Jeremy Corbyn rebukes Chuka Umunna over unpaid student internship advert
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has reminded Labour MPs that they cannot offer unpaid internships after Chuka Umunna prompted criticism with an advert posted to students.
The Streatham MP received an angry response on social media after he sought an unpaid intern from a "sandwich" degree course at Leeds University, where students take a year out to work in politics.
Mr Umunna later defended the role, saying the successful candidate would have access to their student finance, while his office would reimburse travel costs, worth around £1,000 for the year.
The job included duties such as "administrative support", organising "a wide variety of policy issues and constituent enquiries" and "EU campaign work".
However Mr Corbyn’s office later wrote to Labour's MPs, reminding them that failing to pay interns went against the party's rules.
"This is a reminder to all MPs that it is against Labour Party policy to employ unpaid interns," the statement read.
"As part of our 20-point plan for security and equality at work, set out in the 2017 general election manifesto, we have pledged to ban unpaid internships."
Mr Umunna meanwhile hit back on Twitter, adding that the placement was on the "strict condition" that students receive student finance throughout, before adding that he personally believed interns should be paid through greater parliamentary resources.
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