JEREMY Corbyn does not have his troubles to seek and yesterday members of his shadow cabinet appeared to be queuing up to take a shot at his principled policies.
The new man at Labour’s helm has been in post for only a week, but by now he must have more than a good understanding of the depths to which his political “allies” are prepared to sink.
His opposition to the Trident nuclear deterrent is well known, as is his desire to pull the UK out of Nato – both of which prompted howls of derision, along with a warning from a senior serving general of a “mutiny” from the Army.
The unnamed general said you “can’t put a maverick in charge of a country’s security”, and warned of mass resignations at all levels. Lord Falconer, a close friend of ex-prime minister Tony Blair and now in Labour’s shadow justice role, spoke of the “earthquake” within the party, before affirming that he could not agree with Corbyn on withdrawing from Nato and that he remained in favour of Trident.
Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, also set out his support for both, while former Labour home secretary Charles Clarke suggested the party was preparing to fight the next election without Corbyn.
The role of leader of the Opposition has frequently been described as the most difficult job in British politics, and we tend to agree.
But whatever happened to Labour, the party of democracy?
Corbyn achieved an astonishing mandate – greater than that enjoyed at any time by Blair – yet in his first week he has faced a constant stream of attacks for almost everything he has done. If Labour continues to battle itself and manages to lose another leader before 2020, it will merely illustrate how unelectable it has become, leaving the door open for the SNP to be addressed as the real Opposition in the Commons.
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