Corbyn critic quits as Labour MP to take job at Sellafield

One of Jeremy Corbyn's most persistent critics is to quit as a Labour MP and take a job in the nuclear industry, triggering a three-way fight for his marginal northern seat with the Conservatives and Ukip.

Jamie Reed, the MP for Copeland in west Cumbria since 2005, told the Guardian he was resigning because he believed he could achieve more for his community in his new job, working for the nuclear processing site Sellafield, than on the backbenches.

The outgoing MP has been very critical of Mr Corbyn’s leadership, having resigned from the shadow frontbench almost immediately after he was first elected in 2015. In June, Mr Reed called for Mr Corbyn to stand down after the EU referendum, accusing the Labour leader of seeking “to inject an unprecedented poison” into the party.

But in an interview with the Guardian, Mr Reed sought to play down past political differences. "This decision has got absolutely nothing to do with Jeremy Corbyn. On a personal level I've got a very cordial relationship," Mr Reed said.

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Explaining why he quit, Mr Reed said: “One of the reasons that I am moving on is because I think there’s a better way of doing that [serving his community] right now than to remain as a member of parliament.”

In the 2015 general election Reed’s majority was reduced to 2,564, with the Tories second and Ukip third, gaining more than 5,000 votes on the previous election to win a 15.5 per cent vote share. Copeland also recorded one of the strongest votes to leave the EU, with 62 per cent voting out, although Mr Reed supported the Remain campaign.

Mr Reed added that family reasons had played a part in his decision, saying it was "very difficult being a long-distance dad". It takes six hours to reach Westminster from Copeland, a huge, semi-rural constituency that includes Keswick in the Lake District as well as Whitehaven.

‘Outstanding candidate’

Mr Reed will take up his new role as head of development and community relations at Sellafield on 1 February. He applied for the job and was "an outstanding candidate", Sellafield's chief executive, Paul Foster, said. Mr Reed, who was born and bred in Whitehaven, worked for Sellafield as a press officer before being elected to parliament in 2005.

Mr Reed said he would not be a “propagandist” for the nuclear industry, but the new job represented an opportunity to help the local economy by ensuring that the impact of the billions of pounds of public money spent at Sellafield annually would be “better felt in this part of the world”.

Mr Reed said his new job paid more than his £74,962 (€88,900) MP’s salary “but not by much” and said money was not a motivator in his decision to quit. He said he had worked in the nuclear industry before entering parliament but accepted that people would be suspicious: “I would totally anticipate people being cynical about any politician leaving politics to take up a job elsewhere. It’s not an ordinary or usual thing to see, so I do accept that.”

Mr Reed’s children are 13, 11, eight and six, and his wife, who is a teacher, cares for them during the week while he is in London. Mr Reed was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2010.

“I know that there will be literally hundreds of thousands of people in the same situation I am, working on shifts or oil rigs or tanker drivers or you name it, mothers and fathers, but I’ve always found that difficult,” he said. “The truth is that I’m finding it increasingly difficult. And the decision that I’m making is the hardest one I’ve ever made but it’s undoubtedly the best thing for me to do for my family.”

Isolated from Westminster

Asked if it was possible to be a good father while serving a community so isolated from Westminster, Mr Reed said it was “exceptionally difficult”. His children needed him more as they approached adulthood, he said.

Mr Reed complained that parliament was suffering from a logjam because of Brexit, with all other key decisions suspended during the negotiating period. "Currently any single issue and every single policy area in Westminster is tangled up in Brexit. All roads lead to Brexit," he said. "The truth is that for many communities and communities like this one there are issues which need to be sorted out and resolved before Brexit can be resolved. We can't wait forever to get to where we want to be. Certainly that's true of this part of England anyway."

Asked if this was the end of his political career, Mr Reed did not rule out a comeback. “I really don’t know,” he said. “I would very much like to return at a point in the future but that is not within my gift.”

– (Guardian service)