"I voted for Jeremy Corbyn last time with some enthusiasm and some reservations… I liked him as a person and I still like him as a person. But there is one crucial issue as far as I'm concerned and that is Brexit… When Owen Smith says that he will campaign against Brexit I will vote for him because I think that is the most overwhelmingly important issue of our time," Dalyell, who had been the member of Parliament for 43 years, said.
Dalyell added that he used to vote for Corbyn due to number of reasons in the past, but he was "vehemently against" the possibility of implementation of the Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty that would initiate the legal process of Britain's exit from the bloc.
On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it.
Following the referendum, Corbyn lost a motion of no confidence among parliamentary party members and saw half of the shadow cabinet resign in protest at what they claimed was his inability to lead the main opposition party after Brexit. Corbyn refused to resign and said he would run in the party leadership election. The election's result will be announced at a Special Labour Party Conference to be held on Wednesday.