Tom Watson's elected shadow cabinet: How would it work?
Labour Party's deputy leader wants to 'put the band back together' after 'bruising summer'
Labour deputy leader Tom Watson is attempting to push through a deal that would see shadow cabinet members elected, but would still allow Jeremy Corbyn to hire and fire frontbenchers if, as expected, he wins this Saturday's leadership election.
Watson has put forward two proposals: one that would see MPs choose the shadow cabinet and the other that would split the decision evenly between MPs, Corbyn and the party members.
He will raise the proposals at a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) today in a bid to get it on the agenda at next week's party conference, reports Sky News.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Speaking this morning, Watson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he wanted Labour to unite and "put the band back together" following the leadership election.
"We’ve had a very bruising summer," he said. "We are going to get a new leader elected on Saturday, we all think there is the likelihood of a very early general election and so we have got to put the band back together.
"For me, the heart of our party is the parliamentary party - they are the people that come on the Today programme to talk about our policies to the nation - and we have got to bring people back in.
"I think to have an elected shadow cabinet, not an appointed shadow cabinet, is one way we do that."
Allowing MPs to elect shadow cabinet members would offer a "dignified way back for a number of individuals, with Lucy Powell, Dan Jarvis and Gloria De Piero among those who could be persuaded to stand", says The Guardian.
Watson is likely to suggest giving Corbyn the power to remove frontbenchers as a means of preventing anyone from using the elections to try to destabilise the leadership, adds the paper.
The deputy leader also said he would be asking the NEC to look at the way the party elects its leader, but the changes would not come into place until the new leader had resigned.
"In the last set of reforms we had was some very rushed reforms and we created a new category of member, a registered supporter, which is pretty unpopular in all sections. We want to remove that and we also want to enfranchise more ordinary trade unionists in the new process," he said.
ITV's political editor Robert Peston says: "Watson's leadership-election reform proposals are not yet another attempt to unseat Corbyn. But a longer term plan to try and unify the warring parts of the party."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Senegal's Bassirou Diomaye Faye: from prison to Africa's youngest elected leader
Why everyone's talking about The 44-year-old has resonated with young people by promising to shake up the establishment and enact economic reforms
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Unthinkable tragedy'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's biggest political donors
The Explainer With the 2024 general election set to be the highest-spending contest ever we look at who is giving to which party and why
By The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What will £28bn green investment U-turn cost Labour?
Today's Big Question Dropping flagship pledge 'will confirm workers' scepticism of the endless promises of jam tomorrow', said union leader
By The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
How many seats do Labour and the Tories need to win?
In depth Changes to constituency boundaries mean Labour needs even bigger swing at next election to form a majority
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published