
sacking was swiftly followed by the resignations from the shadow
cabinet of shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander, shadow Scottish
secretary Ian Murray, shadow education secretary Lucy Powell, and shadow
secretary for environment, food and rural affairs Kerry McCarthy.
Alexander
wrote in her resignation letter that in the wake of the referendum
result, the country faced "unprecedented challenges," and she believed a
change of leadership in the party was "essential."
"As
much as I respect you as a man of principle, I do not believe you have
the capacity to shape the answers our country is demanding and I believe
that if we are to form the next Government, a change of leadership is
essential," she wrote.
In his resignation letter,
Murray wrote that the country faced a "deeply challenging time ahead"
following the Leave vote, and required a "strong opposition."
"I do not believe that can be achieved under your leadership," he wrote.
Powell and McCarthy also cited the challenges created by the referendum result in deciding to resign.
Another prominent Labour MP, Chuka Umunna, tweeted his support for Benn, saying it was "crazy to sack him."
He
followed this with a tweet saying: "Either you look your flaws in the
face and address them or you stick your head in the sand, destroy the
Labour Party and the country suffers."
Corbyn has canceled a speech scheduled to take place at the Glastonbury music festival Sunday, his spokesman told CNN.
Pressure mounts on Corbyn
Like
Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his intention
to resign Friday in the wake of the vote, the Labour Party campaigned
for Britain to remain in the EU.
But
Corbyn, who became leader of the Labour Party in September, has been
criticized for his lackluster performance in campaigning for the
"Remain" camp.
Pressure has been
mounting for him to follow his rival Cameron and step down in the wake
of the referendum result, which has fractured Britain's political
establishment.
Corbyn's
close ally and shadow Cabinet member MP Dianne Abbott tweeted Friday
that the Labour leader's "position on Brexit was closer to the national
mood than any other leader of a major party."
Divided kingdom
The EU referendum bitterly divided the nation, with 51.9% of voters casting their ballots to leave and 48.1% voting to remain.
The
result was met with shock and anger in many quarters, sent the pound
and markets plunging, and has left a leadership vacuum as the country
faces an uncertain new future.
Speaking
to British media Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said
that Britain losing access to the European single market following the
Brexit vote would be "catastrophic."
Some
"Leave" voters have expressed regret about their choice, saying they
did not realize the consequences would be so great, and an online
petition calling on the government to hold have a second, "do-over" referendum on the issue has gathered more than 3 million signatures.
The "Leave" vote could lead to the fracturing of the United Kingdom itself.
Scotland -- whose voters backed remaining in the EU -- is likely to seek independence for a second time this decade
as a result of the vote, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has
said. Speaking to BBC Scotland Sunday, she outlined an alternative
approach, saying that Scottish MPs could try to veto the move to leave
the EU.
Northern Ireland's vote for continued EU membership has similarly prompted a call by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness for a poll on a united Ireland.
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