The farce surrounding Jeremy Corbyn’s reshuffle continues. It’s not just that it took him 34 hours to shift 3 ministers, or that there have been as many resignations in protest as there were front bench displacements, or that even after four days (after two weeks of press briefings) it’s still not over, or that the people who were sacked have led the story. Truly, it is the reshuffle that ate itself.
A few of us were joking on Twitter this morning about when we were going to get offered jobs. There are still several hundred thousand Labour members to get through, of course.
The whole thing has created as many problems as it’s solved. Corbyn’s team look like they couldn’t run a bath let alone a country. Hilary Benn’s resignation at a time of his choosing, on principle, seems like a headline waiting to happen. Even Armando Iannucci probably couldn’t make it up.
Amongst those Corbyn has persuaded to take a role is Cardiff Central Labour MP Jo Stevens, who becomes a Shadow Justice Minister.
Hang on a wee minute here. Is this the same Jo Stevens who accused her predecessor Jenny Willott of neglecting her constituency by being an Assistant Government whip? Last year when Jenny stepped down from that role, Stevens said:
Voters in Cardiff Central will see this resignation for what it really is – a shameful admission that Jenny Willott has neglected her constituency.
She had a further dig in a profile during the election campaign, saying she would be happy as a backbencher:
Ms Stevens added that, if elected, she’d be happy as a backbench MP.
“I’m not a professional politician, I’m not doing this for a career. I’ve had a career already, a very successful career.
“I’m doing this because I think Cardiff Central deserves better representation,” she said.
You can certainly see why some might think her acceptance of a prominent role to be hypocritical.
Welsh Lib Dem AM Eluned Parrott called on Jo Stevens to apologise to Jenny:
Jenny Willott achieved so much as a Minister, fighting for equality in the workplace and leaving a lasting legacy for women and their families across the country. Despite those achievements, all Jo Stevens could say was that the people of Cardiff Central were ‘neglected’.
By her logic, whatever Jo Stevens may achieve in her new role, she will be wracked with guilt for neglecting her constituents as a result.
It seems Jo Stevens has her own shameful admission to make: that she is willing to say whatever it takes to get elected. Accepting a frontbench role after her remarks is incredibly hypocritical, and I hope at the very least she’ll apologise to Jenny for what she said.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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12 Comments
Ah Caron I must confess I expected better. “Corbyn’s team look like they couldn’t run a bath let alone the country”. Why do you say this, do you disagree with their policy positions ? Rembering the LibDems rejoice in being the party that allows each other to have differences of opinion on policies presumably you would accept that to be reasonable within the Shadow Cabinet?
The media’s latest attack on Corbyn has been based on something of their own biased creation. The revenge shuffle that never was. As for mocking Labour’s Shadow Cabinet could you list the full shadow spokespersons for the LibDems? Do you think the 7 of them plus Tim could run the country?
Don’t get me wrong I have a sense of humour and could fill LDV with jokes at the LibDems expense. There are a lot of them by the way. But does this enable us to work together and form the strong coalition that Tim Farron professes that he wants? Meanwhile the Tories, the ones in Govt presiding over dreadful policies get a free pass. You know there is a shared responsibility for all opposition parties to oppose.
Whilst I agree with Dave Orbinson and deplore remarks like “could not run a bath” as contributing nothing to political discussion, I am not at all impressed by Corbyn’s management skills. They are essential if you are going to lead a party let alone a country. Tim has made some good moves forward, but, policy aside, Corbyn does not impress as a leader.
Whatever one thinks of Jeremy Corbyn’s politics or management ability, the problem the present day Labour Party have somehow got themselves into is quite obvious.
The views of the membership and supporter base, who do directly choose the leader, don’t align with with PLP who don’t directly choose the leader.
So, even if Jeremy Corbyn and his team’s management ability was faultless there’d still be a huge problem. Something has to give to allow the PLP to be an effective opposition again. Either there needs to be an almost complete change in personnel or a complete change in the party membership.
Neither is likely any time soon! So the problem remains and I can’t see any easy fix.
I am inclined to see calculation rather than incompetence in the 4 day reshuffle but I would find it hard to convince an ordinary voter of that, I suspect. Essentially this was a skirmish in which each side tried to assess the others strength, determination & unity. It was a manged battle with neither side ready for full scale war, yet.
I am beginning to think LDV and hence the good folk above in response to Caron need to aquire both more free speech and sense of humour ! I love the way the only humour apparently to be had is at the Liberal Democrats expense ! Meaning I don t like it at all !! Some on here seem besotted with Corbyn , and all who sail in him, it s not his views , even if well to the left of me they are the least of the problem ! Caron was mild , in what was an informative article . It s spot on on Corbyn s utter incompetence ,and the devious and hypocritical nonsense of his new politics , spin , briefing , snide intolerance of other s views worse than anything from Blair !
I agree with Lorenzo. Caron bashes Tory policies all the time, she’s allowed to bash Labour a bit too. I don’t mind the Tory bashing, as long as space is given for other views, which it is.
Moving on, yes it does look like a bit of hypocrisy from the new Labour Shadow Justice minister. The Labour reshuffle was a shambles, but I’ve stuck up for Corbyn in one respect: I think some people serving in his shadow cabinet are now basically batting for the Tories and if I was Corbyn I would sack them. People who strongly disagree with him shouldn’t be in his shadow cabinet.
Eddie, yes Corbyn is right to want agreement based on collective responsibility but he is the one who kept on and on about a new politics .Blair , for all his faults of a different kind , was preaching party discipline so the hair shirt mentality was not unexpected or hypocritical . And the sight of John “i am sorry from the bottom of my heart “, McDonall talking of hard right members being a kind of a cabal or whatever , is hilarious . Has he ever stopped to realise several paces of right ward from hard left would seem hard right ! I do not agree with you Eddie re them being pro tory , not those who have been sacked or have resigned . In fact , the former shadow culture secretary was a chief of Andy Burnham s leadership bid and is close to Tom Watson so I have read . Corbyn came in with so much baggage on the front of dodgy associations and past comments , all he had to do is be a bit more mainsteam and highly competent and many would have been relieved or more supportive . Instead , he has made Foot seem like a giant !
Hi Lorenzo, I would believe the broad church argument if the ministers kept their disagreements mostly private. But they aren’t – they are dragging it out in public and creating a media spectacle to embarrass Corbyn.
Jeremy looks weak and soft for not sacking more. There’s no easy options, because sacking popular people would look bad too, but his shadow cabinet haven’t been helping him.
While I think it is contemptible to campaign like Jo Stevens when you are trying to unseat an excellent MP like Jenny Willott I do think that the Liberal Party/Liberal Democrats are in part responsible for changing the political culture so that the electorate now feels that the House of Commons should consist of 652 super-social workers/local council managers. I remember Ivan Lawrence in 1970 after he had defeated Eric Lubbock saying something like “I don’t intend as MP to be the best local councillor Orpington has ever had” (not sure how good he was as an MP either), but we should remember the likes of Roy Jenkins who treated their constituents with patrician disdain but who made a massive contribution to public life and good governance in this country. I am not arguing in favour of MPs who are lazy, or who treat the House of Commons as their London club, but nor do I believe that they should be looking over their shoulders all the time in case their opponents start beating them over the head for their non-attendance at the Little Snoring church fete.
I’m afraid this type of ping pong party sniping on what is not even a substantial policy issue is what gives politics a bad name.
Eddie , not sure it s about Corbyn s appearing soft , more about incompetence , and antagonism on his part , thus I cannot understand why anyone think s it s ping pong or wrong to say it !
1 out of 15 comments touch upon Jo Stevens tactical (you could have also raised how Lib dems were criticised for not standing up for students while Jenny’s personal stand was swept under the carpet) campaigning while the rest comment on the needless attacks on Corbyn’s reshuffle.
As someone who lives in Cardiff Central, I did not think much of Jo Stevens based on her campaign (she did come across as more calculated and cunning than a person wanting to do her best for Cardiff) but since have been impressed by how many surgeries she holds in the local area. Perhaps an article comparing how easy it is for constituents to contact their MP showing that Labour in Cardiff South and Penarth falls short and the Tory MP in Cardiff North is seemingly impossible to contact would be more interesting for Welsh Lib Dems.