Jeremy Corbyn’s allies were “panicked” after getting wind of the secret plan to form a Government of national unity and quickly moved to strip Remainer Mr Watson of his authority. The start of the Labour Party conference in Brighton on Saturday was marred by Momentum boss Jon Lansman’s move to try to axe Mr Watson’s post.
According the the Mail on Sunday, Mr Watson had held talks with the Lib Dems and members of Boris Johnson’s party to devise a plan on what would happen if the Government collapsed amid the Brexit crisis.
He is said to have been up for taking on a top role or even leading a caretaker Government but his spokesman dismissed the claims as “utter nonsense”.
Mr Watson compared Momentum’s plot to something that might happen in socialist Venezuela – a dig at Mr Corbyn who has defended the leadership of the embattled dictator Nicolas Maduro.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Mr Corbyn’s support of the Venezuelan leader “disgusting”.
The Labour leader and Mr Watson have clashed on several issues including the party’s handling of its antisemitism crisis and Labour’s official line on Brexit, which has been unclear for many months.
Mr Watson has called for Labour to become unequivocally pro-Remain while suspected Brexiteer Mr Corbyn has given mixed messages on his EU views.
Shadow women and equalities minister Dawn Butler said the threat to Mr Watson’s position came as a surprise to her.
During an interview with LBC she was asked if the move might look like “division” in the Opposition party to members of the public.
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He said he wanted a woman to hold one of the roles to reflect the “diversity within our society”.
A Labour source told the Mail on Sunday: “This ridiculous, failed coup has wrecked the start of a conference where we should be preparing for an election – not staging a public civil war.”
Mr Watson is expected to use his speech at the conference to challenge Mr Corbyn on key issues.
The deputy leader was given a hero’s welcome in Brighton this weekend as Labour supporters gathered at the train station to cheer him on.
Divisions in the party deepened with the resignation of Mr Corbyn’s aide Andrew Fisher, who wrote Labour’s latest election manifesto.
Mr Fisher hit out at the “blizzard of lies and excuses” coming from the leader’s office but Mr Corbyn claimed his aide quit because he wanted more time with his family.
