The Tories also piled into the row as the Conservative party chairman, Grant Shapps, turned his fire onto the Labour Leader Ed Miliband. Mr Shapps, said: "This is a clear vote of no confidence in Ed Miliband's weak leadership from the man he brought in to run his campaign. But this still doesn't change the fact that Len McCluskey's Unite union is taking over the Labour Party. Ed Miliband is not in control of his Party. He's too weak to stand up to Len McCluskey, too weak to stand up for hardworking people and too weak to run the country."
Mr Shapps comments came before the Unite General Secretary, Len McCluskey, launched a blistering attack on Labour high command and the party hieracy. The SNP stepped up the pressure when Angus MacDonald, SNP MSP for Falkirk East, said: "The people of Falkirk deserve so much better. Time and time again they have been let down by Labour – it is time for a change. Local people were first let down by Labour by the behaviour of Eric Joyce, and they have been let down by Labour all over again with their party's candidate selection scandal. This is a hugely serious issue - yet all we have had is silence from Johann Lamont, who is supposed to be leader of Labour's Scottish Westminster MPs. Unless Ms Lamont gets a grip of this crisis, she is confirming that the shots are all being called by the real Labour bosses in London. The people of Falkirk should be able to elect a new MP - there ought to be a by-election, and the sooner the better."
Labour Leader Ed Miliband responded to Tom Watson's resignation by letter to Mr Watson, text is below:
Dear Tom,
Thank you for your letter. As I said to you when we spoke at lunchtime today, I do believe that it does now make sense for you and for the Party for you to step down.
I am enormously grateful to you for the work you have done for the Party in the past two years. As Deputy Chair you have helped to re-galvanise the grass roots of the Party.
You have worked with Party staff up and down the country, through two sets of local elections and a record number of by-elections, to get Labour into a position to fight and win the General Election in 2015.
As you acknowledge we still have a long way to go, but you have helped to put real spirit into Labour Party activists up and down the country. And I know you will carry on doing that from the backbenches.
You came into politics to campaign, often on issues that some would be shy to confront – phone hacking being a prime example. I also respect your desire to be free to do that without the constraints of your current role and responsibilities, both in the Party and in the Shadow Cabinet.
I am grateful to you for your loyalty and friendship. You are a formidable campaigner, passionate about the cause of a fairer country, and I know you will be speaking with eloquence from the backbenches on the issues you care about most.Labour will hope this draws a line under the issue, but as Mr Miliband is under a ferocious attack from the Tories & the Scottish Nationalists who are, as you'd expect, using this to bash the Labour leadership with. But it is Len McCluskey the General Secretary of the Unite Union Ed Miliband has to worry about, if Unite withdraw their funding for the Labour party then Labour's election campaigns will be funded on a tiny budget or on borrowing from the bank.
