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Jess Phillips has revealed she could resign as a Labour MP if Jeremy Corbyn is re-elected as the party’s leader.

The Birmingham Yardley MP told Channel 4 News she might sit as an independent MP instead.

But she insisted she would not join any rival party.

Ms Phillips was speaking after it became clear Mr Corbyn would face a challenge for the Labour leadership from Owen Smith, the former Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary.

She is one of a number of Birmingham Labour MPs who believe Mr Corbyn must be replaced as leader.

Asked by Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman if she could continue as an MP under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, she said: “I think I would find it incredibly difficult to be honest.”

She insisted she would not “cross the floor” to join a rival party in the House of Commons.

But asked if she would sit as an independent, she said: “I think I’m going to wait and see what happens.

“He has crossed a couple of red lines for me and I will find it very difficult to fall in line with a further Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party.”

In theory, Ms Phillips could leave the Labour group in the House of Commons and sit as an independent while remaining a member of the national Labour Party. This is what former Birmingham Ladywood MP Clare Short did in 2006, following a series of rows with the party leadership at the time.

Ms Phillips went on to tell Channel 4 News that she was “disappointed” Labour MPs had backed Mr Smith to challenge Mr Corbyn, rather than a woman such as former Shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle.

Jeremy Corbyn faces challenge from Owen Smith in Labour leadership contest

(Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

The Labour leader is facing a challenge from former shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith in an all-male contest, after Angela Eagle withdrew her candidacy on Tuesday.

Ms Eagle has offered her support to Mr Smith, who says he will make her his “right-hand woman” if he wins the postal vote of Labour members and affiliated and registered supporters, which ends on September 24.

There were signs that Corbyn’s campaign may seek to target Mr Smith’s past as a lobbyist for US drug company Pfizer, when he was quoted as speaking out in favour of choice in healthcare.

The Times quoted an unnamed “senior Corbyn ally” as saying: “Bring on the Blair-lite candidate. Our members won’t be fooled by a TV-savvy turncoat who lobbied big pharma and Tony Blair.”

In a statement on the Labour website, Mr Corbyn acknowledged the party was “divided”, but added: “We need to use this contest to bring people together around strong policies to turn our fire onto the Tory government.”

He said he would fight for “an economy that delivers for everyone, in every part of the country” and urged those involved in the campaign to avoid personal abuse or threatening behaviour and ensure it was a “comradely debate”.

Pontypridd MP Mr Smith, who secured the nominations of 88 of Labour’s 230 MPs as well as two MEPs to win his place on the ballot paper, said he would “unite Labour with a radical vision for the future of our party and Britain, backed up by a credible plan to deliver”.

West Midlands Labour MPs back Owen Smith

John Spellar, Labour MP for Warley, said he would be backing Mr Smith. He said: “I will definitely be backing him. We have got to get back to being not just an effective opposition but also offering an effective alternative government.

“I look forward to the contest. Great waves of people across the country, including many who voted for Jeremy the first time, believe we have got to have a party that’s more in touch with our voters but also is just run properly.”

Jack Dromey, Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington, said Mr Smith was a Labour MP in the tradition of Aneurin Bevan, who helped create the NHS.

He said: “I have worked closely with Owen and seen first hand how he would make an outstanding leader of the Labour Party.

“He is in the best Bevanite tradition of the left, progressive, creative and rooted in his community. He and Angela will make a great team.”

Steve McCabe , Labour MP for Selly Oak, said: “What we need is somebody to rescue the Labour Party and Owen is equipped to do that. Anybody wants a change from the course we currently on needs to back him now.”

Stars call for Corbyn to go

The Saving Labour campaign urged those opposed to Mr Corbyn’s leadership to sign up as registered supporters, saying: “Britain and Labour needs new, strong leadership for the months ahead.”

Harry Potter author JK Rowling backed the campaign, saying it was “for those who feel we need a decent opposition”, while Emmerdale actor Nick Miles said: “It’s time for Corbyn to resign for the good of our country.”