Now Corbyn plots to tighten grip on Labour

JEREMY Corbyn is plotting to tighten his grip on Labour following his party’s shambles over Brexit.

The Labour leader will spend the weekend working on a reshuffle after he sacked three shadow ministers who defied him over Europe.

His main ally, shadow chancellor John McDonnell, has apparently made it clear that only loyal backbenchers should be promoted, reportedly saying there should be ‘no jobs for traitors’.

It came as the party’s splits over Europe deepened, with Remain- supporting Labour MP Wes Streeting complaining that supporters would be ‘disappointed’ that Mr Corbyn has ruled out single market membership.

But the Labour leader has been emboldened after defying expectations by gaining seats in last month’s general election. Left-wingers are hoping to exploit the momentum to push through key changes to the party’s rules.

This is due to include handing more seats on the party’s ruling National Executive Committee to Mr Corbyn’s hard-Left allies.

There are even claims that Momentum, the Corbynite splinter group, is seeking to de-select critics in the parliamentary party.

It is understood to have targeted Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire, who secured a massive 37,000 majority and has recently recovered from cancer, because of previous clashes with the leader.

Mr Corbyn is expected to fill the gaps in his team early next week, but the prospect of a return for some of the party’s centrist ‘ big beasts’, such as Yvette Cooper or Chuka Umunna, look slim. The

From yesterday’s Mail shadow chancellor has been demanding that only loyal MPs are promoted, according to the London Evening Standard.

One MP told the newspaper: ‘John’s going round saying, “no jobs for traitors”.’ Aides to Mr McDonnell insisted he had not made the comment.

One of the major gaps the leader must fill is in the home affairs team, where Diane Abbott is now the only MP representing the party on the issue in the Com- mons. There would normally be four MPs covering the brief.

Junior shadow ministers Lyn Brown,B Carolyn Harris and Rupa Huq have all left while Miss Abbott has been in charge.

It came after Labour’s splits over Europe re- emerged, with nearly 50 of the party’s MPs – a fifth of the total – defying the leader on Thursday night to support an amendment demanding Britain stays in the EU single market.

In a sign of his stronger position, Mr Corbyn sacked three frontbenchers who joined the Commons rebellion – Andy Slaughter, Ruth Cadbury and Catherine West. Shadow transport minister Daniel Zeichner quit before the vote.

Mr Streeting yesterday warned that Mr Corbyn’s position that Brexit meant leaving the single market would alienate many of those who voted for the party. The main priority for supporters of Mr Corbyn’s Left-wing agenda is to get a motion passed a conference this autumn that would reduce the threshold for MPs to stand in leadership contests.

Currently candidates need nominations from 15 per cent of MPs and MEPs, or 44 names, to feature in the ballot. That makes it hard for the Left to enter the contest because the parliamentary party is more weighted to the centre.

Potential changes being proposed include reducing that level to 5 per cent, or allowing candidates into the race if they secure 15 per cent of nominations from local Labour groups and unions. There are also claims that activists from the Corbyn-backing Momentum group are trying to make it easier to deselect MPs seen as unfriendly to the leader.

The existing process sees constituency parties hold a ‘trigger ballot’ where members vote on whether to endorse the sitting MP or hold a full selection process. The rule change could limit the ballot to activists who attend a specific meeting, effectively excluding less engaged party members.

Mr Corbyn and other shadow ministers will spend today campaigning in marginal seats.

In Hastings, the seat of Home Secretary Amber Rudd, mr Corbyn will say: ‘Labour is no longer just the Official Opposition, we are a government in waiting.’

‘Unfriendly to the leader’

THIS has been an illuminating week for British politics, in which the storm of uncertainty – thrown up by an election result few predicted – began to abate.

On Monday, weeks of horse-trading ended in Theresa May securing a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party and a firm platform upon which to govern. For all the wailing about the £1billion price tag, the way seats fell in the Commons meant only these two parties could ensure stability.

After weeks of plotting, damaging speculation about Mrs May’s future in No 10 quietened down, as Tory MPs woke up to the fact that a leadership death struggle could result in a Corbyn government.

Then, on Thursday night, the Queen’s Speech passed by a comfortable majority in the Commons. Yes, it has been shorn of many ambitious manifesto pledges such as grammar schools (more’s the pity). But it remains a serious programme for government and includes eight vital Brexit bills which will restore democratic control over immigration, agriculture and trade.

Admittedly, there was a minor Cabinet spat over the post-Brexit ‘ transition’ arrangements. But if the past few days have shown anything at all, it is that Tory divisions on Brexit pale in comparison to the giant schism in the Labour Party.

Indeed, this was the week when the fragile coalition between Blairite moderates and Left-wing extremists finally imploded.

Despite Jeremy Corbyn instructing them to abstain (a desperate measure in itself), 49 arch-Remainers voted to keep Britain in the single market. He was forced to sack three frontbenchers, while one resigned.

The rebellion exposed Mr Corbyn’s cynical two-faced charade, in which he says one thing to pro-Brexit Northern voters and another to Remainers in London.

In truth, while it will stop at nothing to undermine the Government, the Labour leadership is in many ways just as Eurosceptic as the Brexiteers in the Conservative Party.

Over the past few weeks, and despite some lapses in judgment, Mrs May has shown both stoicism and courage. If her MPs keep their discipline, she may yet recover some of her pre-election authority. As for Mr Corbyn, after the last few days, he is considerably weakened.