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2016 British shadow cabinet resignations

On 26–29 June 2016, 21 members of the Shadow Cabinet resigned from the frontbench. Following the Leave result in the referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, Jeremy Corbyn faced heavy criticism for the perceived reluctance of his involvement in the campaign to Remain and his perceived weakness as leader of the Labour Party.[1][2]

The first shadow minister to depart the Opposition frontbench was Hilary Benn, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 26 June.[3] Over the course of the day, he was joined by 11 other Shadow Cabinet members, all expressing concern with Corbyn's ability to lead the party into the next general election.[4] On the following day, 27 June, a further eight members resigned, including Angela Eagle, the most senior Shadow Secretary of State.[5]

Tom Watson, the deputy party leader, remained in his position while openly criticising Corbyn's leadership.[6] Unlike the other members of the Shadow Cabinet, Watson could not be removed by Corbyn as he had been elected, not appointed. This enabled him to put public pressure on Corbyn to resign.[7]

Corbyn's allies in the Shadow Cabinet (Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, Emily Thornberry and Jon Trickett)[8][9] all refused to stand down, condemning the actions of their former colleagues as a "coup" against the democratically elected party leader. Andy Burnham, the Shadow Home Secretary and leadership candidate in 2015, also announced that he would not resign, saying that he believed that "civil war" in the party was a bad idea.[10]

In addition, 18 other shadow ministers not in the Shadow Cabinet resigned, including Diana Johnson, Anna Turley, Toby Perkins, Yvonne Fovargue, Alex Cunningham, Steve Reed, Roberta Blackman-Woods, Wayne David, Jenny Chapman, Keir Starmer, Richard Burden, Jack Dromey, Thangam Debbonaire, Susan Elan Jones, Nick Thomas-Symonds, Sharon Hodgson, Melanie Onn, Nic Dakin and 9 Parliamentary private secretaries.[11]

On 27 June, Corbyn announced new appointments to his top team, including promotions for Abbott and Thornberry, and 13 new members.[11] Due to the fact that few Labour MPs were prepared to support him, Corbyn introduced a number of joint portfolios, such as combining the Scotland and Northern Ireland briefs. He also appointed veteran backbench MP Paul Flynn, who is believed to have become the oldest frontbench spokesperson since William Gladstone, at 81 years of age.[12]

On 28 June, the Parliamentary Labour Party held a motion of no confidence in Corbyn as party leader, which passed overwhelmingly with 172 votes in favour and 40 votes against.[13] On the following day, Pat Glass resigned after two days as Shadow Education Secretary, stating that the situation had become "untenable".[14]

Despite the result of the no-confidence vote, Corbyn claimed that it had "no constitutional legitimacy" and refused to resign. Several high-profile and influential Labour MPs were touted as possible leadership challengers, as Corbyn's opponents tried to find a single candidate to unite around.[15] Eventually two emerged: Angela Eagle and Owen Smith, who launched their leadership campaigns on 11 July[16] and 13 July,[17] respectively. Eagle withdrew from the race and endorsed Smith on 19 July, making him the sole challenger to Corbyn.[18]

Corbyn was re-elected with 313,209 votes, a 61.8% share of the total vote.[19] Following his victory, Corbyn re-shuffled the Shadow Cabinet on 6–7 October, inviting back a few of the former members who had resigned in June. Nia Griffith returned as Shadow Defence Secretary, John Healey as Shadow Housing Secretary and Keir Starmer as Shadow Brexit Secretary.[20]

List of resignations

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26 June

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# Portrait MP Constituency Office Notes
1   Hilary Benn Leeds Central Shadow Foreign Secretary Sacked during a phone call in which Benn stated that he had lost confidence in Corbyn's leadership.[3]
2   Heidi Alexander Lewisham East Shadow Health Secretary
3   Gloria De Piero Ashfield Shadow Minister for Young People
4   Ian Murray Edinburgh South Shadow Scottish Secretary
5   Lilian Greenwood Nottingham South Shadow Transport Secretary
6   Lucy Powell Manchester Central Shadow Education Secretary
7   Kerry McCarthy Bristol East Shadow Environment Secretary
8   Seema Malhotra Feltham and Heston Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
9   Vernon Coaker Gedling Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary
10   Lord Falconer of Thoroton Member of the House of Lords Shadow Justice Secretary
Shadow Lord Chancellor
11   Karl Turner Kingston upon Hull East Shadow Attorney General
12   Chris Bryant Rhondda Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

27 June

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# Portrait MP Constituency Office Notes
13   Lisa Nandy Wigan Shadow Energy Secretary Joint resignation; released statement together, calling on Tom Watson to take over as interim leader.[21]
14   Owen Smith Pontypridd Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary
15   Angela Eagle Wallasey Shadow First Secretary of State
Shadow Business Secretary
16   John Healey Wentworth and Dearne Shadow Minister for Housing Returned to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Housing Secretary on 6 October.
17   Nia Griffith Llanelli Shadow Welsh Secretary Returned to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Defence Secretary on 6 October.
18   Maria Eagle Garston and Halewood Shadow Culture Secretary
19   Kate Green Stretford and Urmston Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
20   Luciana Berger Liverpool Wavertree Shadow Minister for Mental Health

29 June

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# Portrait MP Constituency Office Notes
21   Pat Glass North West Durham Shadow Education Secretary Appointed to replace Lucy Powell on 27 June; resigned after two days in the Shadow Cabinet, saying that she had decided to stand down at the next general election.

Aftermath

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No confidence motion

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Motion of no confidence
Ballot → 28 June 2016
Required majority → 115 out of 229 Labour MPs  Y
Ayes
172 / 229
 75.1%
Noes
40 / 229
 17.5%
Spoilt ballot
4 / 229
 1.7%
Did not vote
13 / 229
 5.7%

Leadership challenge

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This section is an excerpt from 2016 Labour Party leadership election (UK).[edit]

The 2016 Labour Party leadership election was called when a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party arose following criticism of his approach to the Remain campaign in the referendum on membership of the European Union and questions about his leadership of the party.[22]

Following a period of tension over Corbyn's leadership, the immediate trigger to events was the Leave result of the referendum. Hilary Benn, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, was dismissed by Corbyn on 25 June after Benn expressed no confidence in him.[23] More than two dozen members of the Shadow Cabinet resigned over the following two days,[24] and a no-confidence vote was supported by 172 MPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party, against 40 supporting Corbyn.[25] It was reported that Tom Watson, the Deputy Leader, told Corbyn that he would face a challenge to his position as leader.[26] Corbyn stated that he would not resign.[27]

By the end of June, Angela Eagle and Owen Smith were being promoted as intending to contest the leadership. Eagle announced her candidacy on 11 July,[28][29] and Smith did likewise on 13 July.[30] The National Executive Committee decided that, as the incumbent, Corbyn would be automatically included on the ballot without requiring nominations from the parliamentary party;[31] some political analysts had previously predicted that Corbyn would struggle to obtain the requisite number of signatures had that been required.[32]

Eagle pulled out of the race on 19 July, leaving Smith to challenge Corbyn for the leadership in a head-to-head race;[33] Eagle said that she would back Smith after she had attracted fewer nominations. Smith told the BBC that Eagle was a "star" and that she would be "at [his] right hand" if he won the leadership.[34][35]

The result was announced on 24 September 2016. Corbyn won the election with 313,209 votes, increasing his share of the vote from 59.5% to 61.8% compared with the result of the 2015 leadership election and receiving some 62,000 more votes than in 2015.

References

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  1. ^ Inman, Phillip (29 June 2016). "Former Corbyn adviser Thomas Piketty criticises Labour's 'weak' EU fight". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. ^ McSmith, Andy (29 June 2016). "The Jeremy Corbyn leadership challenge is reducing the most senior members of Labour to tears". The Independent.
  3. ^ a b "Brexit: Hilary Benn sacked as Corbyn faces 'no confidence' pressure". BBC News. 26 June 2016.
  4. ^ Boffey, Daniel; Phipps, Claire; Asthana, Anushka (26 June 2016). "Labour in crisis: shadow ministers resign in protests against Corbyn". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Live updates: Labour leadership crisis: Frontbenchers Angela Eagle and John Healey resign". ITV News. 27 June 2016.
  6. ^ Asthana, Anushka; Syal, Rajeev (26 June 2016). "Labour in crisis: Tom Watson criticises Hilary Benn sacking". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Merrick, Jane (20 December 2016). "The fate of the MPs who plotted a coup against Corbyn". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "Live updates: Labour leadership crisis: Corbyn loyalists Thornbury and Abbott urge against coup". ITV News. 26 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Corbyn will not resign say allies amid battle with MPs". BBC News. 27 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Live updates: Labour leadership crisis: Burnham will not take part in 'coup' against Corbyn". ITV News. 26 June 2016.
  11. ^ a b Syal, Rajeev; Perraudin, Frances; Slawson, Nicola (27 June 2016). "Shadow cabinet resignations: who has gone and who is staying". The Guardian.
  12. ^ Cornock, David (30 June 2016). "'Trailblazer' octogenarian back on Commons front bench". BBC News.
  13. ^ Stone, Jon (28 June 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn loses 'no confidence' vote among Labour MPs by 172 to 40". The Independent.
  14. ^ "Pat Glass resigns as Labour education shadow secretary". BBC News. 29 June 2016.
  15. ^ Asthana, Anushka; Syal, Rajeev; Elgot, Jessica (28 June 2016). "Labour MPs prepare for leadership contest after Corbyn loses confidence vote". The Guardian.
  16. ^ Walker, Peter (11 July 2016). "Angela Eagle says 'I'm here to win' at launch of Labour leadership bid". The Guardian.
  17. ^ "Labour leadership: Owen Smith to enter contest". BBC News. 13 July 2016.
  18. ^ Rampen, Julia (19 July 2016). "Angela Eagle drops out of the Labour leadership race". New Statesman.
  19. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn earns refreshed mandate as he is re-elected Labour leader – LabourList". LabourList. 24 September 2016.
  20. ^ "Labour's new shadow cabinet in full". BBC News. 7 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Owen Smith on Jeremy Corbyn: 'It breaks my heart'". BBC News. 27 June 2016.
  22. ^ McSmith, Andy (30 June 2016). "The Jeremy Corbyn leadership challenge is reducing the most senior members of Labour to tears". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  23. ^ Andy Mcsmith (1 July 2016). "Angela Eagle delayed Labour leadership bid because 'Jeremy Corbyn could be on the verge of resigning'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  24. ^ Rajeev Syal; Frances Perraudin; Nicola Slawson (27 June 2016). "Shadow cabinet resignations: who has gone and who is staying". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  25. ^ Asthana, Anushka; Elgot, Jessica; Syal, Rajeev (28 June 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn suffers heavy loss in Labour MPs confidence vote". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  26. ^ "Tom Watson tells Jeremy Corbyn he faces leadership challenge". BBC News. 27 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  27. ^ "UK opposition Labour leader Corbyn says he will not resign". CNBC. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  28. ^ "Angela Eagle to announce Labour leadership bid on Monday". BBC News. 9 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  29. ^ "Labour leadership: Angela Eagle says she can unite the party". BBC News. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  30. ^ "Labour leadership: Owen Smith to enter contest". BBC News. 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  31. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn wins vote on Labour leadership rules", BBC News, 12 July 2016, archived from the original on 12 July 2016, retrieved 12 July 2016
  32. ^ Wilkinson, Michael (12 July 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn to be automatically included on the ballot in Labour's leadership contest following NEC vote". The Telegraph. London, UK. Archived from the original on 15 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016. If Corbyn had not been automatically allowed to stand, he may have struggled to obtain the 51 nominations necessary from Labour MPs or MEPs to stand.
  33. ^ Grice, Andrew (19 July 2016). "Labour leadership election: Angela Eagle pulls out of contest to allow Owen Smith straight run at Jeremy Corbyn". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  34. ^ Asthana, Anushka; Elgot, Jessica (19 July 2016). "Owen Smith to face Corbyn in Labour leadership challenge". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  35. ^ Sparrow, Andrew; Phipps, Claire (19 July 2016). "Afternoon summary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
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