Labour Party

The effective slow disenfranchisement of the white working-class vote is Labour’s biggest problem in the Batley and Spen by-election

On a trip to Batley ahead of its forthcoming by-election, ROBYN VINTER finds little enthusiasm for the Tories, as they eye up another piece of the Red Wall, but not much more for Labour either, as it faces a familiar foe

Many progressives are certain that the only hope for ending Tory rule is to replace first past the post. Polling expert PETER KELLNER is not so sure it is a good idea The case is made easily – and frequently: if we had a different method for electing our MPs, Britain would still be in […]

Ed Miliband has opened up about losing the 2015 general election, admitting he listened too much to advice and said he should have been bolder. Miliband, who is now shadow business secretary, added he was too “risk averse” during the election six years ago and was worried about saying the wrong thing. “That’s the lesson I […]

Britain is moving, in fits and starts, towards new political equilibrium between London, the devolved nations and the regions Is Britain becoming more like Europe politically? The question may seem preposterous in the immediate aftermath of Brexit and a tightening grip in England by an ultra-nationalist Conservative party. But perhaps not. Last month’s elections – Super […]

Labour has called on the political party spending watchdog to investigate claims that the Tories accepted donations from companies that were defunct. Anneliese Dodds, chairwoman of the Labour Party, has written to the Electoral Commission asking it to “urgently investigate” two donations made to the Conservatives that “do not appear to comply” with the law. […]

Allowing the health secretary to keep his job after committing a “minor” breach of the ministerial code could give “carte blanche” for further rule-breaking at the top of government, Labour has said. A probe by Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, found that Matt Hancock was guilty of a “technical” breach of the […]

It's not a case of simply wanting to gerrymander the left, says Labour historian FRANCIS BECKETT, just that the traditional arrangement no longer suits either group

Yvette Cooper is one of Labour’s most effective politicians, so could she one day replace Keir Starmer?

Sir Keir Starmer should avoid turning Labour into a “Blairite tribute band”, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has warned. He told BBC Two’s Newsnight the party should become more radical following setbacks in recent elections. McDonnell, who stood down from the shadow cabinet in 2019, claimed there was “disillusionment” with Labour, “particularly among younger people”. A […]

The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox began her campaign to retain the Batley and Spen seat for Labour saying: “I’m going into politics to change politics, not to change who I am.” Kim Leadbeater was selected as Labour candidate for by-election in the West Yorkshire constituency on Sunday evening and was knocking on doors […]

An alliance of councillors could form to take control of Durham County Council off Labour for the first time in more than 100 years, it has emerged. Independents, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are holding meetings to discuss how they would share power in what was once a stronghold of the Labour party. Labour has 53 […]

Keir Starmer is under pressure from within his own party to make electoral reform a manifesto commitment following four consecutive general election losses and the recent local election setbacks. The pressure comes after a recent Best for Britain poll had shown at least half of its respondents backed electoral reform to make the number of elected representatives […]

Keir Starmer should reinstate Jeremy Corbyn as a parliamentary Labour MP, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said. Former Labour leader Corbyn had the party whip withdrawn in October following his response to an Equality and Human Rights Commission report into anti-Semitism in the party. But McDonnell said allowing him back into the Parliamentary Labour […]

The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox has been chosen by Labour to fight the Batley and Spen by-election. Following a meeting of the local constituency Labour Party, Kim Leadbeater said she was “overwhelmed and humbled” by the support she had received from party members in the seat her sister used to represent. Her selection […]

It’s time for Labour to look for funding from those that share its internationalist social liberal values. I thoroughly agree with the views expressed by Alastair Campbell in his open letter to Keir Starmer. However, I would like to draw attention also to the important trends set out by Peter Keller in his excellent analysis. […]

Greater Manchester mayor and former national Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham says the party would not have lost so many seats in the last election had he defeated Jeremy Corbyn in the battle to become its leader in 2015. The claim came in an interview with the Observer, in which Burnham said he would run […]

Labour frontbencher Wes Streeting is to step back from politics while he undergoes treatment for kidney cancer. Streeting, 38, said the diagnosis had come as “an enormous shock” but the prognosis was good as the disease had been caught early. In a video message posted on his Twitter feed, the MP for Ilford North said […]

The existential crisis facing Labour is one shared by its sister parties across the continent As the UK’s Labour Party comes to terms with its latest failure to connect with the electorate it can at least comfort itself with one thing: it is not alone. Traditional social democratic and Labour parties across Western Europe are reeling from a […]

Earlier this year Keir Starmer called for a 1945 moment, but he has yet to outline what it involves. In June last year, Ed Miliband was asked on The Andrew Marr Show whether Keir Starmer was going to be a better leader of the Labour Party than he had been. “Definitely,” he responded, adding: “I […]

A shadow minister has quit after being accused of trying to intimidate a colleague seeking to assist a parliamentary worker who raised allegations of sexual harassment against a former Labour MP. Kate Hollern left her role on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbench after the allegations were made during an employment tribunal against Mike Hill. […]

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has put down rumours he would be willing to join Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbench, but suggested Labour MPs who should be. McDonnell, who served on Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet until last year, told the LBC’s Iain Dale he backed Richard Burgon and Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was removed from Sir Keir’s top team after […]

Jeremy Corbyn has said it is a “bit rich” to blame him for Labour’s poor election performance as four of Sir Keir Starmer’s predecessors weighed in on the party’s woes. The former Labour leader said it was “a bit weak” to suggest he is responsible for the losses in last week’s by-election in Hartlepool and […]

Polling expert PETER KELLNER on the long term factors behind the party’s decline, and what might help reverse it Two rival theories have sought to explain Labour’s drubbing in this month’s elections. The left accuses Keir Starmer of deserting the party’s socialist principles. The leadership fears that the party has not changed enough: it needs to […]

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has said the UK must “draw a line” under Brexit and instead focus on keeping the Union together. Burnham – who won his mayoral race with 67% of the vote on Thursday – told The London Economic he thought voters had deserted the Labour Party because it was seen as the party […]

In an open letter, editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL – the man who helped mastermind Labour’s last spell in power – offers his constructive advice to Keir Starmer on how to revive his party’s fortunes Dear Keir, I hope you are bearing up despite all the brickbats. You are experiencing something every Labour leader has had to contend with… […]

Tony Blair has launched a scathing attack on the “woke left” and warned the Labour Party faced electoral oblivion if it did not start ‘cutting through’ to voters.   Blair, a former Labour prime minister, said May’s dismal election results showed the party needed a “total deconstruction and reconstruction. Nothing less will do.” Writing in the New Statesman, Blair […]

Keir Starmer’s closest parliamentary aide has resigned as the fallout from Labour’s poor performance in local elections continues. Carolyn Harris, the leader’s parliamentary private secretary (PPS), said: “It has been the proudest moment of my career to co-chair the campaign that saw Keir Starmer elected as Labour leader, and to serve as his PPS for […]