Owen Smith: Corbyn ready to let Labour split

Owen Smith has accused Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell of being prepared to allow the Labour Party to split in the current dispute over the leadership.

Smith, who resigned as Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary last month, said that when he had raised the possibility of a rupture in a private meeting, McDonnell had shrugged and replied: “If that’s what it takes.”

Both Corbyn and McDonnell have today denied the accusation, with the Shadow Chancellor describing the story as “complete rubbish”.

Smith says that he asked Corbyn several times if he was “prepared to see our party split” and the Labour leader did not answer. Following the meeting, Smith resigned from his post in the Shadow Cabinet.

But speaking on Marr this morning, Corbyn denied the claims, saying he had “no idea why Owen should say such a thing”.

Following the public denial from Corbyn, Smith restated his version of events on Twitter, writing:

https://twitter.com/OwenSmith_MP/status/752065480836382720

He followed up by claiming that McDonnell had “shrugged his shoulders” at the suggestion:

However, McDonnell described the story as “complete rubbish”, and suggested that other Labour MPs were pushing for a split.

Despite this clash, Smith maintains that he hopes to meet with Corbyn again on Monday to try and resolve the crisis. “I am not prepared to stand by and see our party split. And I have asked to meet with Jeremy again tomorrow to see how we can stop that”, he tweeted.

This has done little to dispel rumours that Smith his preparing his own leadership bid, despite Angela Eagle announcing her intention to challenge Corbyn. This indicates a growing belief that Corbyn could be kept off the ballot when a leadership contest is triggered, and the election could feature a wider field of candidates.