Benn keeps his shadow cabinet job af ter facing down Corbyn
HILARY Benn was digging in last night amid attempts by Jeremy Corbyn to remove him from his top job because of his support for Syrian airstrikes.
The shadow foreign secretary has been in Left-wingers’ sights since his impassioned Commons speech against his leader’s antiwar stance in December.
But last night one Labour source said Mr Benn’s job was safe – though that of shadow defence secretary Maria Eagle was still under threat.
Mr Corbyn and Mr Benn met last night in the leader’s Westminster office. Allies said earlier in the day Mr Benn would consider quitting if asked to move to another shadow cabinet post, triggering a ‘domino effect’ among fellow moderates.
If Mr Benn does keep his job, it would be another blow to Mr Corbyn’s authority, coming just hours after the leader’s staunch supporter Ken Livingstone called for him to be sacked.
Also under threat is Miss Eagle, who is at odds with the hard-Left leadership because she backs the Trident nuclear deterrent.
The long-awaited reshuffle comes as a devastating poll showed that the Conservatives were more trusted than Labour on a wide variety of i ssues – i ncluding unemployment.
Asked by YouGov which party was best to handle the economy, 41 per cent said the Tories compared to only 18 per cent for Labour. Labour MP Wes Streeting tweeted: ‘Can rearrange the chairs around the table as much as we like, until these numbers change we won’t win gen election.’
Former minister Tony McNulty said: ‘Every Labour member should remind themselves: it’s a shadow shuffle and power seems miles away.’ There has been speculation for weeks that Mr Corbyn was gearing up for a reshuffle of his top team to purge key figures who disagree with
‘Petty and divisive’
him on issues such as Trident renewal and bombing Islamic State.
Michael Dugher, a shadow cabinet minister whose own place is reported to be in jeopardy, warned his leader that he would end up with a ‘politburo of seven’ if he attempted to surround himself with hard-Left allies.
And shadow Europe minister Pat McFadden pointed out the Syria decision was a free vote for Labour MPs, arguing that Mr Benn should not pay the price for his views – particularly given Mr Corbyn’s own long history of rebellion. He said sacking the shadow foreign secretary would be seen as ‘petty and divisive’.
But Corbyn ally John Lansman tweeted: ‘What exactly is the case for having a shadow foreign secretary whose position on going to war in Syria is supported by less than 29 per cent of the Parliamentary Labour Party?’ Mr Livingstone went on the radio to demand that Mr Corbyn move Mr Benn to a different job. The former London mayor, who is co-chairing a review of Labour’s defence policy with Miss Eagle, said he ‘got on fine’ with her and it was ‘a matter for Jeremy Corbyn’ if she remained in the post.
He added: ‘There is a problem if – as we had with the debate on Syria – our principal spokesman stands up…and puts a completely different line to the leader of the Labour Party.
‘It might well be the case – and I have no knowledge of this – that it would be better to move Hilary Benn to something where he is in agreement with Jeremy Corbyn.’