Labour party

Wednesday

James Forsyth

PMQs: Corbyn’s farcical reshuffle has overshadowed everything else

From our UK edition

Jeremy Corbyn actually asked six reasonable questions at PMQs today. But his attack on the government’s handling of the floods will be completely overshadowed by his chaotic reshuffle; one shadow Minister actually resigned during PMQs. The Tories were itching to bring up the Labour reshuffle. The first question from a Tory MP asked Cameron to reassure her that condemning terrorist attacks was not a bar to holding high office, a reference to Pat McFadden’s sacking. Then, in reference to a question about the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death from Nadhim Zahawi, Cameron rattled off a series of pre-prepared gags, cracking that the reshuffle was a ‘comedy of errors’.

Isabel Hardman

Three Labour shadow ministers resign following Corbyn’s reshuffle

From our UK edition

Here come the resignations. 10.40am: Jonathan Reynolds, a moderate frontbencher, has stepped down citing Pat McFadden’s sacking as one of the reasons. Reynolds writes in his resignation letter that ‘I cannot in good conscience endorse the world view of the Stop the War Coalition, who I believe to be fundamentally wrong in their assessment and understanding of the threats the UK faces. The security and well-being of my constituents must always be my first consideration and I therefore believe my colleague Pat McFadden was right to condemn those who would to any degree absolve ISIS for their actions following the atrocities in Paris’.

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn never really wanted a ‘revenge reshuffle’

From our UK edition

Jeremy Corbyn is expected to make changes to his junior ministerial team today, though some might choose to walk anyway, particularly in protest at the sacking of Pat McFadden. Meanwhile sources in Hilary Benn's camp are insisting that the decision to keep him in place as shadow foreign secretary but not allow him to take a dissenting position from the dispatch box won't lead to a material change in the way the two men work together. A source says: 'When you strip away the hysterical and breathless reporting of it, all you have got is two men who do not operate on a 24 hour news cycle and are not influenced by Twitter. These two men are experienced old school politicians who have been able to work in step on most issues and that hasn’t changed.

The Spectator

Jeremy Corbyn’s new shadow cabinet in full

From our UK edition

Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn MP Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Party Chair and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office Tom Watson MP Shadow First Secretary of State, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Angela Eagle MP  Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell MP  Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Seema Malhotra MP  Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham MP  Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn MP  Opposition Chief Whip Rosie Winterton MP  Shadow Secretary of State for Health Heidi Alexander MP  Shadow Secretary of State for Education Lucy Powell MP  Shadow Secreta.

Isabel Hardman

My way or the highway, Corbyn tells tweaked Shadow Cabinet after night of the blunt knives

From our UK edition

So in the end, Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet reshuffle wasn’t the wide-ranging purge some had anticipated it would be. The Labour leader has sacked two people - Michael Dugher and Pat McFadden - moved Maria Eagle, promoted Emily Thornberry, and told Hilary Benn to toe his line. The Labour leader sacked McFadden as Shadow Foreign Office Minister for the same reasons that he dispatched Dugher: the MP had criticised the leader in public. Or did he? McFadden asked David Cameron the following question after the Paris attacks: ‘Can I ask the Prime Minister to reject the view that sees terrorist acts as always being a response or a reaction to what we in the West do?

Steerpike

Jeremy Corbyn no longer ‘living with the enemy’

From our UK edition

This week Jeremy Corbyn has found himself battling with the media once again as he had to reprimand lobby journalists for loitering too close to his office during his Shadow Cabinet reshuffle deliberations. Happily he no longer has to deal with such proximity issues when he returns home this evening. Mr S revealed back in December that the Labour leader was officially 'living with the enemy' after his lodger Gian Volpicelli started doing shifts for Mail Online.

Tuesday

Steerpike

Jess Phillips: I am interested in being Labour leader

From our UK edition

In December, Julie Burchill had lunch with Jess Phillips MP, and decided in an article for Spectator Life that the gobby Brummie had the balls to drag the Labour party back from Korbyn’s Keystone Kommunism. It now seems that Phillips agrees. Speaking on Newsnight last night, she admitted - over a pint - that she was indeed interested in the role: 'Yes, absolutely I would consider doing it, a long time in the future. It’s not something I’m planning on doing any time soon but it’s absolutely something I would do in the future, yes.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Isabel Hardman

Corbyn’s opponents reduced to hashtag mourning as reshuffle continues

From our UK edition

By the end of the day, it will be quicker to count the number of Labour MPs - including members of the Shadow Cabinet - who have not expressed their sadness that Michael Dugher has been sacked. Even though the outpouring of anguish on social media is interesting and suggests that Jeremy Corbyn is not powerful enough to be able to demand loyalty even from those who will probably remain on the frontbench, it also shows how powerless those frontbenchers and their backbench colleagues who oppose Corbyn really are. Tom Watson and Andy Burnham, too, look powerless as they were unable to save Dugher through either their threatened power as political operators (Watson) or their representations to Corbyn himself (Burnham).

Steerpike

Labour MPs rally around their fallen attack dog

From our UK edition

Michael Dugher has today been fired by Jeremy Corbyn from his role as Shadow Culture Secretary after serving less than five months on Corbyn's frontline. https://twitter.com/MichaelDugher/status/684314268024573952 While the move will no doubt come as a blow to Dugher, the responses from his fellow MPs on Twitter suggest that his demotion could actually be the biggest loss to politics in recent history. Dugher's comrades have been releasing carefully worded tributes in honour of their fallen soldier: https://twitter.com/ChukaUmunna/status/684346831879434240 https://twitter.com/andyburnhammp/status/684331143907393536 https://twitter.com/lucianaberger/status/684324637157769216 https://twitter.com/JonAshworth/status/684321006295642112 https://twitter.

Isabel Hardman

Breaking: Corbyn sacks Michael Dugher

From our UK edition

It seems that Jeremy Corbyn's reshuffle has actually started for real. This is what Michael Dugher, Shadow Culture Secretary, has just tweeted: Dugher losing his job isn't a huge surprise given his comments on Pienaar's Politics at the weekend. The Barnsley East MP told the programme that Corbyn would be left with a 'politburo of seven' if he only appointed supporters. He has been an outspoken campaigner against the Labour leader's plans for a 'revenge reshuffle', perhaps having decided that it might be better to go down in a final blaze of fighting. It will be interesting to see what the response is from Dugher's ally Tom Watson, the party's deputy leader. Both men have been very vocal in their criticism of Corbynite grassroots group Momentum.

Isabel Hardman

Corbyn to serve ‘revenge reshuffle’ cold: but will it leave Labour even more bitter?

From our UK edition

Jeremy Corbyn is expected to announce the results of his reshuffle today, after keeping everyone in suspense with hours of secret talks yesterday in his office. His ‘even reshuffle’ is being served rather cold, and its ingredients are being kept a mystery. The Labour leader is believed to be going for a less fearsome set of changes than those briefed over Christmas, possibly even keeping Hilary Benn in his job. Though the rumour is that Maria Eagle all remain on the frontbench, but leave the Defence brief.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Won’t somebody in Labour think of the mayoral contest?

From our UK edition

Jeremy Corbyn is currently conducting his reshuffle, with a group of journalists huddled at a discreet distance from the Labour leader’s office. So far, not much has happened, other than Corbyn asking the journalists not to stand outside his office, and Barry Gardiner emerging with a smile on his face. But still the briefings around the reshuffle and the anticipation of it have dominated the news agenda. This must be intensely frustrating for Sadiq Khan, who had planned to spend today getting lots of attention for his campaign on train fares. Labour members and staffers were up long before dawn handing out leaflets publicising the four-year fare freeze promised by the party’s mayoral candidate.

Steerpike

Jeremy Corbyn puts hacks on the naughty step

From our UK edition

When Jeremy Corbyn formed his Shadow Cabinet after he was voted in as Labour leader, he soon became the subject of much mockery in the media. This wasn't so much because of his appointments, but because his late night discussions about who to appoint were overheard by loitering hacks who then published the private discussions. This even included the conclusion from Team Corbyn that they were 'taking a fair amount of s--- out there' regarding the lack of women in senior positions. With Corbyn's much-hyped -- and much-briefed -- 'revenge reshuffle' seemingly now on, Mr S is pleased to hear that he has learnt from his past mistakes. The Labour leader has just ushered a number of loitering lobby hacks from outside of his office, politely asking them to move somewhere else.

Isabel Hardman

How far can Jeremy Corbyn go in his reshuffle?

From our UK edition

Jeremy Corbyn is expected to carry out his much-awaited and much-briefed ‘revenge reshuffle’ this week. Given he will have to face a shadow cabinet meeting on Tuesday, it would make more sense for the Labour leader to get on with moving and sacking today so that he faces the shadow cabinet he wants, rather than the one he wants to get rid of. But will the reshuffle really give Corbyn what he wants? This morning’s Times carries an intriguing report that Hilary Benn and Andy Burnham have offered to swap jobs so that Corbyn doesn’t have such an obvious split in foreign policy in his top team, while also avoiding party fury by sacking Benn.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

Jeremy Corbyn must be delighted by Simon Danczuk’s suspension from Labour

From our UK edition

Simon Danczuk's lightning-fast suspension from Labour - as they investigate whether he sent 'lewd' texts to a seventeen-year-old girl - is an embarrassing note to end the year on. Especially for an MP like Danczuk who has spent much of the last few years positioning himself as a campaigner against child abuse. He has described today's story in the Sun as being 'not entirely accurate' but has suggested that his behaviour 'was inappropriate'. 'I was stupid and there's no fool like an old fool' he said via Twitter. https://twitter.com/SimonDanczuk/status/682531578434686976 Danczuk has now had the party whip removed, so he will sit as an independent MP. He seems to think it won't last long.

Isabel Hardman

Andy Burnham pinpoints Labour’s problem

From our UK edition

Labour is very cross about a knighthood going to the man who ran the election campaign that beat the party in May. Andy Burnham issued a statement about Lynton Crosby’s inclusion in the New Year’s Honours list which was supposed to highlight what his party thinks is an abuse of the system. But really, it just highlights his party’s own failings. The Shadow Home Secretary said: ‘This outrageous award is the clearest evidence yet that the Tories think they can get away with whatever they like. It is a timely reminder that Labour must make it a New Year’s resolution to stop facing inwards and expose them for what they are.’ Why do the Tories think they can get away with whatever they like?

Robert Colvile

Bye, George

From our UK edition

The race to be London Mayor is the biggest personality contest in politics. And one personality looms largest: George Galloway, back from Bradford and seeking his fortune on the capital’s streets. In his public appearances, the Respect party leader has been on his usual bombastic form. But dig a little deeper, and it becomes apparent that his campaign — and his career — is on the shakiest ground. In 2012, Galloway won the Bradford West by-election by 10,000 votes: a staggering coup. But at the general election this year his party was drummed out of town. Not only did Galloway lose, but Respect’s four councillors (who had only recently rejoined after a spat with their leader) have abandoned it again. Its registered headquarters is now a tanning salon.

Wednesday

Nick Cohen

Why I’ve finally given up on the Left

From our UK edition

Nick Cohen's cover piece in the Spectator on the demise of the Labour party - and of his own support for it - is the 4th most-read magazine piece of 2015. ‘Tory, Tory, Tory. You’re a Tory.’ The level of hatred directed by the Corbyn left at Labour people who have fought Tories all their lives is as menacing as it is ridiculous. If you are a woman, you face misogyny. Kate Godfrey, the centrist Labour candidate in Stafford, told the Times she had received death threats and pornographic hate mail after challenging her local left. If you are a man, you are condemned in language not heard since the fall of Marxist Leninism.

Brendan O’Neill

Oliver Letwin’s ‘racist’ memo proves two things: politics change and people change

From our UK edition

What Oliver Letwin wrote in that 1985 memo to Thatcher was ugly. But you know what is also ugly? The forced extraction of an apology from Letwin for the things he thought and said three decades ago, when the political world was a very different place. The attempt to drag Letwin’s name into the gutter for a memo he wrote in another era, when thinking on race and society was often a million miles from what it is today, has a nasty, mob-like, fatalistic feel to it. As Letwin himself now says, his memo was wrong. He was wrong to write off the rioting in Broadwater Farm as simply a matter of ‘bad moral attitudes’, and to suggest that encouraging black entrepreneurship would inflame the ‘disco and drug trade’.

Freddy Gray

In defence of Jeremy Corbyn

From our UK edition

At No 6 in our rundown of the Spectator's most-read pieces of 2015 is a piece that takes a surprising stance. Freddy Gray's November defence of Jeremy Corbyn as a 'shockingly steadfast' politician in contrast to David Cameron who 'makes up his foreign policy as he goes along' was hugely popular, and not just with the Corbynistas who support the Labour leader.  What strange people we Brits are. We spend years moaning that our politicians are cynical opportunists who don’t stand for anything. Then along comes an opposition leader who has principles — and appears to stick by them even when it makes him unpopular — and he is dismissed as a joke. Jeremy Corbyn has been ridiculed in recent days for the feebleness of his foreign policy.