Resignations from Labour top team roll in faster than Corbyn can replace them – with a total of 46 now demanding he quit
2/3 of Corbyn's top team have quit and are calling for him to step down
JEREMY Corbyn was fast running out loyal MPs to fill posts in his top team today as almost 30 frontbenchers quit in a dramatic series of resignations.
Today seven more shadow cabinet members resigned, alongside 13 Labour frontbenchers joined the 12 shadow cabinet ministers who left yesterday, piling yet more pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to quit.
Just 10 of Mr Corbyn's cabinet still remain in post out of 31 positions.
Mr Corbyn was also told by deputy leader Tom Watson, who has so far refused to resign, that he had lost the confidence of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and there would be a leadership challenge followed by a brutal contest if he refused to go quietly.
In particular he has been blasted for his "lacklustre" and "half-hearted" campaigning to persuade Labour voters to vote Remain in the EU referendum.
Alan Johnson, who led Labour's campaign, said "at times it felt as if they were working against the rest of the party and had conflicting objectives".
A spokesman for Mr Corbyn insisted the deputy leader had categorically not told him to resign. The Labour leader has also insisted he will fight another leadership contest if he is forced out.
The resignations of Keir Starmer, Angela Eagle, Lisa Nandy, Maria Eagle Owen Smith, Nia Griffiths and John Healey come after 11 shadow cabinet members stepped down in a domino effect yesterday triggered by Hilary Benn's sacking in the early hours of Sunday morning.
In a tearful interview this afternoon, Ms Eagle told the BBC Mr Corbyn had failed to get the "simple message" that Labour supported the Remain campaign during the EU debate.
She revealed she had tried to contact the Labour leader 24 hours ago, but because of the "real problems" with the inner workings of his office no-one had called her back.
Ms Eagle urged him to "examine his conscience and make the decision to leave with dignity" as he "is not the one to lead us".
The hard-left Labour leader is expected to be hit by more frontbench resignations throughout the day in a coordinated effort to try to oust Mr Corbyn.
In a joint statement Ms Nandy and Mr Smith called on Mr Corbyn to step down and for Mr Watson to take over as a caretaker leader.
They said: "The lack of confidence in the leadership goes beyond the small group of MPs who have consistently opposed Jeremy since his election. It has become clear that he is unable to form a broad, inclusive shadow cabinet that draws on the best of our movement’s left and right traditions.
"For that reason we have told Jeremy that whilst the party holds a leadership contest - which is now inevitable - we believe Tom Watson ought to take over as a caretaker leader to stabilise the party and to enable us to play a full part as the official opposition in one of the most difficult periods this country has ever faced."
Mr Corbyn is facing the embarrassment of being unable to fill the party's 95 frontbench positions.
Ex shadow leader of the Commons Chris Bryant told the BBC: "You need 95 people to put up a proper frontbench.
"There are 15 gone already and that is not including Parliamentary Private Secretaries and I would be amazed if Jeremy is able to fulfil all of that."
But amid the Labour bloodbath, Mr Corbyn announced his new shadow cabinet at around 8.30am as he appeared to bury his head in the sand as resignation letters continued to flood in.
In a bid to regain control over his party, Mr Corbyn promoted Emily Thornberry to shadow foreign secretary and close ally Diane Abbott to shadow health secretary.
The Labour leader packed the rest of his shadow cabinet with loyalists.
Shadow Cabinet appointments
Shadow foreign secretary - Emily Thornberry
Shadow health secretary - Diane Abbott
Shadow education secretary – Pat Glass
Shadow transport secretary – Andy McDonald
Shadow defence secretary – Clive Lewis
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury – Rebecca Long-Bailey
Shadow international development secretary – Kate Osamor
Shadow environment food and rural affairs secretary – Rachel Maskell
Shadow voter engagement and youth affairs – Cat Smith
Shadow Northern Ireland secretary – Dave Anderson
He is yet to appoint a new shadow justice secretary, Scotland, Commons leader and attorney general.
This afternoon Mr Corbyn's team pledged to fill all open positions and promised to include some "surprise names".
This morning Anna Turley, shadow minister for civil society, Diana Johnson, shadow foreign and commonwealth minister and Toby Perkins, shadow armed forces minister, all informed the hard-left leader they were stepping down from his top team.
The three were swiftly followed by a raft of fellow shadow junior ministers, including leftie women and equalities shadow minister Kate Green.
Mr Perkins said it would be a "catastrophe" if Mr Corbyn was allowed to continue to lead the party into a General Election and he had lost the support of Labour members.
Labour departures
SHADOW CABINET
Keir Starmer - shadow home office minister
Angela Eagle - shadow business secretary
Jack Dromey - shadow policing minister
Maria Eagle - culture
John Healey - housing
Owen Smith - work and pensions
Lisa Nandy - energy
Nia Griffiths - Wales
Chris Bryant - leader of the Commons
Karl Turner - attorney general
Lord Falconer - justice
Vernon Coaker - Northern Ireland
Seema Malhotra - chief secretary to the Treasury
Kerry McCarthy - environment
Lucy Powell - education
Lilian Greenwood - transport
Ian Murray - Scotland
Hilary Benn - foreign
Heidi Alexander - health
SHADOW MINISTERS
Diana Johnson - shadow foreign and commonwealth minister
Gloria De Piero - young people
Luciana Berger - mental health
Kate Green - women and equalities
Toby Perkins - armed forces
Anna Turley - civil society
Wayne David - Scotland
Nick Thomas-Symonds - employment
Yvonne Fovargue - consumer affairs and science
Steve Reed –local government
Alex Cunningham - natural environment
Roberta Blackman-Woods - housing
Jenny Chapman - education
Susan Elan Jones - Wales office
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVATE SECRETARIES
Stephen Kinnock
Neil Coyle
Jess Phillips
Chris Matheson
Ruth Smeeth
Karin Smyth
Colleen Fletcher
Matthew Pennycook
Gerald Jones
In the most damning criticism of Mr Corbyn's leadership, ex shadow commons leader, Mr Bryant yesterday said: "I fear you will go down in history as the man who broke the Labour Party."
He even went as far as accusing Mr Corbyn of voting to Leave the EU.
The resignations were swiftly followed by Parliamentary Private Secretaries Stephen Kinnock and Chris Matheson - a former Unite official and on the left of the party.
They were joined by Neil Coyle who quit as aide to the Shadow Commons Leader live on Sky News and Jess Phillips.
In a separate coup, former minister Margaret Hodge has tabled a motion of no confidence in Mr Corbyn.
The motion has been accepted and will be voted on tomorrow in a secret ballot, but it cannot force Mr Corbyn to resign.
How does a vote of no confidence work in the Labour Party?
The motion is discussed by Labour MPs at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).
The chair of the PLP can decide whether the motion should be debated.
If he allows the vote there will be a secret ballot.
The motion has no formal power to force a leader to resign but it would increase pressure on them to do so.
If a leader refused to resign, 20% of the unhappy MPs could nominate a willing candidate to stand against the leader.
If this threshold is reached, the party's National Executive Committee would decide the timetable for the contest .
The party's leadership in the Lords appeared to back the effort to oust Mr Corbyn - who has vowed to fight on - although they will not resign their shadow cabinet seats.
Baroness Smith of Basildon, the Labour leader in the Lords, and Lord Bassam, the chief whip, are both in post because of elections within the ranks of the party's peers rather than being appointed by Mr Corbyn.
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A source said that they had taken "soundings" from the party's peers and it was likely they would refuse to attend shadow cabinet meetings while Mr Corbyn remains as leader.
Asked this morning if Mr Corbyn should resign, shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Sky News: "Not at all. He is the elected leader of the Labour Party, elected by the party members. They are the sovereign body. Jeremy shouldn't resign at all."