Inside Politics: Jeremy Corbyn feels the force of Labour anger after election defeat

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Wednesday 18 December 2019 08:45 GMT

Former Labour MP Mary Creagh calls Jeremy Corbyn a '‘preening narcissist'

Daisy Ridley has revealed she was so upset about losing all her mates at the end of filming the Star Wars saga, she had to watch episodes of Friends just to calm down. Maybe Jeremy Corbyn can relax during retirement by catching up with millennials’ favourite sitcom on Netflix. As he winds up his own epic saga, he is shorter than ever on pals in the Parliamentary Labour Party – with MPs and peers hurling insults at his face rather than gossiping behind his back as usual. Many are demanding Corbyn’s closest friends depart the leader’s office too, so a brand new team gets the chance to revive the franchise. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

Jeremy Corbyn will be relieved not to have to face a victorious Boris Johnson at PMQs. Today, live action is limited because we are between yesterday’s re-election of the Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech. More of the 140 new MPs will continue to be formally sworn in. Outside the chamber, would-be candidates for the Labour leadership and deputy leadership will lobby for support – and nominations – from their fellow Labour MPs. And Johnson will continue his post-election charm offensive by hosting a Downing Street reception for NHS staff.

Daily briefing

MOUNT VOCIFEROUS: Jeremy Corbyn has been through lots of strange experiences in his four-and-a-bit years in charge of the Labour party. But last night’s PLP meeting – in which he was subjected to a tirade of furious condemnation – will surely rank pretty high in surreality. One Labour figure said he was “cut to ribbons,” while Labour peer Lord Falconer described it as a “volcano of molten anger”. David Lammy said it was time “end this faith-based cult once and for all” – with some insisting Corbyn’s aides Seumas Milne and Karie Murphy also had to go. Earlier, former MP Mary Creagh got enraged when she spotted Corbyn smiling and taking selfies with a group of young people. After rushing over to confront him, she called him a “man without honour and without shame,” someone guilty of “preening narcissism”. And … breathe. I suppose if there’s a time to let it all out, it’s now.

BLAIR DITCH PROJECT: Corbyn may wish to keep the TV turned off today, because Tony Blair intends to do a lot of talking. Labour’s only living election winner will offer his own dissection of Where It All Went Wrong, urging the party to ditch “sectarian ultra-left politics”. Research carried out for the Tony Blair Institute in three marginal seats found a whole set of reasons for the loss besides Brexit – including the lack of credibility on the economy and security, and a sense Labour hadn’t rooted out “extremism”. Blair is expected to pronounce: “Labour needs not just a different driver, but a different bus.” Sir Keir Starmer will be desperate not to seem to be nodding too hard at everything Blair says. In an interview with The Guardian, he said he was “seriously considering” running (of course he’s running), and claimed it was time for Labour to become a “broad church” again. He made sure he praised Momentum, as well as “people who might self-identity as Blairites”.

CHAMPAGNE CHARLIES: Boris Johnson was spotted quaffing “fine English sparkling wine” with Theresa May earlier this week, but the boozing and schmoozing is over. No 10 has reportedly banned ministers from attending next month’s black-slapping Davos summit in case it looks a bit indulgent to all those working-class northerners the Tories suddenly care so much about. Johnson has previously referred to Davos as an event comprised of “massive mutual orgies of adulation”. A Downing Street official said sanctimoniously: “Our focus is on delivering for the people, not champagne with billionaires.” Could it be there’s a small drop – just a smidgen – of hypocrisy here? Johnson attended Davos every year from 2009 to 2014. And according to The Times, one guest saw him “whacking back the vodkas” in happy abandon.

DAMN GOOD WHACKING: Anyway, speaking of absurd wealth and privilege, let’s turn our attention to Zac Goldsmith. According to several reports, he is set to do a Nicky Morgan: given a peerage and allowed to continue his cabinet role despite no longer being an MP. Has there ever been a more spectacular case of failing upwards? The PM’s right-hand schemer Dominic Cummings appears to be behind this pattern. A 2014 video has emerged showing him giving a presentation and explaining how much he would like to “whack” favoured people into the House of Lords “if I ever manage to successfully get control of Number 10”. The audience can be heard laughing at that last part. The joke’s on us now.

COULD BE WORSE: Nigel Farage didn’t turn out to be the party pooper the Tories feared. But according to post-election analysis by Datapraxis the Conservatives could have won another 20 seats in the north if not for the Brexit Party. Ed Miliband and Yvette Cooper might well have lost their seats, and Johnson would have trumped even Thatcher’s 1987 majority if Farage had pulled all of his candidates. In the lead up to the election several Brexit Party figures were accused of Islamophobia, something the Tories are keen to distance themselves from, if they can. Swaran Singh, a psychiatry professor and former commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, will now lead a long-awaited inquiry into Islamophobia and other forms of prejudice in the ruling party. Let’s see if the professor has anything to say about the PM’s infamous “letterboxes” remark.

GOLDEN SLUMBERS: Let’s not feel too sorry for all those MPs clearing out their offices. According to the BBC, the politicians given the boot by voters last week will be getting a total of more than £2m in a “golden goodbye” of taxpayers’ cash. As well as the standard redundancy payment, 71 of the departing MPs are entitled to a “loss of office payment” which takes into account time served. The Beeb research shows 10 exiteers could be awarded nearly £40,000 each, with the average amount totalling over £18,000. Not everyone gets this not-so-little bonus payment, however. Among those ineligible are the MPs who defected to the Lib Dems, because they were standing in different seats to the ones where they were originally elected. Perhaps a tear or two for the defectors? No? Okay then.

On the record

“To be honest it was no worse than it always is.”

Jess Phillips says the awful PLP meeting was actually business as usual.

From the Twitterati

“Finally @RachelReevesMP lays into Corbyn. Tells him the real problem in this election “was you” and fact that Labour sounded “economically illiterate”. Applause from PLP.”

Huff Post’s Paul Waugh reports one of the many attacks on Corbyn at the showdown...

“Newly-elected Labour MP (and Corbyn loyalist) Claudia Webbe tells PLP the party has “lots to celebrate from the election” and that “the leadership isn’t to blame” for the result.”

…while Politics Home’s Kevin Schofield passes on the most amusingly delusional contribution.