Corbyn defied by ‘shadow shadow cabinet’

ASSISTANT POLITICAL EDITOR LABOUR rebels have pledged to defy Jeremy Corbyn’s new front bench by using their own “shadow shadow cabinet” to take policy positions which contradict the leader. Senior moderate figures have told

they intend to hold their own internal votes at a weekly meeting of Labour MPs to work out their stance on legislation.

Labour’s back benches would then effectively whip MPs ahead of crunch votes in the House of Commons, ignoring demands of the leader’s office.

The open defiance of Mr Corbyn’s leadership is likely to see them back tighter immigration controls, a third runway at Heathrow and renewal Trident nuclear weapons.

The move comes after Mr Corbyn in- stalled a string of Left-wingers in the most senior positions and rejected calls for shadow cabinet elections.

The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) – made up of the party’s 258 MPs, most of whom voted no confidence in Mr Corbyn over the summer – will come up with its own policy positions.

Backbench MPs have been given briefs to shadow government departments through the PLP and will be encouraged to ignore the leader’s office and decide where to stand on issues.

A leading moderate said: “The PLP has the choice. Does it simply accept random chaos on policy – hard Left lines to take and drift – or does it start of to step up and fill the vacuum? We will do the latter, that is our duty. Our duty is not to the leader, it is to the party.”

The unofficial whipping operation will ensure MPs back the PLP over the Labour leader on key Commons votes.

“It is more a due diligence exercise than whipping,” explained one MP, saying it would be about “flagging up” where the PLP stands and “making sure colleagues have thought about this”.

Corbyn supporters will see the move as an attempt to undermine his leadership and a rejection of the mandate he was handed by hundreds of thousands of party members last month.

But moderates believe it is essential to show voters that most MPs do not share the Left-wing views of the new shadow cabinet, which they believe will lead them to election defeat.

“You could not pick a shadow cabinet that would be more alienating to the British public than this. Corbyn talked of unity but showed absolutely none of it,” an MP said.

One issue expected to flare up in the week ahead as a result of the reshuffle is the Investigatory Powers Bill, which gives British spies greater powers to track people’s internet history.

Andy Burnham and Keir Starmer – supporters of the changes as shadow home secretary and shadow attorney general – have been replaced by Diane Abbott and Baroness Chakrabarti, two vocal critics.

Labour sources fear the pair will lay amendments in the House of Lords this week, watering down the legislation.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader who opposed the proposals – once dubbed the Snooper’s Charter by critics – called on the pair to help him defeat it in the Lords.

“They are now in roles where they can make a difference – use that power and work with us,” he said.