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Two hours later, Gordon Brown’s former seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath fell to the SNP.

Across the Midlands and North of England, Labour’s “red wall” continued to crumble, with the Conservatives gaining working-class seats such as Great Grimsby, Don Valley and Blyth Valley, a former mining constituency that Labour had held since its creation in 1950.

Speaking at his count in Islington North as the latest forecasts predicted Labour losing 61 seats, Corbyn said: “I want to make it clear that I will not lead the party in any future general election campaign. I will discuss with our party to ensure there is a process now of reflection on this result and on the policies that the party will take going forward.

“And I will lead the party during that period to ensure that discussion takes place and we move on into the future.”

However, his chances of remaining in place looked to be fading fast last night, as dozens of MPs lined up to condemn his handling of the party and his failure to take a stance on Brexit.

They included Jess Phillips, the prominent backbench MP now touted as a “wild card” by senior Labour figures, who indicated that she could now run to replace him.

The MP for Birmingham Yardley, who is a longstanding critic of Corbyn, described the results as “totally devastating”, adding that if “people trust me then yes, I will take a role in rebuilding (Labour).

“What I do know is that if we just think this is just some personality contest at the top of the party, that that’s going to be the answer to rescue the single greatest vehicle for social change, then we will inevitably end up in a poor situation,” she told ITV.