WITH Jeremy Corbyn’s standing among Labour MPs sinking further this weekend, two of his most senior colleagues are eyeing his crown, shadow ministers claim.
Tom Watson, Corbyn’s deputy, “went to war” last week with hard-left allies of the Labour leader when he dramatically intervened in a bitter battle for control of the party.
The burly MP acted as a “physical shield” for Jasmin Beckett, the young moderate newly elected to the party’s ruling national executive committee (NEC), and “stared down” Corbyn loyalists trying to expel the student from her first meeting after she had allegedly claimed a rival was anti-semitic.
In contrast John McDonnell, the abrasive shadow chancellor, is on a charm offensive, uncharacteristically trying to avoid rows with colleagues as he goes about “succession planning”, MPs say.
When Corbyn comes under fire at shadow cabinet meetings, his oldest ally, McDonnell, does not rush to defend him but “leaves him there swinging”, insiders reveal.
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The shadow chancellor “is schmoozing and being nicer than anyone ever thought John McDonnell could be”, reported one shocked colleague.
Dan Jarvis, a popular former paratrooper, will deliver a lecture on economics this week in what will be seen as an attempt to show he has the political agenda to match his good looks and dramatic life story.
Many fellow moderates fear their party is not ready to embrace the charismatic man of action and regard the manoeuvring of Watson and McDonnell as more significant.
The shadow chancellor has already been anointed as Corbyn’s natural successor by the hard-left veteran Ken Livingstone.
Allies have denied that he is plotting to take the top job, but wary MPs point out that McDonnell, 64, is touring the country speaking to hard-left groups in what looks like an effort to drum up support.
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His appearances are not limited to events with eminent left-wing economists such as Joseph Stiglitz. McDonnell recently travelled to Llandudno to address a fringe meeting at Labour’s Welsh conference, the kind of gathering usually reserved for “ramblers”, one shadow minister noted.
“There is an element of planning for life after Jeremy — why would you be tearing around the country doing all these things? He is going everywhere,” the MP said.
McDonnell’s call to scrap the party’s compliance unit, which weeds out hard-left entryists and ensures the party adheres to election law, is also being seen as an effort to build a hard-left power base.
Allies of Watson deny he is after the top job, but moderates know the deputy leader is the key to any successful coup and believe he could end up on top.
Many regard Watson’s decision to take a stand over Beckett’s place on the NEC last week and unleash what one member called “f****** war” as a sign that he will wield the dagger when the time is right.
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Significantly, he was backed up by many union representatives last week. Moderates now believe Corbyn is losing control of the NEC, making it hard for him to drive through changes to party rules that would strengthen his grip on Labour.
The party leader faces a “bloodbath” tomorrow when he takes questions from Labour MPs for the first time this year at a private meeting of the parliamentary Labour party. Corbyn’s call to decriminalise the sex industry is just one of the issues that is expected to provoke fury from MPs.
They are divided over whether Corbyn has the stomach to carry on to 2020. “The more I see Jeremy at the dispatch box, the more I think he just does not want to do it,” one shadow minister said.
“It is as if he is just going through the motions. There is no passion when he does prime minister’s questions.”
A shadow cabinet minister said: “You can overstate the extent to which he is not enjoying it. I think he is preserving his strength, in hibernation ready to burst back into life when he feels he needs to.”
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Moderates are also split over how they would fare in a leadership battle with McDonnell. “Bring it on — we can beat him. It is much easier than fighting Jeremy,” said a former shadow cabinet minister.
“McDonnell would have no automatic right to be on the ballot paper and wavering MPs would be much less likely to nominate him — he is seen as horrible.”
A serving member of Corbyn’s top team cautioned that trying to topple Corbyn could mean “the worst of all worlds — a putsch strengthening McDonnell”.