Newly elected Labour MP and Selwyn alumnus Wes Streeting has criticised the party’s leadership, calling for “far more comradely” politics.

During a talk last night at Newnham College for Cambridge Universities Labour Club (CULC), the former CUSU and NUS President told students “normal rules of politics do not apply” under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and that internal political debates could be conducted “in a more constructive way”.

“If you’d told me six months ago Jeremy Corbyn would be leader, I’d have told you that you were nuts,” he told CULC. “Even George Lansbury wasn’t as far left as Jeremy Corbyn.”

Pacifist Lansbury was Labour leader from 1932-35, during which time party discussion was dominated by foreign affairs and policy disagreements.

When asked by one audience member if the “greatly frustrating” Shadow Cabinet resignations were orchestrated, Streeting said he was grateful “the longest reshuffle in history is over”.

“I don’t think there was anything orchestrated,” he said. But were there to be another resignation, he quipped: “Even I might strangle them.”

“I don’t follow Jeremy’s politics, but I do respect his mandate,” he told the audience. “I would always fight inside a tent rather than outside.”

But he criticised the party leader for his handling of the recent reshuffle.

“We should have been in the media talking about the floods,” he said. “The last thing we should be doing to start the New Year is a divisive reshuffle.”

“Sometimes it’s the basic competences and practicalities that frustrate me.” He also acknowledged that former leader Ed Miliband was “definitely an issue” with voters.

“The public said: ‘We don’t like your leader’. We said: ‘Tough!’ and the public said ‘tough’ back.”

Arguing that the “founding principle” of the party was to win power “to change people’s lives”, he said that a “much more thoughtful” debate was required on immigration and the economy to win back voters’ trust.

“We’ve got two ears and one mouth, and should use them in that proportion.”
He also alluded to Tristram Hunt’s remarks made during a recent CULC event that gained national coverage.

“I’m from the one per cent on free school meals,” Streeting said, “not the other one per cent. I certainly won’t go there,” he joked.

When asked whether Corbyn’s attempts to broaden membership participation into policy decisions were welcome, he broadly agreed, but issued a “challenge” to the membership.

“Your responsibility to think about how we win over members of the public is as great as mine,” he said.

Acknowledging the party had not done enough to address voters’ “legitimate concerns” on Europe, and that the party needed to be “alive” to public opinion, he claimed voters hated being “patronised, cajoled and pushed”.

He also criticised the government’s approach to Parliament, claiming: “On a slender majority of 12… they seem to think they can do whatever they like”.

He described the decision to scrap student maintenance grants without a parliamentary vote as an “absolute disgrace”, and claimed the party had “gone to town” in holding the government to account on maintenance grants after a period of “growing pains”.

Interview: Wes Streeting