jeremy corbyn Archives

Tuesday

28 Jun 2016

Labour MPs pass vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn

Labour MPs have passed a motion of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn 172 votes to 40. There were 216 votes cast (out of 229 Labour MPs). This means that the Labour leader will continue to serve without the support of a majority of his MPs. Unless he decides to resign, he will lead Prime Minister’s Questions for the Opposition tomorrow as normal. I have spoken to the key plotters against the Labour leader, and though they considered not turning up to tomorrow’s session, they have decided that the most important thing for backbenchers to be doing is to be holding the government to account, even if their frontbench is incapable

Steerpike

Jeremy Corbyn decides Shadow Cabinet broadcast is a ‘bad idea’… after filming begins

As the Labour party slowly implodes, Jeremy Corbyn is doing his best to keep the show on the road. To do this, the Leader’s Office today agreed that it would be a good idea to let Sky News film a meeting of the new Shadow Cabinet. Although Corbyn’s director of communications Seumas Milne clearly hoped this would prove that everything was tickety boo, the Labour leader had doubts. Unfortunately for everyone concerned, his doubts only surfaced once Sky had actually arrived and started filming: Jeremy Corbyn reshuffles the shadow cabinet – literally – before TV filming https://t.co/7D7wyfdN1c https://t.co/ceabdcinNd — Sky News (@SkyNews) June 28, 2016 Corbyn can be heard muttering that

Tanya Gold

Amidst the noise at the Corbyn rally was the sound of a political movement throwing itself into the abyss

Whenever I write – or think – about Jeremy Corbyn supporters, I sound like Quentin Letts. For this I apologise. It probably did not help that the first thing I found at the pro Corbyn rally in Parliament Square yesterday was an anti-Semitism special in a far left newspaper. (It is their bar of shame). It suggested that calling dead Zionists not only complicit in the Holocaust but welcoming of it, for the future possibilities of persecuting Palestinians it involved, is an acceptable thing to say. The PA system does not work. To hear the speakers, you must be within 50 metres of the fire engine on which they stand. So the two

Isabel Hardman

‘We are going to have to lock some people in a cupboard’: Labour plotters prepare for coup

Labour MPs are today voting on the motion of no confidence on Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. The rebels expect the vote to pass with 2:1 support from the parliamentary party. But what they do not know is whether the party membership has really shifted enough for Corbyn to lose when it moves to a new contest. Corbynite sources are adamant that he will win again, and reports of disillusionment amongst activists, while striking, are only anecdotal. But Labour MPs who oppose Corbyn’s leadership now see the coup us unstoppable, and believe that if necessary they will have to hold repeated votes and leadership contests in order to dislodge him. They think

Steerpike

Listen: Diane Abbott says it’s ‘Westminster-centric’ to ask if Corbyn can win an election

With Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet now somewhat depleted, brains at Labour are left with less choice when it comes to who to send onto the airwaves to protect the leader’s honour. As a result, readers ought to expect to hear a lot more from Diane Abbott — the newly appointed Shadow Health Secretary — in the coming days. Alas this may not be exactly what the beleaguered Labour leader needs as he continues to try and fend off the threat of a vote of no confidence. This morning Abbott appeared on the Today programme to make the case for Corbyn’s survival. Abbott said that if there was another leadership election, she was confident

Monday

27 Jun 2016

Isabel Hardman

Labour MPs advised on personal safety after pro-Corbyn demo

The demonstration in support of Jeremy Corbyn is starting to dissipate, but Labour MPs have this evening been contacted by their whips to advise them on their personal safety as they leave Parliament after the late votes. They have been advised on what entrances are being kept open for their safety, and told that anyone who is worried should contact the Serjeant at Arms. Labourites are particularly annoyed that their party’s whips have had to send this message to them given they confronted Jeremy Corbyn at the parliamentary Labour party meeting this evening over the behaviour of the grassroots group Momentum. Ian Murray received a big cheer for telling him to ‘call

Isabel Hardman

Team Corbyn defiant after parliamentary party turns on him

Journalists aren’t allowed inside the meetings of the Parliamentary Labour Party. But this evening they got a glimpse of just how high tensions had been running when Jeremy Corbyn faced his MPs when the press briefing from the Labour leader’s spokespeople descended into a loud stand-off in the corridor between them and one of his most vocal opponents, John Woodcock, who took issue with the official account of the meeting that was being offered, accusing the aides of a ‘highly distorted account’. Other MPs leaving the meeting said it was ‘heartbreaking’, and ‘awful, just awful’. They could be heard applauding criticisms of the Labour leader during the meeting. Senior figures

Steerpike

Watch: Labour’s new shadow Justice Secretary turns on his fellow MPs at Momentum rally

While Corbyn faced an open revolt from MPs at tonight’s meeting of the PLP, over in Parliament Square the Corbyn fightback got underway as hundreds gathered for a Momentum rally in support of the Labour leader. Not content with the drama at the meeting, Richard Burgon — Labour’s former blunder-prone shadow City minister who has just been promoted to Shadow Justice Secretary — left early to attend the rally. In his speech to the Corbynistas, he turned on his fellow MPs, accusing them of ‘behaving like bullies’ inside Parliament: https://twitter.com/katyballs/status/747493155621199873 ‘I think everyone in the Parliamentary Labour party can hear you shouting tonight. Cos I’ll tell you this, I’ll be quite open about it: some people

Steerpike

Watch: Jeremy Corbyn heckled by his own MPs – ‘resign!’

It’s not proving to be a great day for Jeremy Corbyn. After over half of his Shadow Cabinet resigned, the Labour leader has now faced a revolt in the Chamber. While giving a statement on the European referendum, Corbyn called for MPs to refrain from in-fighting: ‘The country will thank neither the benches in front of me or the benches behind for indulging in internal factoring maneuvering at this time.’ Alas his words on party unity hit a bum note with those on the Labour benches. MPs looked incredulous as Corbyn spoke, and shortly began a chorus of heckles urging him to resign — with Toby Perkins and Chris Evans leading

Isabel Hardman

Labour makes a mess of holding the Government to account as Parliament returns

Even when Britain has just voted to leave the European Union, Commons business must go on. And so this afternoon the first item on the agenda in the Chamber was not the statement from the Prime Minister on Brexit and his own resignation, but Defence questions. This should have been awkward for the Government, which is in chaos at the moment. But instead it was awkward for Labour, whose newly-appointed Shadow Defence Secretary Clive Lewis was unable to get back to Westminster from the Glastonbury Festival in time. Despite kind offers to help from supportive friends of Jeremy Corbyn, Emily Thornberry stepped into the breach instead, telling the Chamber that

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn is going to fight to the bitter end

Despite the rolling programme of frontbench resignations in the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn is clearly planning to fight to the bitter end. Labour sources are repeatedly insisting that he will definitely be on the ballot paper in a new contest, and referring to the mandate he has already been handed by members. A Corbynite source said: ‘We are not going to betray that trust by dumping the democracy of the Labour party if there is a leadership challenge. ‘The only way that the leadership of the party will change will be if the members decide that.’ The reason Corbyn is staying put is because he still believes that the membership

Tom Goodenough

Coffee House shots: Tory turmoil, Jexit and Boris’ bid for No.10

As the spate of resignations from the Labour shadow cabinet continues this morning and the rival candidates in the race to replace David Cameron as Prime Minister step up their campaigns, politics shows no signs of slowing down today. Boris Johnson and Theresa May are the front runners in the upcoming Conservative leadership contest – but who will emerge on top? And amidst Tory turmoil, the crisis at the top of the Labour party continues this morning. On today’s edition of our Coffee House shots podcast, James Forsyth tells Isabel Hardman that: ‘One of the rules for politics at the moment is that however bad things are for the Conservatives

Steerpike

Jeremy Corbyn’s new Shadow Defence Secretary goes MIA on first day

Given the flak that Tom Watson received for partying until 4am at Glastonbury on Saturday as his party imploded, one could be forgiven for thinking that any remaining Labour MPs at the annual festival would have got out of there as soon as possible. However, there is a rumour doing the rounds that Corbyn’s new Shadow Defence Secretary Clive Lewis will not make it to Defence Questions today as he is… still on his way back from Glastonbury. While Lewis’s office is yet to respond to Mr S’s request for comment, Corbyn can take heart that the Labour MP has at least been flying the flag for him at the music

Katy Balls

Jeremy Corbyn begins Shadow Cabinet reshuffle – Emily Thornberry for Shadow Foreign Secretary

After losing 12 members of his Shadow Cabinet on Sunday and with a vote of no confidence looming, there was speculation that Jeremy Corbyn would have a hard time filling the vacancies. However, this morning Labour have announced his new Shadow Cabinet recruits. The list of ten new appointments is comprised of many known Corbyn loyalists, as well as a round of new MPs who came through in the 2015 General Election: Emily Thornberry has been promoted to Shadow Foreign Secretary, while Diane Abbott has been given the role of Shadow Health Secretary. Pat Glass’s EU gaffe (in which she called a voter a ‘horrible racist‘) seems to have done her

Isabel Hardman

Jexit: running tally of Labour frontbench resignations

Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he is staying put, despite a vote of no confidence from Labour MPs passing by a big majority. Frontbenchers have now been resigning one after since Sunday 26th June to show that they want Corbyn out. And moments after the party leader issued a statement to say he was staying put, the latest round of resignations were announced. Here’s our full tally of who has stepped down from the shadow cabinet: Monday 4th July: Fabian Hamilton, the shadow Europe minister has stepped down from the Labour frontbench. Thursday 30th June: 3.30pm Rob Marris quits during a bill committee. The shadow Treasury secretary said he wanted to raise a point

Sunday

26 Jun 2016

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn vows to fight on after day of resignations

Jeremy Corbyn’s enemies in the Labour party had hoped that the leader would do the ‘decent thing’ and stand down after the day-long programme of frontbench resignations had made it clear that he will not be able to run an effective opposition. But this evening he has made it clear that he doesn’t agree with this assessment of the state of his frontbench, releasing a statement that says he will carry out a reshuffle tomorrow, and fight on. You can read the full statement below. What it means is that the coup against the Labour leader will have to be brutal and will likely involve a motion of no confidence

Steerpike

Simon Danczuk comes to Jeremy Corbyn’s rescue

Today Jeremy Corbyn has had not one, not two, not three but ten Shadow Cabinet members hand in their resignation. What’s more, with a growing number of Labour MPs confessing to having lost faith in the Labour leader over the EU referendum result, he now faces a difficult task trying to fill the vacancies. Happily, one man has nobly volunteered his services. Step forward Simon Danczuk: Have phoned Jeremy & said if required, I'm prepared to serve. I am prepared to make that sacrifice for the Labour Party. — Simon Danczuk (@SimonDanczuk) June 26, 2016 Yes, the MP — who has proved to be a thorn in Corbyn’s side ever since he was

Katy Balls

John McDonnell leads Shadow Cabinet fightback for Corbyn’s survival – ‘he’s going nowhere’

The Shadow Cabinet fightback is on. After Hilary Benn appeared on the Andrew Marr Show to set out the reasons for a no confidence vote in Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell has appeared on the Sunday Politics to make the case for the Labour leader. While Benn — along with a growing list of MPs who have today resigned from the front bench — argued that Corbyn is not up to being leader, McDonnell has reminded MPs of his mandate. ‘Jeremy’s not going anywhere,’ the shadow chancellor told Andrew Neil. ‘He was elected nine months ago, the biggest mandate of any political leader in our country, and he is not going anywhere.’ McDonnell has also attempted to put an

Steerpike

What Labour coup? Tom Watson parties the night away at Glastonbury

As Jeremy Corbyn tries to hold off the threat of a coup from members of his shadow cabinet, it’s probably for the best that he pulled out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury today. However, not everyone in Labour’s top command appears to have received the memo about putting the party’s woes above the annual music festival. Step forward Tom Watson. Labour’s deputy leader had no qualms about living it up at Worthy Farm last night. In fact, Labour’s worries over Europe appeared to be far from Watson’s mind as he used snapchat to document his crazy night on the — muddy — tiles: Tom Watson's final Glastonbury snapchat…. He must be on a

Saturday

25 Jun 2016

Steerpike

Watch: Jeremy Corbyn heckled over Europe at London Pride – ‘it’s your fault!’

It’s not turning out to be a great weekend for Jeremy Corbyn. First he had to pull out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury on Sunday to focus on Brexit, now his visit to London Pride has, too, been ruined by the referendum result. On meeting with members of Labour’s LGBT community at Pride, Corbyn was repeatedly heckled over Remain losing the EU referendum. In a video shared on Twitter, Labour members repeatedly shout at the party leader: ‘It’s your fault Jeremy! It’s your fault! When are you resigning? I had a Polish friend in tears because you couldn’t get out the vote in Wales, the North and the Midlands.’ I get so