What’s happening?

Jamie Reed, the Labour/anti-Labour MP for Copeland, has written to Jeremy Corbyn, informing him that he will be standing down from his seat (which makes no sense, btw) at the end of January.

He is leaving to take up a role as Head of Development and Community Relations with Sellafield Ltd., the company which operates the nuclear power station.

What does this mean?

Although the expectation is that Jamie’s new role will focus on development and community relations, which he will head, there is little detail yet as to how large his team will be, where he will fit into the company’s hierarchy or the day-to-day operation of his role.

As Mr Reed is currently an MP it’s unclear as to whether the “development” portion of his title refers to literally developing the plant. Mr Reed’s 71,500 tweets contain little, if anything, to suggest that he is familiar with the mechanics of constructing a nuclear power plant.

Is defeat inevitable?

Not at all, Jamie Reed has proved himself to be a popular MP who is well liked on Twitter and, as such, is likely to excel in the community relations portion of his job.

It’s easy to see him delivering an outstanding performance in areas such as organising tours of the plant for schoolchildren, sponsoring local charity events, meeting with regional political operatives and publicising the work that the plant does to “give back” to its home area.

Far from defeat being inevitable it’s entirely feasible that his strengths in this area will be sufficient for the company to overlook that he was clearly bull-shitting when he said he could develop a nuclear power station.

What does the future hold for Copeland?

For the immediate future it’s likely that Mr Reed will remain resident in the Copeland area, given its proximity to his new employer, although this may change if his new role turns out to involve a great deal of travel to alternative locations, such as London.

In the longer term Copeland is likely to contain a Mr Reed who is looking for, and perhaps achieving, promotion opportunities, either with Sellafield Lrd. or with other employers.

While he is resident in the Copeland area it is expected that local businesses will continue to receive a portion of Mr Reed’s salary.  At a minimum it is unlikely that his direct spend on, say, milk and bread will move out of the region.

What about Jeremy Corbyn?

That Mr Corbyn has enjoyed a professional relationship – albeit not entirely friendly one – with Mr Reed would provide a valuable foot in the door should Mr Corbyn be seeking sponsorship for, for example, a junior sports team, especially one based in the region of the Sellafield plant.

At this time it is not clear whether Mr Corbyn has any connections with such a team, or whether he’s put aside his personal animosity towards Mr Reed in order to secure much-needed funding for them.

And on the political front?

There will be a by-election, the winner of which is yet to be announced.