A FORMER Worcestershire Labour parliamentary candidate has joined the calls for Jeremy Corbyn to quit - calling his position "untenable".

Dan Walton, who contested West Worcestershire at last year's general election, has heaped fresh pressure on the under-siege leader by saying Labour needs to find "someone else who isn't Jeremy Corbyn".

It comes after Labour officials revealed 60,000 new members have joined the party over the last week to head off a plot to try and remove him from office amid a challenge from Angela Eagle.

Mr Walton is seen as a rising star within Labour circles, and built up the party's West Worcestershire branch from scratch before attempting to get into parliament last year.

He said: "As chairman of the constituency branch we'll allow members to have their own views, but my personal one is that Jeremy ought to stand down.

"It's not that he doesn't have the right ideas, it's more his presentation and the way he goes about it.

"I'd like him to go, and nominate someone else who isn't Jeremy Corbyn.

"My concern is, with so many MPs quitting the shadow cabinet and him struggling to fill all the roles, he's got to start to think 'this is untenable'."

Mr Walton, a 39-year-old businessman, also said he felt Angela Eagle, the former shadow business secretary, was the right person to take over.

It comes as the leader of Worcestershire County Council's Labour group today distances himself from the criticism.

Councillor Peter McDonald said: "I've been in the Labour Party many years and I fall behind the leader, whoever he is.

"At the end of the day he was elected by our membership, and I think he's doing his best."

Of the 60,000 new Labour members to have joined within the last week, a record for any British political party, more than half of are thought to have signed up to prevent a coup.

The leadership challenge against Mr Corbyn has been postponed after MPs decided to give him more time to reflect.

Mr Corbyn has endured days of uncertainty after more than 50 of his shadow cabinet quit in protest at his refusal to step down following a vote of no confidence in his leadership.