Corbyn gets ready for government as McDonnell and May kick off summer roadshows

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Today Labour’s shadow cabinet attends an ‘away day’ where members will present their plans for government. The aim is to ensure the party is ready for a snap general election that it could win, with the outline of a Queen’s speech, 35 pieces of legislation and a costed budget. According to The Guardian, which revealed details of the private talks last week, party staff have been briefed on how Whitehall operates and other key bits of information for a party in power.

It follows a busy weekend for the Labour leadership. Yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn spoke at that fantastic celebration of trade unionism, the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival. I have fond memories of playing with an anti-capitalist samba band there as a child. Anyway, the leader used his speech to highlight rural workers’ pay and even announced a policy: Labour would reinstate the Agricultural Wages Board for English workers to boost pay and rights for all agricultural workers.

On Saturday, John McDonnell launched a UK-wide tour, ‘The Road To Rebuilding The Economy’, in Hastings. That, of course, is in the seat where Amber Rudd has a deliciously thin majority of 346. If you haven’t seen the former Home Secretary’s hilariously awful attempt at a political campaign ad, it’s well worth a watch. As Matt Zarb-Cousin tweeted, it’s “a video with virtually no one in it, talking plainly into a camera with no cutaways, and no subtitles. You’d think the “party of business” might have an understanding of marketing that extends beyond the 90s.”

Together, these visits shows figures at the top of the party are reaching out beyond Labour’s core vote, which is currently concentrated in cities. We’re making electoral progress in leaps and bounds in London, plus student areas such as Canterbury, and that’s brilliant. But the party’s ambition must stretch further to win a parliamentary majority. McDonnell’s trip to a coastal town is perhaps particularly encouraging for Lisa Nandy, the Labour MP who has long promoted engagement with small towns via her Centre for Towns think tank work.

Theresa May is kicking off her own summer roadshow, just in case anyone had forgotten about her vote-winning robotic manner. With the helpful feedback of Tory association chairs from across the UK who have ruthlessly laid into her Chequers plan, the Prime Minister will campaign for her Brexit proposal. Her filmed Q&A with local business staff in Gateshead today may give an indication of how successful that personal touch will be.

Meanwhile, Labour’s latest antisemitism row isn’t going away. Appearing on Sky, McDonnell tried to deescalate the situation between Margaret Hodge and the leadership by saying Labour should “resolve this very, very quickly, almost drop the complaint and… move on”. That looks the most likely course of action: rumours of a breakaway party abound, while Hodge wasn’t backing down on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning and lawyers acting on her behalf have written to general secretary Jennie Formby.

Everyone is looking forward to recess.

Sienna @siennamarla

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