Labour Party

The Labour Party is mulling over a decision to add electoral reform to its manifesto after party activists vote to end the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. More than one-quarter of Labour branches are urging Sir Keir Starmer to dump the party’s historical support for FPTP voting in favour of proportional representation. Calls for Labour to change its stance has grown over […]

Paying social care workers “poverty wages” is holding back the economy, Labour will warn as it demands the government raise their salaries to £10 an hour. Deputy leader Angela Rayner is set to say that giving the frontline workers a pay rise will mean “every extra pound” is spent in local businesses and high streets […]

Keir Starmer is facing mounting criticism from within his own party. JAMES BALL assesses how seriously he should take it. Keir Starmer is, we’re told, a politician in crisis. Despite the devastating effect of coronavirus on the UK and on the standing of the government, the Labour Party lags behind the Conservatives in the polls, his personal […]

A Welsh Labour MP has told Keir Starmer’s critics to “come into the real world” as she lashed out at her party’s “left-wing” antics. Carolyn Harris, the Labour leader’s parliamentary private secretary (PPS), dismissed criticisms of his leadership as “nonsense” and not being based in “the real world”. Harris was joined by Welsh Labour’s deputy leader […]

Labour’s shadow education minister has called on Tory peer James Wharton to resign his party’s whip after being appointed chair of the universities watchdog. Kate Green said Wharton’s appointment to the Office for Students (OfS) was the latest in a “growing catalogue of cronyism” committed by the government. The Tory peer was confirmed as chair on Tuesday afternoon, despite the Commons […]

No analysis of the state of Britain today can be possible without an understanding of why Labour finds itself in its current position. Its failure to properly address prejudice in the party before the last election are at the heart of that. FRANCIS BECKETT has had access to insider accounts of the key meetings under […]

A Labour government would “clean up cronyism” and deliver the “biggest wave of insourcing of public services for a generation”, a shadow minister has pledged. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves accused the Conservative Party of being “rife with conflicts of interest” as she urged firms awarded contracts during the pandemic with Tory links to […]

Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are crowdfunding to create new video output to counteract Andrew Neil’s new GB News television service. Left-wing grassroots campaign group Momentum is currently appealing for financial support ahead of new television services from GB News and Rupert Murdoch’s News UK service – both due to launch in the spring. In an email to […]

The Labour Party has attacked Jeremy Corbyn for “wasting time and money” after he lost a court battle to release documents relating to his suspension from the parliamentary party. On Wednesday, a judge dismissed Corbyn’s case, saying he had “sufficient evidence” to fight a High Court battle over the suspension. In a direct attack at Corbyn’s […]

It is no exaggeration to say that the next Scottish Labour leader will play a pivotal role in deciding whether Scotland becomes independent. MAURICE SMITH reports on a party still coming to terms with the scale of the task ahead. Anas Sarwar must be a glutton for punishment. The 37-year-old has been tipped for Labour Party stardom […]

Jeremy Corbyn has lost a bid for disclosure of documents from the Labour Party ahead of an anticipated High Court claim over his suspension. The former leader of the opposition is considering legal action over his suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), which could see him seek “an injunction to restore the whip immediately”. […]

Labour has reported the Conservative London mayoral candidate to the Crown Prosecution Service over claims he “repeatedly attempted to mislead” voters with campaign leaflets. Shaun Bailey, who is seeking to topple Labour incumbent Sadiq Khan during the upcoming May election, used “City Hall” branded paper to warn Londoners of an alleged “21.2%” council tax increase. […]

GLEN O’HARA assesses the Labour leader’s performance since he took the reins, and his ultimate prospects. Sir Keir Starmer has spent nearly a year now presenting himself as a diligent, calm and intelligent leader – a kind of ‘Mister Competence’, in contradistinction not just to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, but also to his immediate predecessor, Jeremy […]

Labour MPs have tabled an Opposition Day debate motion to protect employment rights now under threat as a result of Brexit.  With the UK no longer bound by EU directives, rights enshrined in their wording – such as holiday pay and statutory working limits – can be stripped away.  Sir Keir Starmer – together with […]

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has launched an attack on Rishi Sunak’s handling of the pandemic, claiming his policies have costs job and left the UK with the highest death toll in Europe. Dodds has accused her Tory opposite number of repeatedly taking the wrong policy options, with the government setting up a “false choice” between protecting public […]

Anas Sarwar and Monica Lennon will face off to become the leader of Scottish Labour after nominations closed. The pair were both able to gain at least four nominations each from MSPs or Labour’s sole Scottish MP in order to trigger the contest. The party’s ruling body has set out a condensed timetable which will […]

Labour could win up to 351 seats if it teamed up with the Greens and Liberal Democrats at the next general election, new analysis has revealed. Analysis of polling figures by pro-EU lobby group Best for Britain showed that Labour would secure just 284 seats at the 2024 elections if it went it alone. That is 42 […]

The first stage of Jeremy Corbyn’s legal battle with Labour over his suspension from the parliamentary party will be heard by the High Court.  Lawyers for the former opposition leader are applying for the disclosure of documents ahead of a possible legal challenge over his suspension. At a remote hearing on Monday afternoon, Judge Lisa […]

Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green has called for Gavin Williamson to resign over the latest free school meals scandal, saying he “plainly isn’t up to the job”. Green said the public had “run out of patience” with the education secretary. The opposition politician says she will force a vote in the Commons next week […]

Just four months before the next Scottish Parliament election, Richard Leonard has quit as Scottish Labour leader. The Central Scotland MSP announced the move on Thursday afternoon, saying he had made his decision to step down over the Christmas period. – Does Richard Leonard’s resignation come as a surprise? Not really. The Scottish Labour leader […]

Jeremy Corbyn will take the first step towards a High Court battle against Labour next week over his suspension from the parliamentary party. The former opposition leader will have a pre-action disclosure application heard in London on Monday afternoon, court officials told the PA news agency. Lawyers for Corbyn are expected to ask a judge […]

Labour could dump Sir Keir Starmer in favour of a leader keen to rejoin the EU, a former frontbencher has warned. Former Labour whip Rosie Duffield said a majority of party MPs were “desperate to rejoin the EU at heart”. Speaking on HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast, Duffield – who was forced to resign in May for […]

Left wing advocates of Brexit labour under a number of misapprehensions, says FRANCIS BECKETT – such as a mistaken belief it will make their aims more achievable and that all Remainers are middle class. Paul Embery is one of the brightest stars of Lexit – the faction that says that all proper socialists are Brexiters. […]

A Labour frontbencher has resigned over her Brexit deal position after she defied Keir Starmer’s call for MPs to vote in support. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Helen Hayes left the opposition frontbench after abstaining on the bill. She tweeted: “I’m grateful to all who’ve contacted me on the EU Future Relationship Bill. I can’t vote […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer has ruled out fighting the next general election on issues surrounding Europe, claiming he wants to focus on “Bitain in the 2030s” rather than the views of 2016. In an interview with the Guardian, Starmer dismissed talk of campaigning on Europe in 2024 despite the Brexit deal giving a break clause […]

Labour’s Nadia Whittome has indicated that she will abstain in the vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal in the Commons. The Nottingham East MP said she would not vote for a deal which “fails to protect jobs, workers’ rights, migrants, the environment, our NHS, and my generation’s future”. On Twitter, Whittome wrote: “While I understand […]

A Labour MP has explained why she will defy the party leadership over Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. Appearing on Channel 4 News, Rupa Huq said she “doesn’t want to be a part” of the consequences of voting to support the deal. “It’s a relief that a deal has been done because obviously if you’re jumping […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is facing a high-profile revolt over his decision to back Boris Johnson’s EU trade deal in this week’s Commons vote. Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and ex-cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw are among the signatories to a letter calling on opposition parties not to support the “rotten” agreement, The Guardian reported. […]