Jeremy Corbyn Announces He Will Resign As UK Labour Party Leader

Jeremy Corbyn has announced he will resign as Labour leader, as the party heads for a seismic defeat at the hands of Boris Johnson and the Conservatives.

Speaking in his constituency in Islington North in the early hours of Friday morning, Corbyn said he will “not lead the party in any future general election campaign”.

Corbyn said he would not be stepping down immediately following the “very disappointing” result but would lead a “process of reflection”.

“I’m very proud of the achievements of our party and the development of its manifesto and its ideas,” he said. “Those ideas and those principles are eternal and they will be there for all time.”

With Labour’s worst result since 1935 forecast, the party’s so-called red wall of seats crumbled.

The Tories took Blyth Valley, a Labour seat since 1950. Shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman became the first senior figure to be deposed when she lost Workington to the Tories on a 10% swing.

More Labour seats across the north of England, the Midlands and Wales followed suit, including Bishop Auckland, Wolverhampton North East, West Bromwich West, Stockton South, Darlington, Peterborough, Blackpool South, Wrexham and the Vale of Clwyd.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell sought to blame a public discourse in which “Brexit has dominated” and defended the left-wing policies adopted by him and Corbyn.

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