Labour leadership: Wrekin Conservative MP Mark Pritchard not enjoying crisis

The Tory MP for The Wrekin said it would be "easy to rejoice" at the apparent splits in the party as members squabble over who should be Labour's next leader.

But he said he was not – because it was important for a democracy to have a "credible and believable opposition".

Mr Pritchard was speaking after it was revealed Jeremy Corbyn was likely to face a single challenger for the Labour leadership after his two rivals held talks about the best way to oust him.

Former shadow cabinet ministers Angela Eagle and Owen Smith are believed to have reached a "common understanding" about the best way to take on Mr Corbyn.

But a poll of party members suggested the current leader would still win, despite the resignations of scores of frontbenchers and an overwhelming vote of no confidence in his leadership from Labour MPs.

Mr Pritchard said: "As a Conservative MP it would be easy to rejoice at Labour's crisis – but I am not.

"Every democracy needs a credible and believable opposition."

Former shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn said Mr Corbyn's leadership could not continue – but added: "The Labour Party is not going to split.

"Let's be absolutely clear about this."

Despite his assertions, 53 per cent of Shropshire Star readers said they would vote for a new centre-left breakaway party to oppose the Tories, with 47 per cent against.

It comes after Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron suggested he would be open to forming a new centre-left party as Labour MPs grew increasingly frustrated in their attempts to remove Mr Corbyn.

Mr Farron said there was an opportunity to create a new party or alliance to oppose the Tories and when asked if he was open to creating a new such a movement, he said: "I think we write nothing off."

He claimed he has already had "off-camera" conversations on the issue with politicians from other parties during the EU referendum campaign, when tribal divisions were set aside as the centre-left broadly came together to unsuccessfully back Remain.

"The whole current scenario reminds us that the Labour and Tory parties in particular are completely and utterly false and uncomfortable coalitions," he said.

"You've got the far left and the soft left of the Labour Party, and in the Tory party you've got English nationalists versus pragmatists and even some liberals within the Tory party.

"In any other democracy in Europe those people wouldn't be in the same party as one another – and quite a few would be in the same party as us."

Mr Farron said progressive politicians "rather enjoyed" each other's company during the referendum campaign.

"There are loads of people out there who you realise in this most calamitous and febrile set of circumstances you share a lot more in common with them than the fact you want to be in the European Union. So realignment is a real, real possibility," he said.