Laura Trott receives an A* for effective opposition, Reeves cruises at middle-ranking and will the magnificent seven ride again?
Read all about it in this week's Who's Top Who's Not
Top - Laura Trott
The Tory shadow cabinet is still getting used to opposition. No longer able to rely on an army of civil servants, as in government (most shadow cabinet members still don’t even have political advisers), and no longer able to make stuff happen with the simple stroke of a pen, opposition can be a frustrating experience. Just ask Labour.
But it is still possible to have a tangible impact in opposition. To do so you need to carefully pick an issue, identify the policy challenges and political opportunities, adopt a position and communicate it well, scrutinize the government and hold ministers accountable for their perceived failure, create momentum by mobilizing allies, then broaden out into a campaign and raise awareness via the media.
Most Tory frontbenchers are still finding their feet, but Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott began her role by pressing the government to maintain the Ofsted ratings that allow parents to easily assess schools. Now she has secured a policy win after the government u-turned on elements of the Children’s Wellbeing Bill that could have restricted pay for academy teachers.
Good opposition forces the government onto the backfoot, secures a policy win AND serves a broader political purpose, or at least communicates a broader political point to the public. Trott is trying to show that she is on the side of parents who want high standards for their kids; something Trott believes is best done through greater teacher accountability. But she is also defending what most Tories believe to be their single biggest achievement in government – school improvement – and fighting the good fight on this may help Trott make friends in the parliamentary party.
Middle-ranking - Rachel Reeves
Starmer and Reeves have seen plenty of airports in recent weeks during their jet-setting which perhaps explains their reported enthusiasm for airport expansion.
In truth, airport expansion is seen as a gimme when it comes to generating much-needed economic growth which is why Reeves’s team were briefing (from Davos) that the Chancellor is minded to back a third runway at Heathrow.
With Reeves not due to give a growth speech until next week, her media team are trailing this announcement quite long in advance, suggesting that she really does back it and really will announce her backing next week. She hopes that a spot of kite-flying on the issue, combined with a couple of well-placed supportive stories in the Sundays, will help sell the announcement next week as well as embed the narrative that she really is determined to prioritize economic growth. If not, it will be a somewhat odd political comms strategy.
Sinking quickly - Zarah Saltana
Will the magnificent seven ride again?
Seven left-wing Labour MPs were suspended from the Labour party in the summer for voting against the government on an SNP King’s Speech amendment that called for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped.
Their six-month sentence is almost over which means Labour whips are considering re-admitting them back into the party. WTWN understands that there is a sliding scale amongst the seven ranging from the subterranean Rebacca Long-Bailey to the forthright Zarah Sultana who continues to publicly criticise the government. We could learn next week whether any or all of them have been readmitted, but some seem to want it more than others.
Amongst the seven is former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and there is surprising sympathy for the Corbyn-enabler-in-chief to be allowed to end his long Labour career with dignity back in the party. But with his old comrade Jezza continuing to strike an independent path, is this reunion more likely?