Corbyn’s ‘revenge reshuff le’ farce
Dithering over Benn means it will go into 3rd day
JEREMY Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was in disarray last night as he dithered over who to sack and struggled to fill key roles.
The shake-up looked set to limp into a third day while Mr Corbyn’s closest allies argued about whether he was strong enough to remove shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn for defying him over Syria.
The Labour leader faced a backlash from MPs after sacking outspoken culture spokesman Michael Dugher in the first act of a ‘revenge reshuffle’ that made a mockery of his claim to be tolerant of dissent.
In a sign of the divisions at the top of the party, Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, praised Mr Dugher, describing his removal as ‘a loss’.
Last night Mr Corbyn was struggling to fill the post of defence spokesman. He was determined to remove Maria Eagle from the role because of her refusal to accept his opposition to Britain’s nuclear deterrent. But several senior figures made it clear they viewed the role as a poisoned chalice, given the Labour leader’s pacifist stance.
Labour sources suggested little known MP Nia Griffith could even be catapulted into the role because she is one of the few who shares Mr Corbyn’s opposition to the renewal of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.
But, more than 24 hours after it began, Mr Dugher’s sacking was the only confirmed move of the reshuffle.
Mr Corbyn and Mr Benn were locked in a stand- off after the Labour leader warned his shadow foreign secretary he would have to go unless he agreed to back his views on foreign policy in public.
As the hours dragged by, the two men were forced to come to the Commons f or a statement on Europe, where they sat side by side ignoring each other.
David Cameron mocked the Labour leader, and apologised to him for ‘ interrupting the longest
Michael Dugher: Only one out reshuffle in history’. In a reference to Miss Eagle, and her twin sister Angela, who is also in the Shadow Cabinet, Mr Cameron derided Mr Corbyn as an ‘albatross’.
To gales of laughter from Tory MPs, and smirks from some opposition MPs, the Prime Minister told Labour: ‘Never mind how many Eagles we end up with, I think you have all worked out you’ve got an albatross at the head of your party.’ Labour sources l ater said Mr Benn’s presence on Labour’s front bench should not be taken as a sign that he had kept his job.
Some of Mr Corbyn’s key allies, including his campaign manager Jon Lansman and his strategy director Seumas Milne, were urging him to sack Mr Benn as part of a wider purge of rebel MPs.
But shadow chancellor John McDonnell was urging caution – warning that the move could spark a walkout by the remaining moderates in the Shadow Cabinet.
Earlier, Mr Corbyn sparked an outpouring of criticism after sacking Mr Dugher, who has warned repeatedly that Labour will lose if it lurches to the Left on issues such as the economy, immigration and defence. Ten members of the Shadow Cabinet paid tribute to Mr Dugher. But Mr Lansman claimed that his outspoken interventions had done his leader ‘a disservice’.
Mr Watson, who had warned against the move, said: ‘Labour’s loss in the Shadow Cabinet will be compensated for by Michael’s free thought on the back benches.’
Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham also paid tribute to Mr Dugher, who ran his leadership campaign. Mr Burnham had insisted on a job for his friend as a condition for taking a role in the Shadow Cabinet last September. But yesterday he chose to stay put as his colleague was booted out.
Mr Dugher said he had been sacked for speaking out, despite Mr Corbyn’s pledge to make a virtue of open debate.
He said: ‘The real casualty today has been the “new politics” that we were all promised four months ago by Jeremy and I think that’s a real shame, a real squandered opportunity. I tried to do my best in delivering some straight-talking and honest politics and I think it was a little too much for him.’
Quentin Letts – Page 24