THE coup by Labour MPs against Jeremy Corbyn is doomed to failure, according to a senior Scottish academic.

Dr Neil McGarvey, of the School of Government at Strathclyde University, Glasgow, said it was triggered “in panic” at the prospect of an autumn election following June’s Brexit vote and will not be successful.

He gave his assessment as MPs were being balloted to select either Angela Eagle, the former shadow business secretary, or Owen Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, to stand against Corbyn in a new leadership contest. Eagle stood aside yesterday afternoon and threw her support behind Smith.

Corbyn was plunged into the contest after losing a confidence vote among Labour MPs by 172 votes to 40, followed by dozens of resignations from his frontbench team.

“Never underestimate the degree to which politicians are motivated by self-interest,” McGarvey told The National.

“After the EU referendum Labour MPs calculated there would be a snap election and risked losing their seats. But with control of the party headquarters and with the continued support of the membership, Corbyn is very unlikely to lose.”

He added: “It’s very difficult to see where the rebels, the bulk of the parliamentary party, go next. I’m not sure what their strategy is. I thought it would be obvious to anyone that as soon as Corbyn got his name on the ballot paper, he was going to win.”

A report at the weekend suggested that more than 150 Labour MPs were plotting to form a breakaway party codenamed “Continuity Labour”, led potentially by Stephen Kinnock, the son of the former Labour leader Neil.

However, McGarvey warned that, faced by increasing support from Ukip in Labour English heartlands, fracturing the centre-left vote would allow neither a new left-wing party nor the current Labour party to gather sufficient electoral support to beat the Conservatives in a General Election.

“It’s hard to see what reconciliation there can be within the parliamentary Labour party now, as it’s really been all-out war. Europe and immigration are going to dominate politics for the next few years and if you look at the constituencies that supported the Leave vote down south, it’s the Labour constituencies that are more vulnerable to Ukip.”

“If you are a fan of Labour it is a very despondent time. There’s no scenario that looks like a win. Even in the very, very unlikely event that Corbyn loses the contest, Corbyn and his allies would, I think, take it as a licence for rebellion.”

McGarvey said that the MPs’ actions may have had a better chance of success had they waited until further into the parliamentary term and if more polling evidence emerged of an unlikely Labour win in the 2020 General Election.

The Mail on Sunday reported at the weekend that Stephen Kinnock had held secret talks with former LibDem leader Paddy Ashdown about “safeguarding the interests of our country”, though Lord Ashdown denied that the discussions included the formation of a new centre-ground party.

Kinnock denied he was considering a Labour breakaway. "Electoral reform and safeguarding the interests of our country are common purposes among people in all parties, and I am happy to be part of that," he said. “There can be no question of any split in the Labour Party. Its values and purpose are in my blood, and I am striving to ensure that we have a Leader who is a persuader, not just a protester."

Labour’s largest individual donor, John Mills, who has given more than £1.6 million to the party, told the paper: “I am aware of these sorts of discussions, but I am very reluctant to get involved ... splitting the party would be a disaster.”