Labour deputy leader Tom Watson will hold talks with trade union chiefs in an attempt to end the impasse over Jeremy Corbyn’s position, but has been unable to secure a crisis meeting.
The position of the unions could prove crucial in determining the future of the party, and Mr Watson told MPs that talks with them would be the “last throw of the dice” in efforts to persuade embattled leader Mr Corbyn to stand down.
Mr Watson and influential MP John Cryer, the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, had hoped for a meeting with union leaders to break the deadlock over Mr Corbyn’s position.
But union sources denied suggestions there is going to be a meeting with Mr Watson today.
Some officials are on holiday, making it more difficult for any joint talks to be held.
Unite has been leading calls for unity and its leader Len McCluskey said at the weekend that unions could act as “honest brokers” in the Labour leadership saga.
But few other leaders of the biggest unions affiliated to Labour have commented.
A source close to Mr Watson said “logistics” in arranging a meeting were “proving tough”, but the deputy leader was expected to have face-to-face talks with Unite and conversations with other union chiefs during the day.
At a one-to-one meeting at Westminster on Monday, Mr Watson told Mr Corbyn he could not carry on as party leader without the backing of the party’s MPs who last week voted overwhelmingly in favour of a vote of no confidence in him.
However, he told a packed meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday night that Mr Corbyn had again made it clear that he had no intention of walking away, issuing a renewed appeal to supporters to unite behind his leadership.
In the wake of the failure of this latest attempt to break the deadlock, Labour sources said that union leaders had “reached out” to Mr Watson to see if they could find a negotiated settlement.
“It is the last throw of the dice,” the deputy leader told MPs.
Separately, Mr Watson met former shadow business secretary Angela Eagle and ex-shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith, who are both considering a challenge to Mr Corbyn if he continues to resist calls to go.
Both were said to have agreed to hold back while there was still a chance of a negotiated settlement which would see Mr Corbyn finally walk away.
“They accept that is the right thing to do while there is a chance of some kind of deal,” one source said.
“Tom said he is aware the window is closing very rapidly. The Parliamentary Labour Party have made their views very clear. I don’t think they will regard any settlement that sees Jeremy remain in place as being acceptable.”
In a video posted on the internet, Mr Corbyn insisted he was carrying on with the responsibility given to him when elected leader by an overwhelming majority of grassroots members, and called for the party to “come together”.
He brushed away claims he only half-heartedly campaigned for EU membership in the referendum and so contributed to the vote for Brexit – which triggered the current crisis – pointing out that two thirds of Labour voters backed Remain.
He said the membership “wants and expects” everyone in the party – including MPs – “to work together in their interests”.
