Jeremy Corbyn: Labour frontbenchers Michael Dugher and Kevan Jones slam party's attitude towards Trident and the election

Some of Mr Corbyn's frontbench team are determined to voice their misgivings about him and his left-wing allies

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn (Getty)

Two Labour frontbenchers have criticised Jeremy Corbyn’s strategy in the latest sign of tension at the top of the party. Although Mr Corbyn has won praise for his approach at Prime Minister’s Questions, some of his frontbench team have made clear they are determined to voice their misgivings about him and his left-wing allies.

Michael Dugher, the shadow Culture Secretary, told the New Statesman magazine Labour did not lose the May general election because it “wasn't left-wing enough” as some Corbynistas claim. He said: “The starting point has got to be the voters. That kind of 'no compromise with the electorate' is a dumb strategy. The starting point for any political party when they've just lost an election is to begin with the defeat and to understand why we lost, not what we'd like to think about why we lost . . . I think it's hard for some people in the party.”

Kevan Jones, a shadow Defence Minister, told The House magazine: “We also have to make sure that we don’t do what we did in the 1980s and talk among ourselves rather than listening to the public….If we do that, we are doomed.”

Mr Jones, who supports the renewal of Trident, said he was “angered by certain people in the Labour Party who think defence is not something that relates to our supporters“. He added: ”The tradition of the Labour Party is of ensuring that this country should have a strong defence policy, but also one which means that military intervention should be thought about. In the 1980s, we were never taken seriously on defence and there’s a real danger that we could get into a similar situation.“