Shadow minister calls for a period of calm for Labour to focus on holding Tories to account

Lord Falconer, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor, has called for a period of calm so that Labour can focus on policy and holding the Tories to account.

On this morning’s Andrew Marr show Falconer said that the internal war within the Labour party needed to come to an end. Falconer, who was also a minister under Tony Blair, slammed David Cameron’s administration as a “very bad Government”.  He argued that Labour should be focussed on Tory failings – including the junior Doctors strike, due to take place on Tuesday over planned contract changes, and the Government’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.

We can only deal with it if we are not divided…We need to come together and do the work to provide an alternative to this Government, Falconer said.

This comes after a shadow cabinet reshuffle earlier this week, which amongst other changes saw Shadow EU Minister Pat McFadden lose his position. This change prompted three junior shadow ministers to resign from their positions. Falconer praised Pat McFadden as “exceptional”, saying “I certainly wouldn’t have fired him”.

There has also been some debate over whether Corbyn will alter Labour’s stance on nuclear weapons by taking an anti-Trident position. However, Lord Falconer, a pro-Trident voice within the shadow cabinet, said he hadn’t been “muzzled” on the issue and said we will have an open debate.

Falconer said his role as a longterm supporter of the Labour party is to do his best to ensure there is effective opposition.