Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

What holds Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench team together

Jeremy Corbyn surfaced last night to do his first round of broadcast interviews since becoming Labour leader. The two key lines were on Europe and Trident, and though the interviewers were interested in these issues, Corbyn also had an interest in being as clear as he possibly could be on them as they play a large part in holding his Shadow Cabinet together.

Labour MPs spent a lot of time chatting with one another and debating whether it was the right thing to join the Corbyn frontbench as he assembled it on Sunday night. They reached different conclusions, with some fearing they would be tainted by a hopeless administration that they didn’t agree with, others refusing to play any part in an administration they fear will inflict lasting damage on their party, but others still deciding that the best way of serving their party in a crisis would be to become a shadow minister.

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