London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson stands down

Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson is stepping down from his role and will not run as an MP in the December election.

He says he will continue to campaign for the party, and the decision was "personal, not political".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn thanked Mr Watson for his service, adding: "This is not the end of our work together."

Mr Watson has often been at odds with the leadership and faced an attempt to oust him at Labour's conference.

As an ardent Remainer, Mr Watson was also at odds with his own constituency, which voted 66% in favour of Leave at the 2016 referendum.

In his letter to Mr Corbyn, the former MP for West Bromwich East thanked the leader "for the decency and courtesy you have shown me over the last four years, even in difficult times".

He added: "Our many shared interests are less well known than our political differences, but I will continue to devote myself to the things we often talk about" - including gambling regulation, stopping press intrusion and campaigns on public health.

He also said that after the election, he "won't be leaving politics altogether" - with plans to work on public health campaigns and release a book about his own struggle with type 2 diabetes.

He told the BBC that after 35 years in front-line politics, he wanted to "take a leap and do something new", but he said he would be out campaigning for the Labour Party to make sure a Labour government is elected.

"In politics you have got to know when to step away and for me this is a personal decision. There's lots I have got going on in the future. I just think I need a complete change after a long period of frontline politics and I am rather looking forward to it," he said.

Tom Watson and Jeremy Corbyn seem keen to part on good terms but their supporters were often at loggerheads.

Mr Watson was at the head of a group of around 100 moderate or centrist Labour MPs which called itself the Future Britain group.

Labour's deputy set the group up in March and it was widely assumed it was a means of keeping critics of Jeremy Corbyn inside the party following the inauguration of the ill-fated Independent Group of MPs.

It was more than a mutual support group - it also intended to develop social democratic policies rather than simply cede the agenda to the left.

But it has lost its well-known figurehead tonight and the question now is whether some of its members will follow Tom Watson out of Westminster, convinced that dragging Labour back to the pre-Corbyn era is a lost cause.

That answer may come in the election of Mr Watson's successor - or successors as Jeremy Corbyn apparently favours not two gender-balanced deputies.

A Blairite or Brownite candidate is unlikely to succeed.

But whether an MP on the soft left - beyond Mr Corbyn's circle - succeeds him, could determine whether the party remains a broad church.


In his reply, Mr Corbyn said: "Few people have given as much to the Labour movement as you have and I know that many thousands of members and trade unionists you have inspired and worked with over the years will be very sorry to see you go."


Mr Watson was elected deputy leader in 2015 on the same day that Mr Corbyn won his own ballot to run the party.

But the pair come from different political wings of Labour.

Mr Watson was a close ally of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and worked in the top team of previous party leader Ed Miliband.

But Mr Corbyn was on the backbenches during this period and further left on the political spectrum than his deputy.


Brexit battles


Since the pair have been running Labour, there have been a number of public disagreements, including most recently over the party's Brexit position.

While Mr Corbyn has refused to say how he would campaign in a further referendum - as promised by the leader if Labour wins the election - Mr Watson has called for the party to "unequivocally back Remain".

The day before the party's conference in September, there was also an attempt to kick Mr Watson out of his post by the chief of the left wing campaign group Momentum, Jon Lansman.

However, the motion Mr Lansman tabled at a meeting of the National Executive Committee was dropped after Mr Corbyn intervened.

In recent months, Mr Watson has also faced criticism for meeting Carl Beech, the paedophile fantasist who falsely accused VIPs of sexually abusing him.

He was accused of giving "oxygen" to Beech's claims, but Mr Watson said he met Beech to offer him reassurance on behalf of the police.

Daniel Janner, the son of the late MP Lord Janner who was falsely accused by Beech, said Mr Watson's position had become "untenable" and he "has stood down because he would have been defeated".

A number of former Labour MPs have paid tribute to Mr Watson.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said his "energy, passion for politics and commitment to campaigning - whether fighting against Tory austerity or for better regulation of the gambling industry - will be much missed".

Jess Phillips, who also represented a seat in the West Midlands before Parliament dissolved for the election, told the BBC: "It's so very, very sad. I feel genuinely sad.

"I think the Labour Party needs to fight the election hard and then do some serious work to make sure we are the best we can be."

The Jewish Labour Movement also called the decision "shocking and saddening", saying he had been a "strong ally in the fight against anti-Semitism in the Labour Party".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×