Jeremy Corbyn is a 'disaster', says Stephen Hawking

Jeremy Corbyn slammed for not singing national anthem

16 September

MPs and war veterans have expressed disgust at Jeremy Corbyn's refusal to join in the singing of the National Anthem at a service to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports splits in Corbyn's new shadow cabinet over Europe and welfare benefits, saying the birth pains of his “new politics" are all too apparent.

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National Anthem row

Still photographs showing Corbyn with his mouth shut while the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral sing God Save the Queen have drawn a furious response from war veterans and Tory politicians - and rebukes from his own side.

Sir Nicholas Soames, the Tory MP and grandson of Winston Churchill, said not singing the anthem was "very rude and very disrespectful" to the Queen and "the Battle of Britain pilots who gave their all".

One RAF veteran of the Battle of Britain told The Times: "It just shows how bigoted he is and how small-minded."

Admiral Lord West of Spithead, a Labour peer and former security minister, said singing the national anthem was "a sign of loyalty" to the country and its people.

"I cannot believe that the people of our great nation could contemplate a Prime Minister who lacks that loyalty," he added.

Shadow women's minister Kate Green told the BBC's Today programme that Corbyn's decision "will have offended and hurt people". Whatever his feelings about the monarchy, it would have been "appropriate and right and respectful of people's feelings" to have sung the anthem.

Simon Danczuk, Labour MP for Rochdale, said: "Jeremy is struggling to realise he is not just a backbench MP now."

Corbyn's aides have dismissed the issue as "tittle-tattle", the Daily Mail reports, saying: "People are suffering in this country - and we have work to do."

Split No 1 - Europe

For the second time in three days, Corbyn pulled out of a high-profile BBC interview – and again his stand-in exposed the divisions within the shadow cabinet.

On Sunday it was the Andrew Marr Show, where Tom Watson deputised for Corbyn and announced that, unlike the party leader, he was pro-Trident, pro-Europe and pro-Nato.

Yesterday it was BBC Radio 4's Today programme, where Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, stepped into the breach. He declared that Labour would campaign for Britain to stay in the EU "in all circumstances".

As The Week reported yesterday, Diane Abbott, shadow international development minister, had already promised: "Jeremy is not taking us out of Nato and he is not taking us out of the EU, those are red herrings."

Yet only hours after Benn had given his assurance, it was contradicted by Corbyn. He still wants to be able to call for Britain to quit the EU should David Cameron's negotiations lead to any weakening of European rules protecting workers' rights.

This led Lord Falconer, the pro-European shadow justice secretary, to warn that he would step down if Labour ended up campaigning to leave. "My position would be impossible," he said.

In a "further blow" to Corbyn's authority, the Daily Telegraph reports that up to 100 Labour MPs are to begin campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU, whatever their leader may think. "If Jeremy doesn't do it," one MP told the paper, "we will."

Split No 2 - benefits

Addressing the TUC conference yesterday, Corbyn called for the scrapping of limits on what any family can claim in state benefits.

He said he and Owen Smith, the shadow work and pensions secretary, had discussed putting down Labour amendments to the Tories' Welfare Reform Bill, which proposes tightening the current £26,000 limit to just £23,000.

Corbyn told the TUC: "As far as I am concerned the amendments we are putting forward are to remove the whole idea of the benefit cap altogether."

But Owen Smith does not see it that way: he told the BBC this morning Labour was only voting against the reduction to £23,000 and that it would be "foolhardy" to go back to no limits at all.

Women's minister Kate Green backed Smith, saying Corbyn's position on the benefits cap was not the current policy of the Labour party "although Jeremy feels very strongly about it".

Philip Webster of The Times comments: "Junior shadow ministers telling off their leaders on national radio is not normal politics. Our world is changing."

Jeremy Corbyn: the Jag and other U-turns

15 September

The Right Honourable Jeremy Corbyn – as he is now entitled to be addressed as a member of the Privy Council – has performed more U-turns in 48 hours than the chauffeur of his newly arrived Jaguar will execute in a week. Though on one issue he will not swerve – the unpopular appointment of his fellow radical John McDonnell as shadow chancellor.

Even trade union leaders, otherwise delighted by Corbyn's victory, are unimpressed by his choice of McDonnell, a man described variously as "paranoid", "thick-skinned", "universally unpopular" and keen to impose a new 60 per cent tax on anyone earning more than £100,000 a year.

At least McDonnell accepted his appointment: an enterprising Sky News reporter overheard Corbyn and his aides getting more than one refusal as they spent Sunday evening in Westminster trying to hand out shadow cabinet posts.

U-turn No 1 – loyalty to the Queen: Corbyn has agreed to kneel before Her Majesty, kiss her hand and swear he is her "true and faithful servant" despite campaigning for years to replace the monarch with an elected president.

The offer to join the Privy Council came from David Cameron immediately after Corbyn's victory was announced on Saturday. It means he will be given access to top-secret briefings on issues of national security, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Tory veteran Lord Tebbit responded: "The sympathy he has shown for terrorists from the IRA to Islamic State shows he is not a man who can be trusted with matters relating to state security and the safety of the realm. I would not trust him even to take a letter to the Post Office."

Corbyn will further infuriate Lord Tebbit – not to mention members of his own party – if he sticks to his principles and refuses to wear a red poppy at the Cenotaph this Remembrance Day.

Corbyn has previously complained about the "almost mawkish" scenes of politicians and generals "feeling the need to wear a poppy wherever they go", and last night "stunned" Labour backbenchers by suggesting he might instead wear a white "peace poppy". This would be seen as an insult to the country's war dead, says the Daily Mail.

U-turn No 2 – Nato is safe for now: Corbyn, who believes Moscow was provoked by the West into invading Ukraine, has previously called for Britain to quit the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation; better still, he believes, the body should be disbanded.

But after deputy leader Tom Watson made it clear on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that he could not back Corbyn on this issue, the word went out yesterday that the Labour leader would no longer push for this – though he would continue to fight against the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent.

The appointment of Maria Eagle as shadow defence secretary (see 'The Refuseniks' below) also points to a climbdown: Forces TV says Eagle has previously backed the war in Iraq and UK military involvement in other conflicts.

U-turn No 3 – EU membership: This was another issue Tom Watson raised with Andrew Marr because Corbyn has repeatedly refused to say he will not campaign against continued EU membership when the date for the referendum is finally set. Watson, like the majority of Labour MPs, is pro-Europe.

Again, claims the Daily Mail, the message from Corbyn's allies is that he will not advocate withdrawal from the EU. Diane Abbott told BBC Radio: "I can say with confidence Jeremy is not taking us out of Nato and he is not taking us out of the EU, those are red herrings."

U-turn No 4 – the Jag: Asked on the eve of the leadership election by Jon Snow of C4 News whether he would get used to the trappings of the Leadership of the Opposition, Corbyn gave the distinct impression that he would forsake the chauffer-driven Jaguar and stick to his bicycle, Boris Johnson-style. In the event, the Mail reports, he has already started using the official car.

The one U-turn he won't be making is to go back on his appointment of the hard-left Labour MP John McDonnell to shadow chancellor, despite the backlash from Labour backbenchers and even from trade union leaders.

Corbyn can count on a warm welcome when he addresses the TUC conference in Brighton today – warmer at least than the muted reception ("Silence – not a word", reports the Mail's sketch writer Quentin Letts) he got when he took his new seat on the Opposition front bench yesterday – but the appointment of McDonnell has "strained relations" with the union bosses, The Times reports.

One senior trade union source described it as "mad". Even Corbyn's cheerleader Len McCluskey, boss of Unite, "was among those said to be pushing for alternative candidates to lead Labour's economic strategy".

A revolutionary socialist, described as a "blood brother" to Corbyn, McDonnell has demanded nationalisation of the banks and wants a new 60 per cent tax band to kick in at £100,000 income.

His "paranoid" view of the City was divulged in a 2013 YouTube interview, says The Times. "Deep in the heart of the City of London," he said, "we have the major companies that are the arms providers, the arms funders and the arms speculators and you have a group of organisations and companies that are now making their profits by speculating on where the next war will be."

Finally, the refuseniks: In putting together his shadow cabinet, the most difficult role to fill was shadow defence secretary: how to find someone committed, like Corbyn, to scrapping Trident and disbanding Nato?

Darren McCaffrey of Sky News, sitting outside the Opposition Whips' Office on Sunday evening, overheard Corbyn, his adviser Simon Fletcher and his chief whip Rosie Winterton phoning around Labour MPs after Chris Bryant had refused to take on the defence role. Bryant wanted "a 30-minute conversation about what would happen if we had to invade Russia" – and Corbyn was not prepared to have it.

The reporter couldn't tell who Rosie Winterton was talking to when she made her next call.

"Now, this might be a bit of an outside idea, how do you feel about being shadow defence secretary?" she asked

A pause. "Just, what are your views on Trident?"

A much, much longer pause. "But, are you willing to engage in a debate?"

Apparently not.

The complaints from Labour backbenchers and media observers about the lack of senior appointments for women was also getting through to Corbyn's bunker.

"We are taking a fair amount of s*** out there about women," Darren McCaffrey overhead a man – presumably Simon Fletcher – saying.

"We need to do a Mandelson. Let's make Angela [Eagle] shadow first minister of state. Like Mandelson was. She can cover PMQs. Tom [Watson, deputy leader] knows about this. Do the Angela bit now."

Minutes later a text came through from a Labour source. Angela Eagle would indeed become shadow first minister of state – meaning she will deputise for Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions – as well as shadow business secretary.

Later still, they had finally found a shadow defence secretary – another Eagle and, more important, another woman – Maria Eagle. Two birds with one stone. Even if she doesn't see eye to eye with Corbyn on Trident, Nato and military intervention.

Jeremy Corbyn: City takes fright as John McDonnell is made shadow chancellor

14 September

Week One of the Jeremy Corbyn era begins with the Labour leader appointing one of the country's most radical MPs, John McDonnell, as shadow chancellor, while hardline union leaders called on the country's 6.5m trade unionists to help topple the Conservative government.

Chuka Umunna becomes the highest profile MP to leave the front bench, citing Corbyn's Eurosceptic views. But a bigger problem for the new leader is that Tom Watson, the newly elected deputy leader, has immediately signaled that he will fight Corbyn over Trident, Nato and Europe.

Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet

The headline-grabber is John McDonnell as shadow chancellor, a man who describes bankers as "jokers", promises to pursue "very rich" corporations and believes that Britain is a "kleptocracy", the Financial Times reports.

A "diehard critic" of the Heathrow third runway, his appointment will alarm the City and send a strong signal that Corbyn is likely to keep business at arm's length in the coming years.

The Guardian says the appointment is being seen by Labour MPs as "a disavowal of Corbyn's commitment to create a political consensus". The Times says backbenchers fear it "will make it even harder to regain economic credibility".

Other senior appointments are leadership rival Andy Burnham as shadow home secretary and Hilary Benn as shadow foreign secretary. Lord Falconer, once a close ally of Tony Blair, has agreed to remain as shadow Lord Chancellor.

Which means, counting Corbyn, five of the most senior jobs have gone to "the boys".

"Oh dear. Just realised Jeremy Corbyn has married more women than he's appointed to great offices of state," tweeted Helen Lewis, one of many to express their disappointment on social networks.

Corbyn's promise to fill half the shadow cabinet with women might yet be fulfilled – but they are getting mainly middle-ranking or junior posts.

Angela Eagle, whom many had hoped would be picked as a less divisive shadow chancellor, becomes shadow business secretary. Lucy Powell, a former chief of staff to Ed Miliband, is the new shadow education secretary, and Diane Abbott, one of Corbyn's loudest cheerleaders in recent weeks, is shadow secretary of state for international development.

Heidi Alexander, a former party whip, is shadow health secretary and Seema Malhotra is shadow chief secretary to the Treasury.

Joining the exodus from Labour's front line is Chuka Umunna, who left yesterday "by mutual agreement", citing Corbyn's refusal to campaign for Britain to stay in the EU. Umunna joins Tristram Hunt, Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall and Mary Creagh in returning to the backbenches.

The trade union threat

Corbyn's astonishing victory came on the eve of the TUC conference, where militant union leaders argued that Britain should not wait for the next general election but help force the Tories out of power now and get Corbyn into Number Ten.

With MPs due to debate Tory proposals to make striking more difficult, several warned "they were ready to break the law to bring down the Tories", the Daily Mail reports.

Mark Serwotka, leader of the PCS union, said: "You have to pinch yourselves that a Labour leader is saying things that all of us agree with.

"If we are going to see any of those policies realised, we will not get that just through what Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party do in Parliament. If Jeremy Corbyn wants to win on those policies, he absolutely needs a mass vibrant movement in the country… He needs the six-and-a-half million trade union members to ensure that we have that vibrant campaign through strikes, demonstrations, local campaigns, occupations and everything else."

He added: "We have the ability to stop austerity in its tracks, to topple this government and to ensure we get a fairer society."

Len McCluskey, the Unite leader, said the Tories "will never ever, ever defeat a united working class, a united trade union movement, a united Labour movement".

Rob Williams, of the National Shop Stewards Network, said: "The message must be simple – 'Cameron: we are going to take you down. Your anti-union Bill and your cuts, you're going down because we are mobilising against you'."

The Tom Watson threat

An "immediate split has emerged" over Trident, Nato and EU membership between Corbyn and Tom Watson, whose election as deputy leader was also announced on Saturday, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Appearing on the Andrew Marr Show, Watson made it clear he does not agree with the party leader about scrapping Trident. "I think the deterrent has kept the peace in the world for half a century and I hope we can have that debate in the party," he said.

Watson is adamant Britain should remain in the European Union whereas Corbyn has refused to rule out campaigning against continued EU membership in the upcoming referendum.

"I will be 'Yes to Europe' definitely," Watson told Marr, "and I hope we can convince the Labour Party, those sceptics in the Labour Party, that that is where Labour needs to be in the referendum."

As for Nato, Corbyn has previously backed Britain's withdrawal, The Independent reports, but recently modified his position to say he wanted a "serious debate" on its powers as there was little appetite to leave.

Watson conceded that he did not know "precisely what Jeremy's position" was on Nato membership, but added: "I aim to convince him of the merits of Nato."