Monday, November 30, 2015
It is a Labour civil war as Unite joins the fray
Anybody who thought that collateral damage from a stand-off between Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow cabinet could be minimised has been rapidly disabused of that notion this morning with the intervention of Unite's Len McCluskey in the row.
According to the Times, Labour’s biggest union paymaster has warned Jeremy Corbyn’s opponents in the party that they are “writing their political obituaries”. He added that Labour MPs are using Syria as “the thin edge to stage a coup against Corbyn, Labour’s elected leader”.
The paper says that Mr McCluskey has declared that his union is preparing to go on the offensive if relations between Mr Corbyn and his MPs get any worse.
This is the clearest sign yet that allies of Mr. Corbyn are planning a deselection battle against allegedly disloyal MPs. Unlike the 1980s it seems that this time they will have the backing of at least one of the big unions, and that spells big trouble for those MPs who do not like the direction of travel in which Labour is heading.
This morning's news could be an opening shot in a lengthy civil war within the Labour Party.
According to the Times, Labour’s biggest union paymaster has warned Jeremy Corbyn’s opponents in the party that they are “writing their political obituaries”. He added that Labour MPs are using Syria as “the thin edge to stage a coup against Corbyn, Labour’s elected leader”.
The paper says that Mr McCluskey has declared that his union is preparing to go on the offensive if relations between Mr Corbyn and his MPs get any worse.
This is the clearest sign yet that allies of Mr. Corbyn are planning a deselection battle against allegedly disloyal MPs. Unlike the 1980s it seems that this time they will have the backing of at least one of the big unions, and that spells big trouble for those MPs who do not like the direction of travel in which Labour is heading.
This morning's news could be an opening shot in a lengthy civil war within the Labour Party.
