Pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to resign has intensified as he faced fresh resignations from the front bench - including one MP appointed to the shadow cabinet just two days ago.
Pat Glass had been handed the education brief as the Labour leader struggled to find sufficient loyalists to form a team in the wake of a mass walkout and massive vote of no confidence.
"It is with a heavy heart that I have today resigned. My dream job but the situation is untenable," she said as Corbyn allies braced themselves for a formal challenge.
She was joined by Emma Lewell-Buck who said she was "heartbroken at the state of the party" and could no longer continue as shadow local government minister.
The latest resignations came as Mr Corbyn prepared to face David Cameron in the Commons for the first Prime Minister's question time since the country voted to leave the EU and the PM announced his own departure.
Former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett warned there were "people around Jeremy who are prepared to see the Labour Party split rather than for him to go".
"That is anathema to everybody who thinks that we need to get rid of this Government and the damage that they are doing," she told BBC Radio 4's Today in an emotional appeal to the leader to step aside.
Dame Tessa Jowell told him it was "absolutely clear that your continued leadership is putting the Labour Party's future in jeopardy and denying millions of people in our country who so desperately need representation by a Labour government".
But shadow chancellor John McDonnell said MPs had to "play by the rules".
"It looks as though we will have a leadership election," he conceded.
"All we are saying to Labour MPs is: play by the rules of our party and, if there is to be a democratic election, respect the decisions of our members."
Mr Corbyn dismissed the confidence vote as having "no constitutional legitimacy" and insisted he would not "betray" the 60% of members and supporters who backed him to succeed Ed Miliband.
He will address a rally organised by the Momentum movement on Wednesday evening, with Public and Commercial Services union chief Mark Serwotka and Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack also speaking in support of him.
Unite trade union general secretary Len McCluskey was among the first to rally to Mr Corbyn's support after the no-confidence motion, accusing the MPs of "pointless posturing" and warning they would have to mount a full-blown leadership challenge if they wanted to oust him.
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