Jeremy Corbyn says Brexit reflects anger of 'marginalised' communities

The Labour leader said his party would 'accept the vote and move on'

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his vote at a polling station in Islington, London (PA)

Jeremy Corbyn has said that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union reflects the anger of communities “marginalised” by the Government.

The Labour leader said that the Government should not hesitate to invoke Article 50 – the procedure by which member states leave the EU.

However David Cameron, in announcing his resignation as Prime Minister this morning, said it would be up to his successor to invoke Article 50.

Mr Corbyn said the Prime Minister and Chancellor, George Osborne, had “a very urgent task” to stabilise the pound after dramatic falls in the value of sterling overnight.

While he said that Labour would “accept the vote and move on”, he has already faced criticism from within his party and from political rivals over his role in the referendum campaign.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron condemned what he called Mr Corbyn’s “utter spinelessness” after the Labour leader gave only lukewarm support for the Remain camp – notably saying that his support for Britain’s EU membership was "seven or seven and a half out of ten".

Mr Corbyn has refused to resign and has defended his record, blaming the outcome on austerity cuts imposed by the Conservative government.

“Many communities are fed up with the cuts they’ve had, fed up with economic dislocation and feel very angry with the way they have been marginalised by successive governments,” he said.

“Many of the poorest communities in Britain had the biggest cuts in government expenditure to support their local authorities and at the same time were refused any special help to help with issues like school places and health places [affected by immigration],” he added.

Labour faced embarrassment on Friday morning as a "script" for MPs making media appearances was leaked to the media, containing arguments to draw on to defend Mr Corbyn’s commitment to the Remain camp.