Jeremy Corbyn faces cabinet chaos over shadow chancellor and backlash over lack of top jobs for women

Jeremy Corbyn leaving his home on his first day as Labour leader
Dominic Lipinski/PA
Joe Murphy @JoeMurphyLondon14 September 2015
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Jeremy Corbyn's first reshuffle was in chaos today as senior colleagues refused to endorse the new shadow chancellor and there was anger at the lack of women in top jobs.

The new Labour leader was hit by a double backlash at his choices in the first critical test of his ability to unite his party’s MPs. Most damaging was the sceptical and hostile response to the choice of hard-liner John McDonnell to shadow the Chancellor George Osborne.

Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn refused to fully endorse the appointment this morning. He told BBC Radio 4: “This is the choice that Jeremy has made. I respect the choice that Jeremy has made as leader.”

Labour’s full Shadow Cabinet:

Leader of the Opposition 

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Party Chair and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office

Tom Watson MP

Shadow First Secretary of State, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

Angela Eagle MP

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

John McDonnell MP

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Seema Malhotra MP

Shadow Home Secretary

Andy Burnham MP

Shadow Foreign Secretary

Hilary Benn MP

Opposition Chief Whip

Rosie Winterton MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Health

Heidi Alexander MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Education

Lucy Powell MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Owen Smith MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

Maria Eagle MP

Shadow Lord Chancellor, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Shadow Minister for the Constitutional Convention

Jon Trickett MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

Lisa Nandy MP

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

Chris Bryant MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

Lilian Greenwood MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker MP

Shadow Secretary of State for International Development

Diane Abbott MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland

Ian Murray MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Wales

Nia Griffith MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Kerry McCarthy MP

Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities

Kate Green MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Michael Dugher MP

Shadow Minister for Young People and Voter Registration

Gloria De Piero MP

Shadow Minister for Mental Health

Luciana Berger MP 

Shadow Leader of the House of Lords

Baroness Smith of Basildon

Lords Chief Whip

Lord Bassam of Brighton

Shadow Attorney General

Catherine McKinnell MP

Shadow Minister without Portfolio

Jonathan Ashworth MP

Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning

John Healey MP

Other Announcements:

Yvette Cooper will continue her work on bringing together councils, faith groups, and community

Mr McDonnell, who would give orders to the Bank of England governor if Labour takes power, is seen as an uncompromising Left-winger who has proposed nationalising the banks. He has also proposed a 60 per cent tax rate for those earning £100,000, and another 10 per cent on the super-rich, and in July he said he would “swim through vomit” to vote against Government welfare cuts. He once said Britons should “honour” IRA terrorists for their “bullets and sacrifice”. There was another backlash over the lack of women in the top jobs shadowing the “great offices of state”, Treasury, Home Affairs and Foreign.

Labour MP Diana Johnson tweeted: “It is so very disappointing — old fashioned male dominated Labour politics in the top positions in Shadow Cabinet #notforgirls.” Feminist writer Jack Monroe tweeted: “Angry. I wanted to be wrong about Corbyn — so many good friends backed him, feminists, people I admire. And he broke a big promise 1 day in.”

Mr McDonnell broke cover this morning as he waited to catch a bus to Westminster. He dismissed claims women had been snubbed for the “top jobs” on the grounds that under Mr Corbyn all posts were equal. “Jeremy said very, very clearly that we don’t accept the hierarchical nature of what we have inherited by these supposed top jobs,” he told Sky News.

He went on: “You’ll see in future that the person responsible for education or health and those concrete services will be the people who will be out there arguing the policies. And in fact in some ways the Chancellor of the Exchequer will play less of a role because it will be the people who are really delivering the real services.”

Mr McDonnell said it looked like the shadow cabinet “will be completely gender balanced” and there may be more women than men in the whole of the administration.

Mr Corbyn’s embarrassment over jobs for women comes despite releasing a document called Working With Women during the leadership campaign. It pledged to appoint women to half the shadow cabinet and to challenge “everyday sexism ... because gender discrimination doesn’t end outside the office door”.

Mr Corbyn appeared to try to defuse the row by handing an extra title to Angela Eagle, who had been strongly pushed by union bosses to be shadow chancellor.

In a bizarre statement at 12.20am, his office announced that she would have the extra title “shadow first secretary of state” and would deputise occasionally at Prime Minister’s questions.

The First Secretary is the Chancellor but it appeared that Mr McDonnell rather than Ms Eagle would respond to his statements in the House.

City figures reacted with dismay to Mr McDonnell, while the financial markets took no notice. IoD director general Simon Walker said some of his policies would “undermine our open and competitive economy”. Confusion also reigned over Mr Corbyn’s policy on whether to campaign for a “stay” or “leave” vote in the EU referendum.

Chuka Umunna stood down as shadow business secretary complaining the new leader had refused to give him an “wholehearted” assurance he would not campaign to stay in Europe. But Mr Benn claimed: “He wants to ensure that Europe in particular works better for working people.”

Among last night’s key appointments, former leadership rival Andy Burnham accepted a job as shadow home secretary, but around a dozen former colleagues declined to serve.

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