Labour leader’s standoff with shadow cabinet over extending airstrikes ends in ingenious but meaningless compromiseIt is another messy compromise: Jeremy Corbyn gets to set the party line against military action in principle; shadow cabinet ministers get to vote in favour without formally defying the whip. It will be a free vote in practice,but the leadership has maximised the moral authority it claims on behalf of the anti-war left, which in turn helps continue a process of marginalising those MPs who are perceived as refuseniks – or saboteurs – of the Corbyn project.
This outcome conforms to the trend that has emerged in recent weeks. Since Corbyn was elected leader of his party with the support of only a fraction of Labour MPs, and clash has been inevitable. But so far it has looked more like a cold war than open battle. The two sides – the leadership and the anyone-but-Corbyn parliamentary faction – have pursued defensive tactics,or perhaps passive-aggressive is the better term, testing each other’s strength, or probing and pushing without provoking total confrontation. There have been minor conflagrations followed by a return to wary equilibrium. Policy positions on Europe,on public spending, on Trident, or on anti-terrorism,have all become proxies to set up who has greater authority to dictate what constitutes official Labour policy, with the effect that in reality no clear policy emerges.
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Source: theguardian.com