Corbyn reaches the limits of absolute power

Good leaders recognise the limits of their power and operate within them; bad ones think they can do whatever they like. If nothing else, Jeremy Corbyn’s perpetuashuffle shows him to be a terrible leader.

Both Corbyn and his team seem to have misjudged the power dynamics currently existing in the Labour Party. Although he enjoys the unquestioning loyalty of members, he has struggled to lead his MPs: 94% of the Parliamentary Labour Party didn’t support him in the leadership race. A key reason why he has actually managed to perform his duties as Leader of the Opposition is that, after his election in September, several middleweights agreed to serve in his Shadow Cabinet. These included Hilary Benn, the foreign affairs spokesman; Michael Dugher, the culture and sports spokesman; Angela and Maria Eagle, Shadow Business and Shadow Defence Secretaries; and Rosie Winterton, the widely-respected Whip*. These figures were some of the several threads from which Corbyn’s leadership has dangled.

In a moment of pique and panic, however, Corbyn decided to sever these important threads. Last month, Labour’s new heavyweights pressured him into allowing a free vote on extending airstrikes against Islamic State into Syria, then supporting the Government. Hilary Benn put the case for action more eloquently than Prime Minister David Cameron and received a standing ovation — a rare parliamentary event. For the last several weeks, however, Corbyn’s team has been briefing journalists that a ‘revenge reshuffle’ would take place after the New Year. Ripe for the sacking would be Benn, Dugher, the Eagles, and Winterton — the people who were instrumental in helping Corbyn form his first Shadow Cabinet. This afternoon, Dugher announced on Twitter that he had been sacked, but the fate of the others is still in doubt. As I guessed, Labour MPs have reacted angrily to Dugher’s dismissal.

Back in July, I wrote that Liz Kendall would be a bad choice for Labour leader because she was too far to the right of the party to actually lead it. Jeremy Corbyn, clearly, is too far to the Left. Yet I suspect that Kendall, if she had somehow won, would’ve had a finer appreciation of the power dynamics of the situation. Unsurprisingly, a man who has been a backbencher for decades and not led any organisation in which people have disagreed with him cannot figure out the sources and limits of his authority.

*If both versions of House of Cards have taught me anything, it’s don’t piss off long-serving and widely-respected Chief Whips…