Hilary Benn sacked from shadow cabinet

[Denzil_DC]

Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn has been sacked from the shadow cabinet by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour's leader is facing a vote of no confidence over claims he fought a "lacklustre" campaign in the EU vote.

Newspaper reports suggested Mr Benn had been encouraging shadow ministers to resign if Mr Corbyn ignored the result of the no confidence vote.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Mr Corbyn "worked himself to the ground" during the four-month campaign.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36632539

There's disloyalty, then there's plain stupidity.

If the other shadow cabinet members reported to be preparing to resign if Corbyn isn't ousted after the no-confidence move this coming Monday don't jump, they should be pushed. Time to root this crap out now at long last and get some more level heads in, before the Chilcot Report publication on 6 July.

[non sociopath skin]

1. Can't see a Labour grassroots "Hilary is innocent" campaign gaining traction.

The Blairites' hubris is getting the better of them...

The Skin

[Ken Burch]

2. No great loss. Hilary Benn has based his career on opposing nearly everything his father stood for,

He sucked up to Blair from the start and hasn't yet seen a war he didn't like.

Hilary actually argues that bombing Syria is "socialist internationalism", ffs.

[Ken Burch]

3. This is an important passage in the article:

an online petition on the website of campaign organisation 38 Degrees calling for Mr Corbyn to remain as leader has attracted more than 160,000 signatures from the general public.

In a joint statement, union leaders have also backed Mr Corbyn to continue as leader, saying the "last thing Labour needs is a manufactured leadership row of its own".

They called for Labour to "unite as a source of national stability" and challenge any attempt to use the referendum result to "introduce a more right-wing Conservative government by the backdoor".

Here's a link to the petition for any UK DU'er wishing to sign it:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/a-vote-of-confidence-in-jeremy-corbyn-after-brexit?source=twitter-share-button

[T_i_B]

4. Heidi Alexander has also resigned.

She was one of the better and more effective voices in the shadow cabinet. Labour is falling apart right now.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Heidi Alexander first shadow minister to resign after Hilary Benn sacking

Text of resignation letter here:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/26/brexit-live-jeremy-corbyn-sacks-hilary-benn-tory-leadership?page=with:block-576f85c4e4b030d83eb4a6dc#block-576f85c4e4b030d83eb4a6dc

Guardian (and BBC and ITV) are saying at least half of the shadow cabinet will resign this morning.

[Ken Burch]

6. Hilary Benn has led the fight against Jeremy from the start.

If this were A Very British Coup, Hilary would be Wainwright.

This will probably Corbyn force out...which can only mean a reactionary like Yvette Cooper ends up in the job(or David Miliband, if they really had their way).

Labour will be a principle-free zone again, a party of Sainsburys and Bransons again, a party of austerity and perpetual war again. What it will no longer be is a party with a reason to exist.

No one out in the electorate wants another Blairite government.

And its a despicable lie to blame Jeremy for the Leave victory...that result was totally the fault of Tory and Blairite upper-class southern England arrogance. If the party had listened to the left in the Nineties and NOT endorsed the Thatcherite decision to leave the Northern England to slowly die, the conditions that created UKIP would never have existed.

[Denzil_DC]

7. Ian Murray also to resign

Who he? You may well ask.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/ian-murray-resign-corbyns-cabinet-8284963

He's Labour's sole MP in Scotland, and Shadow Scottish Secretary. And, to be honest, pretty useless. But he fills a hole.

So it looks like Labour, with an independence referendum on the table, will have to appoint a Shadow Scottish Secretary from a non-Scottish constituency (there are a few Scots from English constituencies who could take on the role, which might make it a teeny bit less jarring).

In other news, I hear rumours that Osborne will resign on Monday, which would make the timing of this no confidence nonsense even more impeccable.

[LeftishBrit]

8. Ahh, the Labour Party at its best

The country is facing possible disaster, and responsible action is needed.

The Tories are in turmoil and at each other's throats; it's possible there'll be an early election; and Labour might have a chance of getting in and reversing some of the damage.

So what do the Labour politicians do?

Fight each other, of course!