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Deep Divisions in Corbyn's Labour Party as MPs Take On Grassroots

© AFP 2023 / Leon NealBritain's Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn makes his keynote address on the third day of the annual Labour Party Conference in Brighton, south east England, on September 29, 2015.
Britain's Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn makes his keynote address on the third day of the annual Labour Party Conference in Brighton, south east England, on September 29, 2015. - Sputnik International
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British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is set for a leadership challenge that could split the party, 36 years after it was last rocked by internal battles which saw a breakaway movement created by disaffected MPs.

Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn addresses an event stating why he wants to remain in the EU, in London, Britain June 2, 2016 - Sputnik International
UK Opposition Leader Corbyn Refuses to Resign After No-Confidence Vote
Corbyn has been facing calls to stand down after what many saw as his lackluster performance in campaigning to keep Britain within the EU. He is a long-time euroskeptic, but party policy — as dictated at its annual conference — was pro-EU. 

He lost a vote of no confidence — by 172 to 40 — a few days after the results of the In-Out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU, which resulted in a win for Brexit by 52 percent. Many within his parliamentary party believed Corbyn has failed to make a cogent case for remaining.

Corbyn, however, has steadfastly refused to step down as party leader, saying he has the mandate from the leadership election in September 2015, triggered by the resignation of Ed Miliband, who lost the general election in May. That mandate — Corbyn says — is from all members and supporters, including the unions — not just his parliamentary colleagues.

​Now that he faces a challenge from former shadow business secretary Angela Eagle and former work and pensions spokesman Owen Smith — and possibly others — Corbyn is set to pit the wider Labour party — which has seen a membership increase of over 100,000 since the referendum — against its MPs. The huge rise in membership is being seen as a sign of grassroots backing for Corbyn.

Britain's opposition Labour Party Ed Miliband (C) poses with members of his shadow cabinet to launch his party's 2015 General Election campaign in east London, March 27, 2015 - Sputnik International
UK Lawmaker Owen Smith Challenges Jeremy Corbyn for Labour Party Leadership

Historic Split

The last time the party was in such disarray was 36 years ago in 1981, when the so-called 'Gang of Four': — Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams — left the Labour Party to found the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The four believed that the Labour Party had been infiltrated by left-wing radicals who had managed to use the 1981 Wembley conference to commit the party to unilateral nuclear disarmament and withdrawal from the European Economic Community.

In the 1983 and 1987 general elections, the SDP formed an alliance with the Liberal Party, finally merging with it in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats.

​Corbyn now faces the unedifying prospect of overseeing a similar split, with his many grassroots supporters — on the left wing of the party, sharing his anti-war and anti-nuclear views — at odds with the parliamentary party, many of whom voted for the Iraq war and who are in favor of Britain's nuclear deterrent.

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