The cronies... and the collaborators
5 fervent red fighters whose loyalty will be rewarded... ...and 4 reluctant revolutionaries tipped to rally round flag
LABOUR’S new frontbench team will be hewn from seasoned Leftwing travellers who have spent most of their careers in the political wilderness – and a handful of more moderate figures inherited from Ed Miliband who have reluctantly decided to serve.
While Jeremy Corbyn is expected to reward his ‘cronies’ for their years of solidarity, he has been urged by party figures to reserve senior posts for those few members of the Shadow Cabinet prepared to stay on.
These ‘Corbyn collaborators’ are likely to include Andy Burnham, who tried to win the leadership himself – and told an undercover reporter that a Corbyn regime would be a ‘disaster’ – and deputy leadership candidate Angela Eagle.
Neither wanted Corbyn to win, but have argued privately that it is better to ‘fight for the party’ from within the Corbyn regime, rather then heckling from the backbenches.
The most eye-catching names in the Corbyn team will include such hard Left dinosaurs as ‘Red’ Ken Livingstone, the 70-year-old former London Mayor who was mobbed by cheering crowds when he arrived at yesterday’s special leadership conference in London.
Another is John McDonnell, a hard Left rebel Labour MP who has never held a senior frontbench job in a political career stretching back more than three decades. If rumours about McDonnell, 64, being made Shadow Chancellor are true, he would be the most radical occupant of that post in modern history.
The ‘power behind the throne’ will be 65-year-old Len McCluskey, the general secretary of the Unite union, which effectively keeps Labour solvent. His likely stranglehold over the party leadership is emphasised by the fact that he used to share a flat with deputy leader Tom Watson.
Other veterans who could play a role include Michael Meacher, 75, a former Government Minister under Tony Blair who once sued a journalist for suggesting he had played down his middle-class background – he lost. He was branded a hypocrite for criticising secondhome owners despite an extensive property portfolio.
Sadiq Khan, previously the Shadow Justice Secretary, will also play a key role after his victory on Friday in the contest to be Labour’s candidate for London Mayor. Khan, who nominated Corbyn, is considering a frontbench job to keep his profile high before next year’s elections.