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Jeremy Corbyn warned against 'punishment' reshuffle Jeremy Corbyn appears to confirm Labour reshuffle plans
(about 2 hours later)
One of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow ministers has warned him not to conduct a “punishment” reshuffle to remove colleagues who have publicly disagreed with him, saying it could look petty and divisive. Jeremy Corbyn appeared to confirm he is planning a reshuffle of his top team, amid intense speculation about who could take the shadow foreign and defence jobs.
Pat McFadden, shadow Europe minister, questioned the need to move those who took a different view from Corbyn on the Syria vote from the shadow cabinet, pointing out it had been only a one-line whip and highlighting the Labour leader’s own record of rebellion. The Labour leader said on Monday he was “not talking about the reshuffle” as he appeared at King’s Cross station in London as part of a campaign against rising rail fares.
He told BBC’s Westminster Hour: “Every leader has a right to change their team … but it does strike me it has only has been only three months since Jeremy Corbyn appointed his shadow cabinet. So you have to ask why would you have a reshuffle? … If it’s about political disagreement, I think you have to pause here, especially if it’s about the Syria vote.” Corbyn’s most likely move is to replace Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, who opposed him over the Syria vote, and Maria Eagle, the shadow defence secretary, who takes a different position from him on replacing the Trident nuclear submarines.
But some of the candidates mooted to take over those jobs – Diane Abbott and Clive Lewis – have all but ruled out accepting the new roles.
Abbott, who had been tipped as a possible shadow foreign secretary, said: “It’s completely untrue, I’ve never been offered the job of [shadow] foreign secretary. There was never any question of me being offered it, or of it being debated … It’s just, as they say, poppycock and piffle.”
Lewis, a new MP who has served in the army in Afghanistan, said he would not be keen to take on a shadow cabinet role so quickly. He told the BBC: “I have been an MP for eight months and I’m already on the shadow front bench. And it’s a steep learning curve, being an MP; an even steeper learning curve being on the shadow front bench. To be on the cabinet it’s another league altogether. So I think I want to pace myself, like most people who come into parliament.”
He added: “If Jeremy Corbyn offered me that and said ‘I need this, I need you to do it, this is essential that you do it’, I would have to think about it ... But to be quite frank, no. My initial inclination would be to say no.”
The prospect of a reshuffle has triggered alarm among some of the more centrist members of the shadow cabinet. Pat McFadden, the shadow Europe minister, warned Corbyn not to conduct a “punishment” reshuffle to remove colleagues who had publicly disagreed with him, saying it could look petty and divisive.
He told the BBC’s Westminster Hour: “Every leader has a right to change their team … but it does strike me it has only has been three months since Jeremy Corbyn appointed his shadow cabinet. So you have to ask why would you have a reshuffle? … If it’s about political disagreement, I think you have to pause here, especially if it’s about the Syria vote.”
He said it was possible that Labour aides had been exaggerating the idea that there would be a “revenge” reshuffle against dissenters, but added: “There is a danger for him in carrying out a reshuffle as a sort of punishment for shadow ministers who disagreed with him. He has talked of an open and pluralist politics but a reshuffle for that reason could end up looking more petty and divisive than open and pluralist. That is a risk for him if he proceeds for that reason.”He said it was possible that Labour aides had been exaggerating the idea that there would be a “revenge” reshuffle against dissenters, but added: “There is a danger for him in carrying out a reshuffle as a sort of punishment for shadow ministers who disagreed with him. He has talked of an open and pluralist politics but a reshuffle for that reason could end up looking more petty and divisive than open and pluralist. That is a risk for him if he proceeds for that reason.”
Corbyn is expected to announce a reorganisation in the coming days, potentially moving the shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn, and the shadow defence secretary, Maria Eagle, to ensure his top team is united on foreign and defence policy.
Eleven of the 28 members of the shadow cabinet, including Benn and Eagle, voted in favour of extending airstrikes against Islamic State to Syria, a move Corbyn strongly opposed. Eagle also supports the renewal of Trident – an issue on which the Labour leader is keen to change the party’s position – which will be voted on in parliament in the spring.Eleven of the 28 members of the shadow cabinet, including Benn and Eagle, voted in favour of extending airstrikes against Islamic State to Syria, a move Corbyn strongly opposed. Eagle also supports the renewal of Trident – an issue on which the Labour leader is keen to change the party’s position – which will be voted on in parliament in the spring.
The shadow culture secretary, Michael Dugher, one of those believed to be at risk in the impending reorganisation, told BBC5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics programme that previous Labour leaders with whom he had worked closely had been reluctant to “go down the path of big reshuffles”. The shadow culture secretary, Michael Dugher, one of those believed to be at risk in the impending reorganisation, told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics programme on Sunday that previous Labour leaders with whom he had worked closely had been reluctant to “go down the path of big reshuffles”.
“They do try to hold the party together, they do recognise that the Labour party is a broad church, not a religious cult, that you need people of different backgrounds and try and get the best possible talents,” Dugher said, adding that “ultimately [the makeup of the shadow cabinet] will be a decision for Jeremy”.“They do try to hold the party together, they do recognise that the Labour party is a broad church, not a religious cult, that you need people of different backgrounds and try and get the best possible talents,” Dugher said, adding that “ultimately [the makeup of the shadow cabinet] will be a decision for Jeremy”.
The reshuffle risks deepening rifts in the party and some Labour MPs have been keen to point out that Corbyn began his leadership promising to allow members of his shadow cabinet to express differing views.The reshuffle risks deepening rifts in the party and some Labour MPs have been keen to point out that Corbyn began his leadership promising to allow members of his shadow cabinet to express differing views.
Labour sources have suggested the possibility that the shadow home secretary, Andy Burnham, could swap positions with Hilary Benn, leaving both of them more likely to agree with the leadership on their respective briefs. Labour sources have suggested the possibility that the shadow home secretary, Andy Burnham, could swap positions with Benn, leaving both of them more likely to agree with the leadership on their respective briefs.
It has also been suggested that Benn could be replaced by Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury, the neighbouring constituency to Corbyn’s. Thornberry was forced to resign from the shadow cabinet during the 2014 byelection in Rochester and Strood, when she was accused of snobbery after tweeting a photograph of a house adorned with St George’s cross flags with a white van parked outside.It has also been suggested that Benn could be replaced by Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury, the neighbouring constituency to Corbyn’s. Thornberry was forced to resign from the shadow cabinet during the 2014 byelection in Rochester and Strood, when she was accused of snobbery after tweeting a photograph of a house adorned with St George’s cross flags with a white van parked outside.