Tom Watson (left) tried to convince Jeremy Corbyn to quit | Rob Stothard/Getty Images Tom Watson will not challenge Jeremy Corbyn: report Labour deputy says there will be a leadership contest, but he won’t be in it.

The deputy leader of the U.K.'s Labour Party, Tom Watson, will not take on Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership of the party, the BBC reported Wednesday.

Watson did, however, say there would be a leadership contest, and Angela Eagle, the former shadow business secretary, is odds on to stand against the increasingly isolated Corbyn, who has refused to resign despite not having enough allies to form a shadow cabinet.

According to the BBC, Watson tried to convince Corbyn to quit in the wake of a vote by the Parliamentary Labour Party on Tuesday in which 172 MPs called on him to quit, with just 40 backing his leadership. However, Corbyn was unwilling to discuss his future with his deputy.

"I’m afraid Jeremy was not willing to discuss that with me. I’m assuming that he remains in office. That’s where the situation stands," he told the BBC.

"I just think he feels very strongly that he has that mandate from the members. He holds less weight on parliamentary politics, and that’s where he is. He’s obviously been told to stay by [shadow chancellor] John McDonnell and his team, and they’ve decided they’re going to tough this out. It looks like the Labour Party is heading for some kind of contested election."

Corbyn said after Tuesday's vote: “I was democratically elected leader of our party for a new kind of politics by 60 percent of Labour members and supporters, and I will not betray them by resigning."

At an extraordinary meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party Monday evening, MPs lined up to attack the Labour leader and demand his resignation, according to several MPs who were at the meeting.

In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron told Corbyn to resign as Labour leader, claiming it was not in the national interest for him to continue.

"For heaven's sake man, go," Cameron said.

Pressure increased on Corbyn in the wake of the Brexit vote last week. He backed Remain but was accused of offering half-hearted support for the cause.