EU referendum: Jeremy Corbyn vows to fight for leadership and reshape cabinet

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he will stand in any new leadership election following the resignations of a string of shadow cabinet colleagues.

Shadow Commons leader Chris Bryant was the latest person to resign in protest at Mr Corbyn's leadership over the EU referendum - and more are expected.

Mr Corbyn said he regretted those resignations and would reveal a reshaped cabinet on Monday.

Later, Labour MPs are due to discuss a no confidence motion against Mr Corbyn.

The motion was submitted by Labour MPs Dame Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey, and a secret ballot could be held on Tuesday.

'Exit plan'

Mr Corbyn warned: "Those who want to change Labour's leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate."

He also said he had been elected as leader with "an overwhelming mandate for a different kind of politics".

"I am not going to betray the trust of those who voted for me - or the millions of supporters across the country who need Labour to represent them," he added.

"Neither wing of the Tory government has an exit plan. Labour will now ensure that our reform agenda is at the heart of the negotiations that lie ahead.

"One clear message from last Thursday's vote is that millions of people feel shut out of a political and economic system that has let them down and scarred our country with grotesque levels of inequality."

The mass resignations were triggered by the sacking of shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, in the early hours of Sunday, after he told Mr Corbyn he had lost confidence in him.

In a parting shot, Mr Bryant warned Mr Corbyn that he was in danger of going down in history as "the man who broke the Labour Party".

And prominent backbench MP Stephen Kinnock insisted Mr Corbyn would cost the party 60 seats at a possible snap autumn general election.

"I think there's a real risk that if we go into a general election before the end of this year with Jeremy as our leader we will lose somewhere between 30 and 60 trusted and valued colleagues," he told BBC Radio Four's The Westminster Hour.

But shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow cabinet members Andy Burnham, Diane Abbott and Emily Thornberry have given Mr Corbyn their support despite the resignations.

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson has said he is "deeply disappointed" that Mr Benn had been sacked and "equally saddened" by the shadow cabinet resignations.

He said his focus was to "hold the Labour Party together in very turbulent times" and that he would meet Mr Corbyn on Monday to discuss the "way forward".

Secret ballot

The series of shadow cabinet walkouts began on Sunday morning, hours after Mr Benn was sacked by the Labour leader.

'Not a leader'

Meanwhile, a number of senior trade unionists on Labour's ruling national executive committee rallied in support of Mr Corbyn - including Unite leader Len McCluskey and Dave Ward of the Communication Workers Union.

And about 180,000 people have signed an online petition backing the Labour leader, who was elected last September in a landslide victory.

Speaking on Sunday's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Benn - who has ruled out any Labour leadership bid - said Mr Corbyn was "a good and decent man but he is not a leader".

"At this absolutely critical time for our country following the EU referendum result, the Labour Party needs strong and effective leadership to hold the government to account."

Could the Scottish Parliament stop the UK from leaving the EU?

Brian Taylor Political editor, Scotland

To recap. The Prime Minister has resigned. The leader of the opposition is resisting pressure from senior colleagues to follow suit.

And, lest we forget in this temporary focus upon party leadership, the people of the United Kingdom have voted to leave the European Union after 43 years of membership.

In these unprecedented circumstances, it is understandable that there is a degree of uncertainty in the immediate response to events.

That disquiet includes Scotland where the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is seeking to draft a distinct reaction within the distinctive Scottish body politic.

She has said that the people of Scotland have voted, clearly, to continue in membership of the European Union, with its attendant rights and responsibilities. It is her duty, she argues, to attempt to carry out that popular instruction.

First things first. Is there such a mandate? Ms Sturgeon says yes. She says Scotland is a nation - although not presently a state. She is the elected political leader of that nation, constrained by that office to follow the wishes of her voters.

How would you expect her, as a Nationalist, to say anything else?

It is the fundamental creed of her cause that Scotland is distinct and merits distinctive treatment, within the limits of shared sovereignty and co-operation which characterise the modern SNP.

Others of a Unionist persuasion say no. The Scottish Secretary, David Mundell, for example says that Scotland remained within the Union via the referendum of September 2014 - and that Scotland, consequently, is bound by UK collective decisions such as the vote on Thursday.

Nigel Farage and David Coburn of UKIP put it more bluntly, in their customary fashion. They dismiss utterly Ms Sturgeon's elemental pitch.

What can Nicola Sturgeon do?

It was notable, however, that David Cameron stressed the involvement of the Scottish government and other devolved administrations in the EU negotiations to come.

Boris Johnson, he who agitated for Leave, seemed almost plaintive when he said there was no reason why Brexit should cause any disturbance in the domestic Union.

These, however, are differences of tone. Although such things matter, no Unionist will readily accept that Scotland should do anything other than submit to the declared will of the UK, as expressed in the vote on Thursday. That is, unless and until Scotland is an independent state.

So what can Nicola Sturgeon do? She has said she will examine all options in consort with the European institutions and others to seek to secure continuing links with the EU for Scotland.

One of those options would be a second independence referendum - in order to allow Scotland to join/rejoin the EU in her own right, as a sovereign state.

But what about those other options? In particular, what about the suggestion that Ms Sturgeon might encourage the Scottish Parliament to seek to exercise a veto over the implementation of Brexit?

Does it mean Holyrood has a veto over Brexit?

This scenario is based upon an interpretation of the Scotland Act 1998, the statute which created (or, rather, recreated) the Scottish Parliament.

Clause 29 of that Act, anent legislative competence, empowers the Scottish Parliament to legislate in the devolved areas for which it is responsible - while obliging it to take care that nothing it does is "incompatible" with EU law.

In short, EU law has force in Scotland and, in devolved areas, is enacted and implemented by the Scottish Parliament, not Westminster.

That has led constitutional experts, such as Sir David Edward to suggest that the consent of the Scottish Parliament would be required were it to be suggested that the UK's relationship with the EU, in legislation and other areas, might be altered.

Sir David made this point in evidence to a House of Lords inquiry. Their Lordships report cited Sir David as envisaging that there might be "certain political advantages" to be drawn from withholding consent.

Which is true. It is further true that it is an established Convention (formerly known as the Sewel Convention) that the Westminster Parliament should not interfere in devolved areas without the consent of Holyrood. Such agreement is customarily given via a legislative consent motion, LCM, at Holyrood.

So does that mean Holyrood has a veto over Brexit? Up to a point, Lord Copper. Firstly, one should understand that relations with the EU have a long and complex history, in the context of the demands for self-government.