As socialists within the Labour Party, we note…

- that, under first past the post, the Labour Party is the only alternative to Tory government

- that any split within the Labour movement would therefore cause enormous harm

- that Jeremy Corbyn has expanded party membership and reasserted core principles that should never have been abandoned

- that support for centre left parties across Europe has declined and that only parties standing on popular left wing platforms have bucked this trend

However, we also note that...

- ideas, principles and ensuring that progressive policies can be implemented are much more important than individual political careers

- Corbyn is not the only person capable of implementing his vision of a better society

- Corbyn’s consistently bad personal polling means that he hinders rather than helps Labour’s chances of returning to government (even if you exclude all Tory voters, more people think Theresa May would make a better Prime Minister than Corbyn)

- Corbyn does not have the skills or support base needed to rectify this situation, particularly given hostility from the media and from the parliamentary party

- critically, a majority of trade union members think Corbyn should stand down

- there are many talented MPs on the Labour left.

- under the existing transferable voting system, having another socialist MP on the ballot would not risk handing the party leadership to Owen Smith or Angela Eagle

We therefore call on...

- Jeremy Corbyn to consider stepping aside in favour of another left wing MP

- other left Labour MPs to consider putting themselves forward as candidates in the forthcoming leadership election - Clive Lewis, Lisa Nandy, Jon Cruddas, and many others, would all be excellent leaders of a truly socialist Labour Party