So, Sadiq Khan will be Labour’s London Mayoral candidate, while Jeremy Corbyn looks likely to become Labour’s leader tomorrow. The two have worked together during their campaigns, with their staff consulting closely on tactics. But they’ve also worked together in the past. In Emma Crewe’s book, The House of Commons: An Anthropology of MPs at Work, Corbyn tells an anecdote about what life was like as a serial rebel:
Towards the end of the last Labour administration a phone call between then whip Sadiq Khan and Jeremy Corbyn tended to go something like this:
Whip: ‘Hello there Jeremy, just wanted to check how you are planning to vote on Tuesday.’
Jeremy: ‘I’m going to vote against.’
Whip: ‘OK’.
Jeremy: ‘I mean against the government.’
whip: ‘Yes, I know.’
Jeremy: ‘Sadiq, at this point you are supposed to persuade me to support the party.’
Whip: ‘I can’t be bothered. Would you consider abstaining?’
Jeremy: ‘No, sorry I can’t do that.’
Whip: ‘OK.
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