MPs should respect new policy making structure, says Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn has said that Labour MPs who disagree with his agenda should still support his policies, as he plans to introduce new structures that would give more members greater policy-making power.

In an interview with The Independent, he said that “no policy is changed by the election of a leader”, but that the winner is given a “mandate to promote change” within the party. The leadership frontrunner recently told LabourList that he would like to see “more authority” over policy given to the party’s annual conference.

In today’s interview, Corbyn says that he wants to encourage MPs to be part of the process of reforming the party, but also that he wants to use his supporters to push an agenda that the Parliamentary Labour Party should have to follow:

“I will absolutely use our supporters to push our agenda up to the parliamentary party and get them to follow that. We have to encourage the Parliamentary Labour Party to be part of that process and not to stand in the way of democratising the party and empowering the party members. It is going to be an interesting discussion.”

In what the newspaper has perceived as a coded warning to his parliamentary colleagues, Corbyn said he wanted to remind the PLP that they should be “honoured” to be MPs, and that they only make up “part of the Labour Party”. He said:

“I just want to remind my dear friends in the Parliamentary Labour Party that we are honoured to be members of Parliament. We have been supported by the Labour Party to become Labour members of Parliament.

“But we are not the entirety of the Labour Party – we are part of the Labour Party. And I want to see real democracy so this election gives a very strong mandate for change within our society.”

However, the leadership contender also downplayed the idea of internal fractures should he be elected, saying that he has been approached “privately” by MPs who say they’re “looking forward to working with me”. “They are people that I had not necessarily expected to do so,” he added.

In an article for the New Statesman, published yesterday, Corbyn said that he would appoint his shadow cabinet, having previously been expected to reintroduce shadow cabinet elections, which Ed Miliband got rid of. He wrote: “I will appoint a strong, diverse shadow cabinet to hold this government to account from day one.”