UK's Labour leader Corbyn vows to stay on as party head

LONDON

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has made it clear to all his critics that he is here to stay as head of the party and will not step down following his alleged shortcomings in preventing the Brexit vote.

In remarks made during a speech in London Saturday, Corbyn said: "There are some people in the parliamentary Labour Party who would probably want somebody else being the leader of this party.

"They have made that abundantly clear in the past few days."

Asked whether he would run again if there was a leadership election within his party, he said: "Yes, I'm here, thank you."

The Labour leader faces a challenging next week following a motion of no-confidence filed by two senior MPs, Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey, from his party Friday.

The motion is expected to lead the discussions within the party Monday, before a secret ballot of MPs is held Tuesday.

The U.K.'s youngest Mayor Terence Smith, who is only 19, also joined Corbyn during his appearance Saturday.

Smith said there was a great age divide in the Brexit vote and young people in the U.K. felt they had been "ignored."

"We must stand together to make sure young people, wherever they live aren't left behind," the mayor of Goole said ahead of Corbyn's speech.

The referendum result has drawn a sharp line between the old and new generations in the country, creating unease among young voters, many of whom voted to stay in the EU.

Nearly three quarters of 18 to 24-year-olds voted to remain in the bloc, while majority of those aged over 45 and pensioners voted to leave in the referendum.

Britain held the EU referendum on Thursday to decide on the country’s future relationship with the EU.

The country voted by 52 percent as opposed to 48 percent to end its 43-year membership with the bloc.

Soon after the results became clear, Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation, saying the country needed a “strong leadership” to conduct its exit negotiations with the EU.