Angela Eagle wasn’t told about a controversial plan to ban companies who do not pay a living wage from paying out dividends to shareholders before Jeremy Corbyn floated it in a speech last week, Coffee House understands.
I have learned that the Shadow Business Secretary was not consulted over the proposal, which is believed to have triggered the resignation of the Labour leader’s Head of Policy and Rebuttal, Neale Coleman. Corbyn floated the idea in his speech to the Fabian Society on Saturday, saying ‘another proposal would be to bar or restrict companies from distributing dividends until they pay all their workers the living wage’.
It is normal for the Shadow Cabinet member responsible for a policy area to at least be notified before an announcement, but Corbyn’s aides argued that he was not announcing any set policy. His spokesman said: ‘These weren’t policy announcements, just floating ideas for discussion.
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