Liverpool union boss says Jeremy Corbyn is victim of ‘political lynching’

Conway, however, said Corbyn is not a leader capable of leading Labour Party towards victory and that is what frightens his colleagues “because they can’t see much of their active political career being spent in the wilderness of the opposition benches”.

Lord Kinnock said: “With huge sadness, I’d say that Jeremy simply hasn’t got the credibility to bring effective influence to bear on these proceedings which are fundamental to the interest of the United Kingdom and everybody in it”.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said: “The comments by the Leader of the Labour Party, however they were intended, are themselves offensive, and rather than rebuilding trust among the Jewish community, are likely to cause even greater concern”.

The former Labour leader, who faced a challenge from Tony Benn in 1988 while in the top job, added that the party’s constitution requires the leader to have a “substantial amount of backing” from his or her MPs.

One politician close to Corbyn told the Guardian it is “50-50” whether Corbyn would win again, but said that if he did then one option could be a collective leadership with a “kitchen cabinet” representing different wings of the party.

Writing in the Daily Mirror, Corbyn insisted that he could unite the party and offer a winning alternative to the Conservatives at the next general election.

They added: “Angela is ready to go and we are expecting the meeting of the parliamentary party on Monday to be bigger than last week with more people calling for Jeremy to step down”.

Lord Prescott – who said he did not vote for Mr Corbyn – argued that while the Labour leader had to improve, MPs also had to recognise “the course the party is on” and come together to “avoid a civil war”.

Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock also backed attempts to remove Mr Corbyn, saying MPs were “fundamentally alarmed” by the party’s prospects.

“Jeremy Corbyn has shown incredible steel in staying there and not falling, and staying there on behalf of the principle of democracy in the party”.

Mr Corbyn’s team said it had a “duty of care” to the leader and highlighted his age, according to the Observer.

Angela Eagle, who is tipped as a potential challenger to Mr Corbyn, renewed her call for him to do the “right thing for the party and the country”.

But People’s Momentum, the hard-Left grassroots movement which strongly backs Corbyn, has recruited numerous 60,000 new members who have flocked to join the party in the last week.

However, Corbyn maintained that he has no plans to step down.

Labour former deputy prime minister John Prescott said he hopes there is no leadership contest but said Mr Corbyn would need to receive enough nominations to secure his place on the ballot paper if one takes place.

The shadow foreign secretary warned: “The future of the country is at stake here”.