Despite his placid demeanour, Jeremy Corbyn is proving to be a tough nut to crack as he refuses to succumb to party pressure and resign

 

Met with shouts of, ‘resign, resign!’ in the House of Commons, it would have been very easy for Jeremy Corbyn to waver in his speech as he comes under increasing pressure from his Shadow Cabinet to resign as Labour leader.

Corbyn warned his Labour critics against, ‘factional manoeuvring’ in the Commons today.  So far, twenty members of his cabinet have resigned. Notable resignations include: Hilary Benn and Heidi Alexander, after the people of the United Kingdom voted by a slim majority to leave the EU. As a result, Corbyn’s leadership is now heavily under threat from within his own party.

The complaints stem from Labour MPs claiming he was half-hearted in his pro-EU campaign, with supporters also noting that he failed to unite the party throughout the build-up to the vote. However, I believe this is hardly fair to Corbyn. Even before the main thrust of Labour’s Remain campaign began, MPs in his party were already trying to oust him from the leadership position.

It is therefore unsurprising that Corbyn showed a less than enthusiastic attitude as he travelled the UK vying to persuade the electorate that remaining in the EU was the best option. It would be difficult for any politician to both hold their position as leader of a party whilst also trying to unite it around one idea — especially when it concerns one of the most important decisions the electorate has ever made.

So while Corbyn may appear to be on the ropes, I maintain that he should be given credit for not succumbing to resignation pressures and, unlike Cameron, staying aboard to try and steer his ship into calmer waters.

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EU Referendum Jeremy Corbyn Labour