Deputy leader proposes elected shadow cabinet to help reunite party and tempt back MPs who resigned over the summer

Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, has urged the party to “put the band back together” before a possible snap general election, saying it should consider adopting elections for shadow cabinet positions as a way to tempt back discontented MPs.

Speaking before a crucial meeting of Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) on Tuesday, Watson said a return to Labour MPs electing the shadow cabinet, as happened until 2011, could help reunite the parliamentary party and bring back “all the talents” after a series of resignations over the summer.

But Watson also said he was open to a counter-proposal being put to the NEC by Jeremy Corbyn for the shadow cabinet positions to be decided three ways – appointments by the party leader, election by MPs and votes by ordinary members.

Watson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he hoped for a decision at the NEC meeting. “We’ve had a very bruising summer, we’re going to get a new leader elected on Saturday,” he said. “We all think there’s the likelihood of a very early general election and so we’ve got to put the band back together.”

Watson said he preferred the idea of MPs electing the frontbench: “For me, the heart of our party is the parliamentary party. They’re the people who come on the Today programme to talk about our policies to the nation and we’ve got to bring people back in.

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“I think to have an elected shadow cabinet, not an appointed shadow cabinet, is one way we do that. The debate we’ve got to have today is how we elect a future shadow cabinet, so that we get all the talents represented round the table.”

While saying he remained “open-minded” to allowing Labour members a say on the shadow cabinet, Watson said one potential worry was the cost, as each election could take more than £300,000 to organise.

The Guardian understands that Watson is likely to present Corbyn with a sweetener for such an arrangement by including a clause allowing the party leader to remove frontbenchers, thus preventing anyone from using shadow cabinet elections to try to destabilise the leadership.



Both plans will be debated at what is likely to be a long and tense NEC meeting before the Labour party conference, which will begin in Liverpool on Saturday with the announcement of the new party leader. Corbyn is widely expected to beat his challenger, Owen Smith.



In a move that could place the deputy leader on a collision course with Corbyn, Watson will also call for a wholesale review of the way Labour elects its leader.



Plans put forward include a return to Labour’s electoral college system, with far more power in the hands of trade unionists, and an end to the registered supporters system, under which anyone can pay a fee and vote in the leadership contest.

Watson told Today a new system would only come into place when the new leader left office. “There won’t be a sort of sword of Damocles hanging over whoever is elected on Saturday.”

He said the current system had been somewhat rushed in under Ed Miliband, and that the new voter category of registered supporter was “pretty unpopular in all sections”.

Asked if the frontbenchers who resigned from Corbyn’s shadow cabinet after the EU referendum would return, Watson predicted this would be the case for many but not all.



“I think all members should consider how they can best serve their party,” he said. “That’s why they become MPs. But of course some of them might feel uncomfortable with that.

“There’s a dignity issue – if they resigned in the summer they might feel they’re honour-bound not to go back. There are some people who might feel they don’t want to serve a team that are just appointed. There’s a host of reasons why people may not wish to serve on the frontbench.”

An elected system would address those issues best, Watson argued: “I think we’ll get a frontbench, get a shadow cabinet, whatever the system is, but I would like us to get the best shadow cabinet that represents all the traditions in our party and all the talents.”

Corbyn’s supporters are open to the idea of elections as a means of making peace with MPs, and have appointed a member of staff to try to persuade politicians to return.



However, many remain suspicious of Watson and will only sign up to a system under which not just politicians but the party’s members can vote. Sources have suggested they will use the NEC meeting to push for a separate review into how the system could be “democratised”.

Other allies of the leader are likely to push the NEC to back plans for mediation between the warring factions of the Labour party. Corbyn is preparing to deliver a speech to set out his plans for unity on Wednesday.

Jonathan Ashworth, who sits on the NEC, said: “I think the key thing is getting an effective functioning frontbench team back quickly to take on the Tories.



“We can’t stick to the status quo. It looks like Jeremy has agreed to some form of elected shadow cabinet but there are lots of practical questions the NEC will need answered.”

The plans for shadow cabinet elections will be among recommendations for rule changes put forward by various members. Ideas include paving the way for a formal policymaking women’s conference, more positions reserved in the NEC for Welsh and Scottish politicians and a bursary scheme to help working class and disabled people become MPs.