A total of 422,000 of the 550,000 Labour members took part in the vote, with Corbyn taking more than 251,000

Friends of Chuka Umunna said he was 'unlikely' to remain on the frontbench but appeared to be waiting to be sacked instead of formally resigning

Rachel Reeves, Jamie Reed and Emma Reynolds also refuse to serve under radical new leader

Leadership rival Yvette Cooper confirms she will not serve under Corbyn, followed by Tristram Hunt and Liz Kendall


Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader was today branded a 'f***ing disaster' by senior members of his own party.

Modernisers who hoped to find a candidate who can take on the Tories are utterly dismayed at being led by the Marxist throwback who opposes austerity, the monarchy and Britain's membership.

Within minutes of his victory being announced, senior MPs started resigning from the shadow cabinet saying they could not serve under him as some warned he would not survive a year in the role.

Members of the shadow cabinet who resigned from the frontbench this today include Yvetter Cooper, Liz Kendall, Jamie Reed, Rachel Reeves, Emma Reynolds, Tristram Hunt and Chris Leslie.

Friends of Chuka Umunna said he was 'unlikely' to remain on the frontbench but appeared to be waiting to be sacked instead of formally resigning.

Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader was today branded a 'f***ing disaster' by senior members of his own party, despite winning with 59.5 per cent of the vote

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper (left), shadow public health minister Liz Kendall (second right) and the shadow chancellor Chris Leslie (right) all quit the frontbench, refusing to serve under Mr Corbyn. Friends of shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna (second left), said he was 'unlikely' to remain on the frontbench but appeared to be waiting to be sacked instead of formally resigning

Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves, shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt, shadow communities secretary Emma Reynolds and shadow health minister Jamie Reed also resigned

In his acceptance speech Mr Corbyn declared that Labour's election fightback is gathering speed as he stormed to victory in the Labour leadership contest, winning almost 60 per cent of the vote in the first round. But one senior Labour MP told MailOnline: 'It's a f***ing disaster.'

Another MP said it was 'absolutely disastrous' for the party. He said Mr Corbyn would be 'vicious' and move to deselect rebel MPs by flooding the party with the new supporters.

I will give him 12 months. I can't see him lasting any longer than that Former Labour frontbencher

A senior backbench MP said: 'I will give him 12 months. I can't see him lasting any longer than that.'

In the most extraordinary result in modern political history, the 66-year-old Marxist throwback who has never run anything in his life will now take charge of the party of Keir Hardie, Clement Atlee and Tony Blair.

There were cheers at the QEII Conference Centre in central London as it was confirmed that the unassuming Islington MP had defied all expectations – including his own – to become leader of Her Majesty's Official Opposition.

After thanking the unions, attacking the media, and accusing the Conservatives of 'social cleansing', Mr Corbyn declared: 'The fightback for our party now gathers speed and gathers pace.'

After the party was swamped by 360,000 new members, he stormed to victory in the first round easily beating better-known rivals Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall.

Supporters wept and punched the air, chanting 'Jez we did, Jez we did', as Mr Corbyn took to the stage to deliver a call for unity.

In an extraordinary result, Mr Corbyn won more votes than all of his rivals put together in the first round of the contest, removing the need to use the Alternative Vote system

FULL BREAKDOWN: JEREMY CORBYN WON EASILY IN EVERY CATEGORY OF LABOUR PARTY MEMBER Candidate Members Registered Supporters Affiliated Supporters Total % of Valid Vote Andy Burnham 55,698 6,160 18,604 80,462 19.00% Yvette Cooper 54,470 8,415 9,043 71,928 17.00% Jeremy Corbyn 121,751 88,449 41,217 251,417 59.50% Liz Kendall 13,601 2,574 2,682 18,857 4.50% TOTAL 245,520 105,598 71,546 422,664



Supporters wept and punched the air, chanting 'Jez we did, Jez we did', as Mr Corbyn took to the stage to deliver a call for unity

Delivering his victory speech, Jeremy Corbyn thanked the MPs who nominated him - many of whom did not want him to win - and the trade unions who backed his bid to lead Labour

But winning could be the easy part: While he was still addressing the leadership conference, the first resignations from the frontbench emerged.

Defeated leadership contender Yvette Cooper immediately announced that she would quit as shadow home secretary and return to the backbenches. Shadow public health minister Liz Kendall, who secured just 4.5 per cent of the vote in the contest, is also expected to quit.

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt and shadow health minister Jamie Reed were also quick to confirm they would refuse to play any part in the new leadership team.

Mr Hunt said: 'It is important to be honest about it - I have substantial political differences with Jeremy'.

Asked if he thought Mr Corbyn would find sufficient numbers of MPs willing to be part of his front bench, he said: 'That's for his team to discover. I imagine they are working on that.'

Mr Reed - whose Copeland constituency includes the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing site - condemned Mr Corbyn's anti-nuclear policies as 'poorly informed and fundamentally wrong'.

It is important to be honest about it - I have substantial political differences with Jeremy Tristram Hunt quits as frontbencher

And Mr Reed warned: 'No amount of well-meaning protest will protect the NHS, drive up standards, recruit more medical professionals or improve the accessibility of world-class healthcare to the British people. Only an elected Labour government will do this.'

Lord Soley, a former chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, said he feared victory for Mr Corbyn 'may have handed the next election to the Tory party'.

Comparing the choice of leader to that of Iain Duncan Smith taking charge of the Conservatives in 2001, Lord Soley added: 'They very quickly got rid of IDS. I do not see that happening as quickly with Labour.'

But Labour's former London mayor Ken Livingstone played down the significance of opposition to Mr Corbyn in the parliamentary party, saying: 'Some will object a bit but the moment Jeremy starts to do well in the polls, those doubts will go.

'These are people who want to be in the next Labour government and they will not do anything to undermine Jeremy if they think he is going to be prime minister.'

Asked about the refusal of figures like Ms Reeves and Mr Hunt to serve under Mr Corbyn, Mr Livingstone said: 'The vast majority of the public don't have a clue who they are. This is now down to Jeremy's ability to connect.'

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband gave Mr Corbyn his support but warned he must 'reach out' to every part of the party.

He said: 'I offer Jeremy Corbyn my support in what is a very difficult and demanding job and I hope that people across the party will do the same.

'At the same time, I hope and expect that Jeremy will do everything he can to reach out and use the talents of people right across the party in the task of taking on the Tories and facing up to the very big challenges that we face.'

In an extraordinary result, Mr Corbyn won more votes than all of his rivals put together in the first round of the contest

CORBYN'S IN-TRAY: THE KEY DATES Labour's new leader Jeremy Corbyn faces a baptism of fire over the next few weeks. Key dates in the diary already include: Sunday morning: TV interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr

Monday: House of Commons vote on government's Trade Union bill, cracking down on strike laws

Monday: Trade union barons gather at the TUC conference in Brighton

Monday evening: First private meeting of Labour MPs

Wednesday: First Prime Minister's Questions

Tuesday September 29: Labour party conference leadership speech

October: Expected vote on military action against ISIS in Syria Advertisement

Mr Corbyn only scraped on to the ballot paper after gaining the nominations of Labour MPs who did not want him to win and was installed with odds of 200/1.

Andy Burnham, the northern shadow health secretary who had shifted to the left, was seen as the frontrunner while Ms Cooper presented the strongest threat from the centre.

After strong Blairite candidates including Chuka Umunna and Tristram Hunt pulled out of the race, it was left to Liz Kendall to fly the flag for moderates in the party – with little success.

Now many of those same modernisers are vowing to quit the frontbench if Mr Corbyn refuses to moderate his extreme policies.

Defeated leadership contender Yvette Cooper immediately announced that she would quit as shadow home secretary and return to the backbenches.

Shadow public health minister Liz Kendall, who secured just 4.5 per cent of the vote in the contest, is also expected to quit.

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt and shadow health minister Jamie Reed were also quick to confirm they would refuse to play any part in the new leadership team.

Mr Hunt said: 'It is important to be honest about it - I have substantial political differences with Jeremy'.

Asked if he thought Mr Corbyn would find sufficient numbers of MPs willing to be part of his front bench, he said: 'That's for his team to discover. I imagine they are working on that.'

Mr Reed - whose Copeland constituency includes the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing site - condemned Mr Corbyn's anti-nuclear policies as 'poorly informed and fundamentally wrong'.

And Mr Reed warned: 'No amount of well-meaning protest will protect the NHS, drive up standards, recruit more medical professionals or improve the accessibility of world-class healthcare to the British people. Only an elected Labour government will do this.'

Emma Reynolds, who has been an outspoken critic of Mr Corbyn's wavering support for the EU, quit as shadow communities secretary. Writing on Twitter she said: 'Congratulations to Jeremy - he needs to space to build his own team. I will serve our party and my constituents from backbenches.'

Others expected to refuse to serve in his team are current shadow chancellor Chris Leslie, shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker, shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Shabana Mahmood, shadow international development secretary Mary Creagh and shadow Cabinet Office minister Lucy Powell.

During the campaign, Ms Cooper and Ms Kendall both refused to work with Mr Corbyn team, while Mr Burnham insisted the party should always come first and was prepare to work with anyone.

However, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna - a senior centrist who withdrew from the contest after a matter of days - issued a plea for the party to 'come together' behind its new leader.

After the party was swamped by 360,000 new members, Mr Corbyn stormed to victory in the first round easily beating better-known rivals Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall

MILIBAND TELLS CORBYN TO 'REACH OUT' TO HIS CRITICS Former Labour leader Ed Miliband gave Mr Corbyn his backing Former Labour leader Ed Miliband gave Mr Corbyn his support but warned he must 'reach out' to every part of the party. He said: 'I offer Jeremy Corbyn my support in what is a very difficult and demanding job and I hope that people across the party will do the same. 'At the same time, I hope and expect that Jeremy will do everything he can to reach out and use the talents of people right across the party in the task of taking on the Tories and facing up to the very big challenges that we face.' Advertisement

In a post on Facebook, Mr Umunna said: 'Now the contest is over, we must respect the result, come together and focus on providing the most credible and effective opposition to the Tories.'

Mr Corbyn is expected to promote Angela Eagle and Owen Smith to more high profile roles, and his close friend and leftwing firebrand John McDonnell is in line for a top job.

His election was welcomed by trade unions who were early backers of Mr Corbyn.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the UK's biggest union Unite, said: 'Voters can now look at Labour and see, unquestionably, that it stands for fairness, justice, peace and strong communities. It is the party of hope, ready to take on a Government hell-bent on making life worse for ordinary people.

'The task now for all of us who support Labour is to back the leadership team, to unite, to turn to face the Tories and hold them to account. It is what the voters expect, it is the way back to power and it is the duty of those at all levels of the party to deliver.'

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'We warmly congratulate Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson on their respective victories. We look forward to working with them, with the unsuccessful candidates, and with the whole Labour party to try and win a better deal for people at work.

'Now the Labour party has elected its new leadership team, it's time for it to get on with the job of opposition - starting on Monday, with the second reading of the government's Trade Union Bill, which threatens the right to strike.'

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: 'Labour are now a serious risk to our nation's security, our economy's security and your family's security.

'Whether it's weakening our defences, raising taxes on jobs and earnings, racking up more debt and welfare or driving up the cost of living by printing money – Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party will hurt working people.

'This is a very serious moment for our country – the Conservatives will continue to deliver stability, security and opportunity for working people.'

Natalie Bennett, Green Party leader, said: 'The selection of Jeremy Corbyn, combined with the remarkable Green surge of the past year, and the SNP's success at the General Election, shows how many people support an alternative to austerity economics, to the head-in-the-sand approach to our environmental crisis and to tired, business-as-usual politics.