Andy Burnham: I’d serve in Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet if he becomes Labour leader
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Version 0 of 1. Andy Burnham would be prepared to serve in a Shadow Cabinet led by Jeremy Corbyn if the firebrand left-winger pulled off a surprise Labour leadership election win, the shadow Health Secretary said yesterday. Asked at a hustings meeting in London whether he would serve under Mr Corbyn’s leadership, Mr Burnham told the audience: “Yes I would.” He added that he would “serve the Labour party in any capacity” as it was “the best hope for millions of working people out there”. At another hustings earlier in the day Mr Burnham said he would consider appointing Mr Corbyn to his front bench team, should he claim victory in September. “If he wants a job … I might be open to listening,” he said. “I think he’s said things in this contest that are important and people have responded to, clearly. So I think the Labour Party’s got to come back together after this leadership contest.” Aides to Mr Burnham later rowed back on his remarks, suggesting that he had been “joking” about his offer of a job to Mr Corbyn. But his remarks to Labour members at both meetings underline fears in the Burnham camp of the threat posed to their core vote by Mr Corbyn. The MP, who has never held ministerial office, got on to the ballot paper after 30 MPs “lent him” their support to ensure there was a voice from the left of the party in the contest. But his message has resonated with grassroots activists and two polls have even suggested he could come top in the first round of voting. Reports at the weekend suggested Labour MPs were already considering how he could be removed from office if he pulled off a victory. But yesterday the only candidate who explicitly ruled out working with Mr Corbyn was Liz Kendall, who said while she might be prepared to “go on Strictly” with him she could not work with him in the Shadow Cabinet. “I believe you need to have a serious and credible Shadow Cabinet with people who are prepared to take on the very difficult issues we face as a party, as well as inspiring our supporters with a clear vision for the future,” she said. “We’ve always been a broad church as a Labour Party but I think my politics comes from a very different place from Jeremy’s and it wouldn’t be right for him to be in my Shadow Cabinet.” Yvette Cooper left the door open to working with Mr Corbyn without committing herself to remaining in the Shadow Cabinet if he won. However, she insisted that it was incumbent on all party members “not to walk away” and to “fight to make Labour electable again”. Labour is likely to face another difficult day in the Commons today when the Government’s Welfare Bill comes before the house. The party is to put down an amendment objecting to elements of the Bill – such as capping welfare payments – but if and when that fails, acting leader Harriet Harman wants MPs to abstain in the main vote, arguing that opposing the Bill as a whole sends the “wrong signal” to the electorate. Labour leadership contender Liz Kendall yesterday rounded on a Sunday newspaper journalist who asked about her weight during an interview. Ms Kendall said it was “unbelievable” that The Mail on Sunday had thought it was appropriate to ask her how much she weighed during a political interview to promote her leadership bid. She questioned whether the paper would ask the weight of a male politician and said she could not wait “for a world when women are judged the same as men”. Asked on BBC Radio 5 live’s Pienaar’s Politics about the interview, she said: “I just think it’s unbelievable that in the 21st century women still get asked such very, very different questions from men. “Can you imagine The Mail on Sunday asking the weight of the Prime Minister, George Osborne or any other leading politician?” she asked. |