Thursday 3 November 2016

With his rivals going off to mayoral campaigns or select committees there is no doubt Corbyn is more secure as labour leader than ever before

Jeremy Corbyn is more secure as Labour leader than he has ever been. His opponents have done two things - gone off to run select committees like Yvette Cooper or Hilary Benn. Or gone off to run mayoral campaigns in their own areas like Sadiq Khan or Andy Burnham. Many lesser labour MPs have effectively given up. Corbyns re-election with an increased majority has cemented his position. It is now hard to see how he can be removed before 2020. He has managed to put together a shadow cabinet and front bench team that is far closer to him politically than his original one. Within the shadow cabinet, he is trying to freeze out the deputy leader Tom Watson, the only other person in the Parliamentary Labour Party with a direct mandate from the membership. Watson has been kept off the key shadow cabinet policymaking committees. Where is the future for her majesty's opposition? I have knocked on many doors these last few months and I am finding even traditional labour voters dismayed by the far left approach of Corbyn.