But by the end of the meeting there was still more discord than harmony in the Labour Party, in what has become a power struggle between the left-wing Mr Corbyn and his MPs.
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Mr Corbyn, who is expecting a commanding win in the leadership contest next weekend, is planning a democratic revolution in the party, according to the Observer.
McDonnell told volunteers manning the phone banks at the Unite offices that they should be “careful” about the outcome of the leadership contest on Saturday. “I think to have an elected shadow cabinet, not an appointed shadow cabinet, is one way we do that”.
Jon Trickett, NEC member and shadow business secretary, also called it “a very positive meeting”.
Allowing the elected leader to automatically be on the ballot of any election.
In June’s no confidence motion, 172 Labour MPs voted against their leader – compared to only 40 supporting him.
“But whoever wins that leadership, we have got to swing in around that leader and make sure that they are the most electable leader we have”.
Media captionLabour “have to put the band back together”, says deputy leader Tom Watson.
The Observer reported that Corbyn would propose members be allowed to elect a certain number of shadow cabinet positions and have a direct say in policymaking through “digital consultations”.
Shami Chakrabati released the subsequent report in June and concluded that although anti-Semitism was not “endemic within the party”, ignorance among members and the use of anti-Semitic language was a problem. I guess for a leader they would have to balance up whether they wanted people with an alternative base of authority rather than coming from fellow colleagues in Westminster or from a leader.
He said that “unless we have a radical, credible opposition to the Tories then we won’t be able to stop them – now or at the next election”.
“We created a new category of member – a registered supporter – that was pretty unpopular in all sections”.
“And we also want to enfranchise more ordinary trade unionists in the process”.
It comes after Mr Smith said Labour was “sleepwalking towards an electoral disaster” which could tear it apart if Mr Corbyn remains leader.
Mr Watson, who himself was elected deputy leader past year using the same franchise, said the reforms had been “rushed” and “unpopular”. This last point is yet to be finalised.
“And Jeremy doesn’t seem to be very good at disassociating himself from it”, she added.
It comes after claims that numerous 300,000 new members that have signed up to Labour in the a year ago are more left-wing than traditional members, with some alleged to be from previously banned groups like Militant tendency. “Our members join the Labour Party to stand up against injustice and abuse – this pledge makes clear that this is at the heart of all of our politics and our party debates too”. But he pointed out that a members’ vote would impose a financial burden of as much as a third of a million pounds on the party. But it would seem that the party’s deputy leader wants to return it to a top-down, “elite” organisation.
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However, he said that members should think carefully before seeking to oust sitting MPs.
