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Angela Eagle Challenges Corbyn For Leadership Of UK Labour Party

The stage is now set for a heated fight for control of Britain's opposition party.
William James and Estelle Shirbon
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Britain's former Labour Party Business policy chief Angela Eagle will challenge Jeremy Corbyn for leadership of the UK Labour Party.
Neil Hall/Reuters

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - British opposition Labour lawmaker Angela Eagle launched her bid to take over the leadership of the party on Monday, saying current leader Jeremy Corbyn was not up to the task of defeating the ruling Conservatives.

The challenge marks the latest in a struggle for control of Britain’s second-largest political party triggered by the June 23 vote to leave the European Union - which many in Labour have blamed on Corbyn, saying he didn’t campaign hard enough.

The outcome of the leadership contest, seen as a battle between the party’s hard left and more moderate factions, will define Labour’s voice in the negotiations to set the terms of Britain’s EU exit.

“Today I am announcing my decision to stand for the leadership of the Labour Party,” said Eagle. “I am a practical socialist driven by a strong set of values who wants to get things done.”

The party’s general secretary later confirmed the leadership contest had officially been triggered and said the timetable would be set out after a meeting of Labour’s national executive committee.

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Current leader Jeremy Corbyn has clashed with his party's lawmakers who overwhelmingly passed a no-confidence motion in his leadership.
Peter Nicholls/Reuters

The contest, in which Corbyn has said he will stand again, comes amid calls for a fresh national election as the Conservatives prepare to appoint a successor to Prime Minister David Cameron.

“We alone can hold this right wing Tory (Conservative) government to account and then replace it by winning a general election,” Eagle said. “Jeremy Corbyn is unable to provide the leadership this huge task needs.”

Corbyn was chosen as Labour leader last year on a wave of support from the party’s most left-wing activists. But he has clashed with its lawmakers who overwhelmingly passed a no-confidence motion in his leadership.

Corbyn’s support among the party’s ordinary members, who will elect the party’s next leader, remains strong, leading some lawmakers and commentators to speculate the leadership contest may split the party.

(Additional reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Karin Strohecker,; editing by Stephen Addison)

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Before You Go

Brexit Wins
(01 of11)
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The 'out' exit sign directs media and guests away from the announcement of the final voting results of the EU referendum at Manchester Town Hall on June 24, 2016 in Manchester, England. The result from the historic EU referendum has now been declared and the United Kingdom has voted to LEAVE the European Union. (credit:Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
(02 of11)
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British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks to the press in front of 10 Downing street in central London on June 24, 2016. Cameron announced Friday he will resign after Britons voted to leave the European Union despite his campaign to keep it in the bloc. (credit:ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images)
(03 of11)
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Nigel Farage leaves Milbank TV studios after the UK has voted by 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the European Union after 43 years in an historic referendum, in London, United Kingdom on June 24, 2016. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(04 of11)
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A photo taken on June 24, 2016, shows an amalgamation of the French and United Kingdom flag flying from a flagpole on the top of the castle of Hardelot, the cultural center of the Entente Cordiale (the colonial-era promise of cross-channel friendship between Britain and France) in Neufchatel-Hardelot, northern France. Britain has voted to break out of the European Union, striking a thunderous blow against the bloc and spreading panic through world markets on June 24, 2016 as sterling collapsed to a 31-year low. (credit:PHILIPPE HUGUEN/Getty Images)
(05 of11)
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An arrangement of newspapers pictured in London on June 24, 2016, shows the front page of the London Evening Standard reporting the resignation of British Prime Minister David Cameron following the result of the U.K.'s vote to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum. Cameron is pictured holding hands with his wife Samantha as they come out from 10 Downing Street. Britain voted to break away from the European Union on June 24, dealing a thunderous blow to the 60-year-old bloc that sent world markets plunging. (credit:DANIEL SORABJI/Getty Images)
(06 of11)
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Trader sit at his desk under the day's performance board that shows a dive in the value of the DAX index of companies at the Frankfurt Stock exchange the day after a majority of the British public voted for leaving the European Union on June 24, 2016 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Many prominent corporate CEOs and leading economists have warned that a Brexit would have strongly negative consequences for the British economy and repercussions across Europe as well. (credit:Thomas Lohnes via Getty Images)
(07 of11)
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A poster featuring a Brexit vote ballot with 'out' tagged is on display at a book shop window in Berlin on June 24, 2016. Britain has voted to break out of the European Union, striking a thunderous blow against the bloc and spreading panic through world markets on June 24 as sterling collapsed to a 31-year low. (credit:JOHN MACDOUGALL/Getty Images)
(08 of11)
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A currency trader rubs his eyes at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 24, 2016. Asian stock markets were volatile on Friday with Tokyo stocks and U.S. futures plunging as early vote results on whether Britain should stay in the European Union showed a tight race. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(09 of11)
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A European Union flag, with a hole cut in the middle, flies at half-mast outside a home in Knutsford Cheshire after today's historic referendum on June 24, 2016 in Knutsford, United Kingdom. The results from the historic EU referendum have now been declared and the United Kingdom has voted to LEAVE the European Union. (credit:Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
(10 of11)
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A British flag which was washed away by heavy rains the day before lies on the street in London, Britain, June 24, 2016 after Britain voted to leave the European Union. (credit:Reinhard Krause/Reuters)
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A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on Friday, June 24, 2016. U.S. stocks tumbled, joining a worldwide selloff with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 375 points, as the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union fanned speculation that a divided Europe would put another brake on already fragile global growth. (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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