Jeremy Corbyn unveils new shadow cabinet after raft of resignations

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

It was thought a dozen junior shadow ministers could resign on Monday – after Corbyn lost 12 members of his shadow cabinet on Sunday and faced calls to step down in the wake of last week’s EU referendum vote for Brexit and indications there could be a general election within months.

Prominent frontbencher Stephen Kinnock resigned on Monday as parliamentary private secretary to Angela Eagle, the shadow first secretary of state and shadow secretary of state for business, innovation and skills.

Also quitting on Monday ahead of a crunch meeting of the parliamentary Labour party was Diana Johnson, who resigned as a shadow foreign minister. Anna Turley stepped down as shadow minister for civil society and Toby Perkins quit as shadow armed forces minister.
...
Shadow foreign secretary – Emily Thornberry.
Shadow health secretary – Diane Abbott.
Shadow education secretary – Pat Glass.
Shadow transport secretary – Andy McDonald.
Shadow defence secretary – Clive Lewis.
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury – Rebecca Long-Bailey.
Shadow international development secretary – Kate Osamor.
Shadow environment food and rural affairs secretary – Rachel Maskell.
Shadow voter engagement and youth affairs – Cat Smith.
Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Dave Anderson.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/27/labour-resignations-continue-as-mps-try-to-force-out-jeremy-corbyn

---

Late arrivals at the resignation ball:

Alex Cunningham, shadow minister for the natural environment: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5770eb70e4b0f43038109ffa#block-5770eb70e4b0f43038109ffa

Steve Reed, shadow local government minister: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5770e2b0e4b030d83eb4a90f#block-5770e2b0e4b030d83eb4a90f

Yvonne Fovargue, shadow consumer affairs minister: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5770e03fe4b0f43038109fe5#block-5770e03fe4b0f43038109fe5

Lady Smith of Basildon, the Labour leader in the Lords, and Lord Bassam, the chief whip, are both in post because of elections within the ranks of the party’s peers – rather than being appointed by Corbyn.

A source said that they had taken “soundings” from the party’s peers and it was likely they would boycott shadow cabinet meetings while Corbyn remains as leader.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5770de57e4b0be24d34f6428#block-5770de57e4b0be24d34f6428

[TubbersUK]

1. I see my MP on that list

I was wondering which way he'd jump.

Thanks for the update

[Recursion]

2. Malcolm Tucker for Shadow Chancellor

I think that's the best option.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Resignations: Roberta Blackman-Woods, Lisa Nandy, Owen Smith, Angela Eagle, and John Healey

Last edited Mon Jun 27, 2016, 08:53 AM - Edit history (1)

respectively shadow housing minister, shadow energy secretary, shadow work and pensions secretary, shadow business secretary, and shadow housing minister

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5770f9d6e4b030d83eb4a94e#block-5770f9d6e4b030d83eb4a94e

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5771066ee4b0f4303810a059#block-5771066ee4b0f4303810a059

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-57710b50e4b030d83eb4a9a5#block-57710b50e4b030d83eb4a9a5

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-57710c74e4b030d83eb4a9b0#block-57710c74e4b030d83eb4a9b0

And Wayne David, shadow minister covering the Cabinet Office, Scotland and justice, and Diana Johnson, shadow foreign office minister, but I couldn't fit them into the title:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5770f385e4b0f4303810a00a#block-5770f385e4b0f4303810a00a

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5770f7b7e4b0f4303810a01a#block-5770f7b7e4b0f4303810a01a

Maria Eagle, Angela's twin sister, is rumoured to be about to resign as shadow culture secretary: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5770ec16e4b0be24d34f644a#block-5770ec16e4b0be24d34f644a

On edit: Maria Eagle has resigned: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-577111e7e4b0be24d34f64eb#block-577111e7e4b0be24d34f64eb

and so has Kate Green, shadow equalities minister: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-57711633e4b0be24d34f650c#block-57711633e4b0be24d34f650c

and Nick Thomas-Symonds, shadow employment minister: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-57711d17e4b0be24d34f6536#block-57711d17e4b0be24d34f6536

[Surya Gayatri]

4. Some massive carnage there. What do you think, MV, can he and should he survive this?

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. It's two thirds of the shadow cabinet gone, and that was meant to be the 'unity' cabinet

after his opponents in the leadership election declined to serve with him (though I don't know if he would have wanted them anyway). I don't think he can survive - Tom Watson, the deputy leader, has told him he's lost the confidence of the Labour MPs in general, and I think that's a fair summary.

(On edit: someone has pointed out Corbyn did tweet on the day that he voted Remain, so the question raised by Chris Bryant is not relevant)

Should he go? I don't think he, and Labour in general, campaigned well over Brexit; it's possible that was because his heart wasn't in it, in his case. But he did get a big mandate from party members and supporters - not because they'd been waiting for him as a leader, but because they didn't see any decent alternative, and he holds his beliefs honestly. He is reluctant to attack the Tories much; he seems to think it's better just to wait for people to come to Labour, but I'm not sure they'll ever win an election that way.

[Surya Gayatri]

7. "Passive" campaigning, heh? Wonder how that'll work out...[sarc]

...he seems to think it's better just to wait for people to come to Labour, but I'm not sure they'll ever win an election that way.

Thanks for this comprehensive answer. Never have so many "furriners" been fascinated with the minutiae of internal British politics. Too bad, too sad that it had to be under these circumstances.

[Feeling the Bern]

5. I see a Vote of No Confidence coming and a government change soon

Watching the death spiral of the UK, especially when Scotland and N. Ireland vote to break away.

[JackRiddler]

8. Brexit just an excuse for planned Blairite coup.

No one is more responsible for the Brexit vote than the Blairites who continued the Thatcherist program and created the conditions for an overwhelming anti-establishment vote (though the vote itself was misguided and basically on the wrong question). These people were preparing to wage suicide attacks against Corbyn from the beginning. They saw his election as an affront to their elitist privilege and the neoliberal creed. Brexit was just the opportunity to pretend to have an issue. The idea that the Leave vote was Corbyn's fault rather than their own is absurd.

It's good to see these people go now rather than exploding a leftist government under Corbyn. He should survive the parliamentary challenge (the tough part because that's where this brood is concentrated, they have far less sway among the members), and if it comes to a vote of the members he will prevail handsomely. That is probably why they will not take it that far, if they can't topple him through this present uprising of the parliamentary faction they know they'll lose an actual vote.

With a bit of luck the early part of Prime Minister Corbyn's tenure will also see the conviction and life imprisonment of the war criminal, Tony Blair.

[LiberalLovinLug]

9. +1000

You said it in a nutshell Jack

Its like the DLC, DNC, and DINO blue dogs threatening to leave if the "wrong" person had ever became the Democratic candidate.

[JackRiddler]

12. It's worse than that, really.

What Corbyn did last year to win the party leadership was the equivalent of sweeping every primary. Well, it was a different process altogether, but anyway he won a big majority of a clean and fair election against all other opponents combined, no runoff needed.

If you want an American metaphor for what the putschists are now attempting, it's as if a portion of the superdelegates, who a) used to be in the governing faction, b) consider themselves the only legitimate and responsible rulers, and c) think of the (left) majority as children, were trying to lock 3,000 other delegates out of the convention -- taking as their excuse that it's Corbyn's fault that an unrelated hurricane damaged their precious neoliberal ideology (with help from racists). It doesn't matter that Corbyn was with Remain, or that only 31% of Labour voters (according to polls) supported Leave.

Also, this is coming two weeks before an official report is to be submitted that will very likely provide a basis for prosecuting their beloved former leader, Blair, for launching an illegal war of aggression. This is their last gasp. They are pretty much the most unpopular grouping in UK politics. They do not give a shit about winning an election, they just want "their" party back.

[Denzil_DC]

17. Yes, you get it.

Last edited Mon Jun 27, 2016, 06:08 PM - Edit history (1)

This is a self-indulgent, opportunist move which couldn't be worse timed. And thanks for mentioning Chilcot. Apparently it's going to come as a surprise to everyone when the report's released on July 6, when Corbyn will be the single best-placed figure in UK politics to face the shitstorm that'll probably be unleashed on Labour's last time in power and the Blairites who went along with it.

As for Corbyn's performance in the referendum campaign, I get the impression many of his critics in the parliamentary party didn't do a whole lot in terms of campaigning locally in their constituencies. What, did they need his permission?

I can't figure out if the conspirators just panicked at the idea there might be an early election and they might lose seats - most importantly theirs - or if this is a pre-emptive distraction because they do realize Chilcot's coming out soon, so it's now or never if they're going to have a hope of deposing him any time this year.

And if they succeed, they'll lose all the new intake they gained when Corbyn got the leadership, and be back in the chaos they were just after the last general election. What a shower.

[JackRiddler]

22. You get it too, and well-put.

"Corbyn will be the single best-placed figure in UK politics to face the shitstorm that'll probably be unleashed on Labour's last time in power and the Blairites who went along with it."

Exactly!

[Nihil]

28. +1 on all of that. (n/t)

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Alan Johnson says Corbyn's office seemed to be working against the rest of the party at times

He was the Chair of ‘Labour In For Britain’. He wrote an email which says:

The referendum result was a huge blow. The turmoil and uncertainty it has unleashed will I fear affect our country for many years.

As Chair of ‘Labour In For Britain’ I take my share of responsibility for the way the Labour campaign was run. I couldn’t have wished for a better Head of the campaign than Brian Duggan; and our Labour Party staff and activists, from Iain McNicol to our Regional staff and CLPs, were magnificent. They cannot be blamed for the outcome and should be very proud of the work they did.

Everyone else needs to make their own assessment as to whether more could have been done to prevent this disastrous result. I will certainly do this, as I hope will the Leader’s Office. At times it felt as if they were working against the rest of the Party and had conflicting objectives.

I was proud to work with some great people who tried their very best to get the result we all wanted. Nobody in the Leadership had the right to undermine their efforts.

– ALAN JOHNSON

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2016-06-27/johnson-corbyns-office-worked-against-rest-of-party/

[JackRiddler]

13. So why isn't it Alan Johnson's fault his campaign lost?

Corbyn supported Remain and this is an excuse to topple him contrary to the wishes of the party members, before the Chilcott findings are submitted. They could be watching the Tories tear themselves apart and positioning to win an election, instead they want to bring the neoliberal plague back to power - but merely over Labour, which cannot win with them in charge.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. People aren't being asked to follow Johnson as a leader

If you're saying that it's OK if Corbyn was apathetic about the referendum, then it marks him as a crap leader. His office seems to have been working to screw things up:

In one chain of emails referring to the publication of a Treasury report, McDonnell was repeatedly pressed to make his statement more clearly about the EU referendum.

The final wording included a reference to the impact of a Tory Brexit, but removed - “Labour will continue to campaign for Britain to remain in Europe to protect jobs, growth, trade, investment and working people” - which had been suggested by the party’s central press office.

In a separate piece of correspondence, Corbyn’s team edited the sentence, “I am clear just like my shadow cabinet, the trade union movement and our members, that it is in the interests of the people of this country to remain in the European Union”, to take out any personal reference.

They also changed, “we have just nine days to go and I will be working night and day to convince Labour supporters to vote Remain” to “we have just nine days to convince Labour supporters to vote Remain”.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5771719ae4b0be24d34f6783

He may be a liability:

Dumping Jeremy Corbyn would give Labour's popularity 12 point boost, according to new poll

The UK-wide BMG survey for The Herald, carried out before the shock Brexit result, found that just over one-third, 36 per cent, said that they could vote for a Corbyn-led Labour party.

But that figure jumped to almost half, 48 per cent, if the veteran socialist was no longer in charge – a 12 point boost.
...
Among current Labour party supporters the figure remained flat at 91 per cent, despite tens of thousands of them joining expressly in order to vote in Mr Corbyn.

Among those in the centre of the political spectrum, which makes up around half of the population, 31 per cent said they would consider voting for Labour under Mr Corbyn, a figure that leapt to 46 per cent if he left.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/14581225.Poll__Dumping_Corbyn_would_give_Labour__39_s_popularity_12_point_poll_boost/

[JackRiddler]

15. Do you make the same argument for Sanders given his polling leads over Trump?

Here on DU, I thought polls for (still) hypothetical elections don't matter?

It's always easy to take a real human's name and run a poll of him against "someone else." "Someone else" is always a strong candidate, I've noticed.

The best way to make lemonade out of Brexit lemons will be a Labour win in the next election. That's not going to happen with the Blairites back in the saddle after deposing Corbyn (which they will probably fail at). No matter what a pre-referendum poll found.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Inside account of Labour MPs’ attacks on Jeremy Corbyn

Alan Johnson, West Hull and Hessle and leader of the Labour In campaign

“I fought the (EU referendum) campaign and I take my responsibility, but you’ve got to take yours. Your office did not even turn up for the weekly meetings.”

http://www.politico.eu/article/inside-account-of-labour-mps-attacks-on-jeremy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet-resignations-brexit/

I can't see how Labour is going to win with Corbyn as leader. He doesn't seem to want to try and make it happen.

For instance, as illustrated in the film, Corbyn will have no truck with the ridiculous convention among party leaders of trying to win elections. He concentrates, instead, on enhancing his power base. “I am not a traditional kind of party leader, I do things in a rather different way.” Again, at prime minister’s questions, Mr Corbyn repeatedly rejects tradition, such that the opposition seizes this chance to flay the enemy. Like another hero of the absurd, Bartleby, the Scrivener, Corbyn would prefer not to.

Filmed the week after Iain Duncan Smith resigned over his own party’s benefit cuts, Corbyn elaborated on the alienated approach to doing PMQs: “It’s not up to me to throw in other than a couple of lines about the government’s in a mess.” He will not play the game. Rather, he demonstrates, he will again confound vulgar expectations with an unexpected critique, existence being in any case, random. From the little huddle of advisers, there comes no objection to the Tory-pleasing perversity of this plan. “OK guys,” he says, possibly in the contemporary, gender-free manner.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/04/jeremy-corbyn-male-retinue-no-clothes

[JackRiddler]

21. Catherine Bennett's entitled to her analysis.

She seems to be well-suited as a career pundit, having toured her fashion-oriented column across the (short) political spectrum from The Telegraph and The Mail to now The Observer.

The part about Corbyn caring only for his power base sounds like sheer projection of what the Blair-Brown-Campbellites are always doing. If Corbyn has concerns, given how they got the knives out as soon as he became the frontrunner last year, and given how they have not stopped braying about him, who can blame him? He should see them all out.

The putschists obviously do not care about the next election, if their idea the day after the Leave vote is to tear apart Labour and alienate its membership, instead of watching the Tories tear themselves apart and focusing on bringing down the government.

And if there are some style things that Corbyn might be doing differently than we would see from a Brown, a Milliband, or a Hillary Benn, or a Kinnock, or from those simply brilliant political operators over at Toryville, then so be it. (Are the Tories sneering at him?! Good Heavens!)

[Denzil_DC]

23. Well if we haven't learned to be skeptical of polls by now ...

I'd say that's fine on the face of it, but wait till the media get their claws into any possible successor to Corbyn. They love that blood in the water, and this Brexit stuff needs leavening because it's just too much for folks, blow after blow. Wait till they decide to publicize the fact that our sovereignty agreement over the Falklands is tied in with our EU membership ...

And I'd like to see the same poll run after Chilcot comes out. It's not that I expect Corbyn's standing to skyrocket, its more the depths the rest may plumb if they don't stop playing silly buggers and get their ducks in a row in preparation.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. When people like Alan Johnson are saying he's failing at leadership

I think it shows there's a really widespread feeling he's not going to be able to win an election.

Chilcot may help cement Blair's reputation as a bastard, but it's not going to have a big effect on those currently in the top tier of leadership of Labour (OK, I saw an article suggesting Mandelson was being suggested as a leader, but I really don't know if that was satire or not). And it's not going to damage the Tories. They have the excuse that they weren't in government. The more Chilcot damns Blair, Alistair Campbell or others, the more they'll say "see? They lied to us all".

[Denzil_DC]

25. Maybe I'm overestimating

how the media jackals will spin this into day after day of headlines about what Labour did when it held power, should never be trusted in office again, yadayada, maybe you're underestimating it.

Hell, I've almost been embarrassed on their behalf by the drumbeat in the media, ranging from the Guardian to the BBC, about this internal spat, given the seriousness of everything else that's been going on recently and how much of a shambles the Tories are.

People are worried about losing their jobs, people are being attacked on our streets because of the racism that's been given a nod and a wink, too much shit to be able to register, and amid all that how the hell is this self-indulgence by the splitters winning Labour any support or helping in any way, even possibly down the line? It's the classic criticism in general of the left and Labour in particular - they're all about their petty squabbles, and too little about the people they're supposed to be representing

The convenient furor on this is as transparent as the media wave that transformed Blair almost overnight from "Who he?" to the New Messiah. I didn't buy that either.

And sorry, I take Johnson about as seriously as I do Cameron. What's he ever done that's been consequential for all the high offices he's held? Wasn't he Home Secretary when we were allowing illegal extradition flights through the UK? I'll have to look that up. Oh yeah, he described trade unionists (I did look this bit up) as "fat, white, finger-jabbing blokes on rostrums shouting and screaming". He's a really fucking helpful sort to have in your corner.

Anyway, Wimbledon's started, so folks will probably have forgotten all about Brexit and Labour and all this crap in a week's time, so you're probably right - Chilcot'll be a dud.

[TubbersUK]

26. His views on union leaders are interesting

He headed up the main Royal Mail union, the UCW, before he became an MP

[Denzil_DC]

27. I just refreshed my memory about what Johnson himself did

during the referendum as leader of the Labour campaign. Some random headlines:

'Brexit campaigners are EXTREMISTS!' Labour's EU leader Alan Johnson launches extraordinary attack on Vote Leave as Corbyn launches the party's red battle bus

Quite possibly true. Probably not helpful at that stage.

'Get your granny to vote remain' Labour's Alan Johnson tells Leicester's young voters

Well, it's a -gy, not sure it ascends to the level of a strategy.

Alan Johnson on the EU referendum: ‘We’ve got the best lyrics, but we’re still struggling for a tune’

Oh good grief.

People arguing to leave the EU are being 'simplistic', Labour Remain campaign chief Alan Johnson says

Going meta is really reaching out to those northern housing estates where they live.

EU referendum: Some Out campaigners sounding like Trump, claims Johnson

Catchy. But still meta.

Labour's Alan Johnson brands Brexiteers 'extremist' - FT.com

Don't stop him now, he's on a roll.

Labour grandee Alan Johnson visits Oxford to drum up support for EU 'In' campaign

I guess that may have worked - they like their grandees in Oxford, so they do.

Labour grandee accuses Corbyn of 'working against' Remain

Oops. That slipped in, not from the referendum itself, but nobody can relate to the hoi polloi as well as a grand ole grandee.

Alan Johnson believes 'staying in Europe is the key to the North East's prosperity'

Well, that really worked.

EXCL Labour figures slam Alan Johnson over referendum campaign

He wasn't doing enough, apparently. That "slam" didn't make days-long headlines.

Am I wrong?

Has the contribution from Alan Johnson to the EU referendum debate influenced your support for either side?

http://whatukthinks.org/eu/questions/has-the-contribution-from-alan-johnson-to-the-eu-referendum-debate-influenced-your-support-for-either-side/

Apparently not: 83% no effect at all, 10% more likely to vote Leave.

But hey, it's just a poll.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Luciana Berger, Keir Starmer, and Jack Dromey resign

shadow minister for mental health, shadow immigration minister, and shadow policing minister:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5771283ae4b030d83eb4aa49#block-5771283ae4b030d83eb4aa49

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-57714729e4b0be24d34f666d#block-57714729e4b0be24d34f666d

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/27/brexit-live-george-osborne-economy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet?page=with:block-5771545ae4b0f4303810a255#block-5771545ae4b0f4303810a255

[Denzil_DC]

18. Well, I'd heard of one out of three of those before your post.

And I do try to keep up with politics.

I'm familiar with about four or five of the new shadow cabinet, as long as it lasts. I suppose that's a step in some direction!

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. Jack Dromey used to be a union leader (and is married to Harriet Harman)

And Keir Starmer used to be Director of Public Prosecutions. I'd never heard of Berger.

[Denzil_DC]

20. Dromey's the one I'd heard of.

I think I'd have had to hand in my spurs and fancy hat as any sort of small-time wonk if I hadn't.