Labour frontbenchers resign as Corbyn becomes leader

At least five Labour frontbenchers, including four shadow cabinet ministers, have confirmed publicly that they will not be continuing in their role following Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader. More are expected to follow.

LabourList understands that Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall, Tristram Hunt, Emma Reynolds and Rachel Reeves have all confirmed they will be stepping down from their roles in the shadow cabinet.

During Corbyn’s acceptance speech, junior shadow health minister Jamie Reed tweeted his resignation statement. In it, he states his opposition to Corbyn’s nuclear policy as a reason for the resignation. You can read the full letter here.

Resignations from Hunt and Reeves followed, while Reynolds also made her statement via Twitter. While Cooper had earlier said that she did “not expect” to serve on the top table, it seems that both she and fellow defeated leadership candidate Liz Kendall have clarified that will not take roles. Rumours suggest Chuka Umunna has followed suit, but there has been no confirmation.

UPDATE: Umunna has confirmed he will not be stepping down, and expects to lead from the frontbench on Monday against the government’s anti-trade union bill unless a new Shadow Business Secretary is in place by then. Sources say he is not expecting to be offered a role. Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Ivan Lewis has made a similar statement, prioritising the current political crisis at Stormont.

Ed Miliband made a statement outside his home in North London, where he said he had spoken to Corbyn on Thursday and made clear to him then that he intends to carry on serving the party from the backbenches. There had been rumours that the former leader might accept a role as Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary.

Chris Leslie has previously said he would resign from his role as Shadow Chancellor if Corbyn became leader, but has made no statement today as of yet. The Telegraph last night reported that Mary Creagh, Lucy Powell, Vernon Coaker, Michael Dugher and Shabana Mahmood would all choose to stand down.