Plaid Cymru launch campaign as Starmer defends Labour’s record in Wales

Andy DaviesHome Affairs Correspondent30 May 2024

Ciaran Jenkins: ‘ Sir Keir Starmer defended his party’s record in office in Wales and backed embattled First minister Vaughan Gething in his visit to Abergavenny this morning.

Mr Gething has had a rocky start to his tenure, with continuing questions over a £200,000 donation to his leadership campaign.

The visit coincided with Plaid Cymru’s leader – Rhun ap Iorwerth – launching his party’s campaign, where he accused Sir Keir of taking Welsh voters for granted and also vowed to pick up seats at the expense of the Conservatives.’

Andy Davies reports.

WALES

Steel union to start industrial action at Tata

Felicity Evans,BBC Wales money editor

BBC

Unite, one of the three unions at Tata Steel's Port Talbot plant, has announced it will begin industrial action on 18 June

One of the unions at Tata Steel's plants in south Wales has announced it will begin industrial action on 18 June.

Unite said members at Port Talbot and Llanwern would begin a "work to rule" and overtime ban in protest at the company's plans to close both blast furnaces with the loss of 2,800 jobs across its UK operations.

Tata Steel UK, which is proposing to build a greener electric arc furnace at the Port Talbot site, said it was disappointed, but that the current business was "unsustainable", losing £364m in 2023-24.

The Community union, which represents the bulk of workers at Port Talbot, has told its members that it is considering an improved redundancy offer which it will put to them once negotiations are completed.

Steelworkers march over thousands of job losses

Tata redundancy offer callous, say steel unions

Tata Steel workers vote for industrial action


All three of the unions at Tata's Port Talbot site, the UK's biggest steel plant, have balloted for industrial action, but Unite is the only one to announce dates.

Tata has previously warned that it could withdraw the enhanced redundancy packages on offer if workers take industrial action.

Peter Hughes, Unite's regional secretary for Wales, said: "Our members will not stand quietly by and allow Tata to needlessly trash jobs and communities and commit serious harm to both the Welsh economy and national security."

The union said that "strike action will be scheduled if the company does not row back on its plans."

Union members will protest at the company's plans to close both blast furnaces, with the loss of 2800 jobs across its UK operations


Last week the Community union, which also opposes Tata's plans, wrote to its members telling them the company had further improved its redundancy support package.

The letter said Community was continuing wider negotiations to "get the best deal possible for all workers affected, as well as the best deal possible to ensure future investment for Port Talbot and the downstream sites".

It said those changes would be put to members "to have their say" once the negotiations were finalised.

Tata said it has agreed a deal with the National Grid to supply electricity for plans for a new electric arc furnace in Port Talbot in 2027


Tata recently announced that it had agreed a deal with the National Grid to supply electricity for the new electric arc furnace in 2027.

The UK government is providing a £500m subsidy to support the building of the electric arc furnace which will cost a total of £1.25 billion.

Responding to Unite's announcement of industrial action, Tata said it had repeatedly written to Unite raising concerns about "significant irregularities in the ballot process" for industrial action.

The company also said that by restructuring its UK operations "we will be able to sustain the business as we transition to new electric arc furnace technology."

A transition board has been set up, with a £100m fund to support workers who face losing their jobs.

 ICJP Seeks Urgent Clarification from FCDO & MoD on British Spy Planes over Gaza

London, 30th May 2024: Yesterday, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) wrote to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), seeking urgent clarification on the role of British reconnaissance aircraft flying over Gaza since December 2023.

The letter seeks clarity on whether information gathered in-flight is being shared with the International Criminal Court (ICC), for its war crimes investigations in Gaza, and, additionally, whether British intelligence has been shared with the Israeli military. ICJP’s letter warns the government that sharing intelligence with the Israeli military could amount to British complicity in Israeli war crimes, actionable under Article 25 of the Rome Statute. Meanwhile, failure to share intelligence with the ICC would violate UK obligations as a State Party to the Rome Statute.

Over 200 such flights have taken place since December, mostly deploying Shadow R1 aircraft. Reportedly, British planes were flying over Gaza on the 1st April – when an Israeli strike killed three British nationals in a World Central Kitchen vehicle – and on the 26th May – when an Israeli strike massacred at least 45 displaced Palestinians, asleep in tents in Rafah. The public urgently requires information about these and other incidents, to establish whether British intelligence was in Israeli hands at the time of the strikes, including intelligence potentially used for target acquisition.

It is also imperative to know whether footage captured of these apparent war crimes will be shared with the Hague. In Parliament, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps declined five times to confirm or deny whether such intelligence will be shared with the ICC. This is despite the fact that the UK, as a State Party to the Rome Statute, has committed to support the ICC’s mandate to prosecute individuals for international crimes.

The mass number of flights made, and the specialist visual and intel-gathering capabilities of the Shadow R1, mean that British reconnaissance units will have gathered a vast amount of a) potentially useful evidence for ICC investigation, and b) potentially useful military intel for Israeli operations in Gaza. The government claims that these flights are only assisting in the identification and recapture of hostages but has provided insufficient information for the public or legal experts to establish the veracity of that claim.

ICJP Legal Officer Zaki Sarraf has stated:

“The government has provided the public with little-to-any information on the nature or volume of intel shared with Israel, nor whether it will be shared with the ICC. On both counts, it is imperative that the public knows. British spy planes flying over Gaza whilst Israel commits brutal war crimes against the Palestinians is deeply concerning, particularly considering the UK government’s opacity on the issue.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law. 
2. For more information, to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, or to view a full copy of the letter, please contact the ICJP news desk at press@icjpalestine.com. 
3. Kennard, Matt (8th May 2024), ‘Revealed: UK Military has flown 200 spy missions over Gaza in support of Israel’, Declassified UK
4. Vernon, Hayden (2nd December 2023), ‘UK surveillance aircraft to search for Hamas hostage sites in Gaza’, The Guardian

UK

Rishi Sunak wears £750 ($954.92 USD)

 backpack on visit to one of poorest areas of the country

The luxury accessory had his initials engraved on the side.

 by Ryan Price
2024-05-30 


Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been photographed on a visit to one of the least affluent areas of the country wearing a designer backpack worth £750.

The Conservative Party leader was boarding a sleeper train to Penzance, on the coast of Cornwall, for the next leg of his campaign trail, ahead of the general election on 4th July.

In the clip shared to social media, Sunak can be seen approaching the doors of the carriage, before shaking hands with two members of rail staff and jumping on board.

The Mirror must have been struck by how fancy his bag looked, and took it upon themselves to identify it’s make and manufacturer.

The backpack was identified as a Tumi Arrive Bradley model, which is out of stock on the Selfridges website but was previously available for a whopping £750.

We found a similar model on the official Tumi website which is going for the higher price of £1100.

The description of the aesthetically pleasing accessory is as follows: “This sleek design is as functional as it is stylish, letting you protect and carry everything from your laptop and tablet to your glasses, phone, and keys.

“The Arrivé collection takes its cues from automotive design, with high-polish chrome details, elegant curves, and sleek magnetic zippers. Our ultra-modern pieces make world-class business partners and travel companions.”


It’s likely that the country’s leader paid a little extra for his backpack, considering it’s been personalised with his initials on the side.

Penzance is the first stop on this week’s leg of the campaign trail, with the Prime Minister set to visit Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales and the Tees Valley too in the coming days.

After arriving in Cornwall, Mr Sunak faced questions about why he’s taking levelling up funds away from the county to pay for his recently announced National Service plan.


The scheme could deprive some of the UK’s poorest areas of cash for community safety and high street regeneration.

Considering Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty are the richest inhabitants of Downing Street in history, it’s not entirely surprising that he is the proud owner of one of the most expensive backpacks on the market.

Perhaps someone should have advised the Prime Minister to swap the Tumi bag out for an Umbro one before he headed to the train station.

Rishi Sunak challenged over Partygate by factory worker whose mother died during pandemic


30 May 2024

,

The Prime Minister was quizzed by a worker during a visit to a factory in Milton Keynes. Picture: Getty Images


By Flaminia Luck@flaminialuck

Rishi Sunak has been confronted over the Partygate scandal while on the election campaign by a worker whose mother died during the pandemic.

Nick Fox, 35, quizzed the Prime Minister how he could be trusted during a staff Q&A at a cherry picker manufacturer near Milton Keynes.

The environment, health and safety officer said he lost his mother in 2020, a month after Mr Sunak attended then-prime minister Boris Johnson's birthday celebration in No 10.

"How can anyone trust you or the party after things like this?" Mr Fox asked him.

Mr Sunak replied: "Well, I'm really sorry that you lost your mum and particularly in those circumstances, because it wasn't easy for so many people during the pandemic, the impact it had on everyone's life.

"And I can't imagine what it must have been for you not to be able to be with her at that time. It's really tough.

"And I'm sorry for what was going on in Downing Street. And for my part, I apologise that I showed up to a meeting earlier."

The Prime Minister went on to highlight his work as then-chancellor implementing the furlough scheme during the Covid-19 crisis.

He said: "As you know, I was working on things to help you and your business and many other families like that.

"And in fact, it was probably in that same period of time that you got to know me as chancellor.

"Most of you didn't know who I was before then, and I popped up on your TV screens, announced the furlough scheme ... Hopefully, some of you here benefited from some of the support that we put in place."

Rishi Sunak at a staff Q&A on the campaign trail at Nifty Lifts headquarters, Buckinghamshire. Picture: Getty

Mr Fox later said he was not convinced by Mr Sunak's answer.

"He talked about hard times and this kind of thing. They haven't tightened their belts. They gave a load of contracts to their mates and this kind of thing.

"His apology isn't accepted. I wasn't looking for an apology either."

He said he was "not really that surprised" when he found out about parties in Downing Street around the same time his mother, Christine Fox, died aged 66.

"I think we all knew things like that were going to happen. It was going to be one rule for us and another rule for them.

"It doesn't really make it any easier. It's still very frustrating."

Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson were fined for attending the then-prime minister's birthday gathering in Downing Street in June 2020.

Mr Sunak reportedly spent hours agonising over whether to resign as chancellor when he was issued with a fixed-penalty notice in April 2022, but ultimately decided against it.

Read more: Moment 'Britain's worst dine-and-dash couple' arrested by police after racking up nearly £1,200 in unpaid food bills
'Cold comfort'

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: "Rishi Sunak will go down in history as the partygate chancellor.

"People up and down the country won't forget Sunak's involvement in Boris Johnson's lying and lawbreaking government.

"His weasel words will come as cold comfort to bereaved families who struggled during the pandemic."

Shelagh Fogarty responds to Rishi Sunak not voting on Partygate report

Last year, the Prime Minister was criticsed for abstaining on a vote over the Partygate scandal.

MPs were invited to vote for or against the Privileges Committee's finding that Boris Johnson knowingly and repeatedly lied in Parliament.The vote concluded with an overwhelming majority in favour of the report.

However, as this was a "free vote" some MPs were absent - including Rishi Sunak.

UK

US comic Jon Stewart pokes fun at Labour's clampdown on left-wingers

It comes amid allegations of a witchhunt against Labour’s hard left


JON STEWART WILL RETURN TO HOST THE SATIRICAL COMEDY SERIES THE DAILY SHOW DURING THE 2024 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FOR ONE DAY A WEEK

 (PA)
PA ARCHIVE
ROBERT DEX @ROBDEXES

US comic Jon Stewart described Labour suspending one of its candidates in north-east London as “the dumbest thing The UK has done since electing Boris Johnson”.

Faiza Shaheen, who ran against former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith in Chingford and Woodford Green at the last election, is reported to have been suspended by Labour after she allegedly liked a series of posts on X that downplayed antisemitism accusations.

Among them is said to be a satirical “Israel video sketch” posted online by the US comedian and broadcaster.

When told about it, Stewart responded: “This is the dumbest thing The UK has done since electing Boris Johnson…what the actual f***…”

Ms Shaheen accused the Labour leadership of “double standards” over how she had been treated.

Her suspension along with that of Brighton left-winger Lloyd Russell-Moyle and the confusion over the future of veteran MP Diane Abbott has led to complaints Sir Keir and his allies are carrying out a “cull” of the Labour left.

FAIZA SHAHEEN, PICTURED WITH FORMER LEADER JEREMY CORBYN, IS ON THE LEFT OF THE LABOUR PARTY (GARETH FULLER/PA)
PA ARCHIVE

But Deputy Leader Angela Rayner told the Guardian: “I don’t think it’s a purge.

“I don’t know the details of the individual cases but I do know that we put a robust system in place around vetting and dealing with serious allegations that are made in the party.



“We had to do that because when me and Keir took over the party was failing.”

She told Sky News: “I don’t think Keir is acting in a factional way. You do have factions in the Labour Party.

“But you know, our party will only succeed if we’re a broad church.”

 

Is ‘left wing purge’ key to a Starmer election victory?

30 May 2024

Reports that Labour are set to bar Diane Abbott from standing in the general election have sparked outrage, with the veteran MP accusing Keir Starmer of purging the party’s left wing and alienating voters.

But is the Labour leader and his inner circle willing to lose left-wing voters, if it means they can concentrate on winning over disaffected Conservatives and bringing back Labour supporters who were put off by Jeremy Corbyn?

This week, Rishi Sunak has made a slew of policy announcements – national service for teenagers, cutting so-called “Mickey Mouse” university courses, and a tax giveaway for pensioners – this has left many wondering if the Tories have totally given up on young voters.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey was pictured falling – or jumping – off a paddleboard in Lake Windermere, but can the party make a splash across the country or is it just about a few target seats?

In this episode of The Political Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy talks about all this with the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader Daisy Cooper, former Conservative Universities minister, Lord Johnson, and Meg Hillier, who was Labour Chair of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee and has been the MP in Diane Abbott’s neighbouring constituency for 20 years.

Produced by Calum Fraser, Silvia Maresca, Shaheen Sattar, Rob Thompson and Nick Jackson.

You can listen to, download and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts here.

Also available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Acast, CastBox and other good podcast apps.

Is Starmer undertaking a ‘purge of the left’?

Gary GibbonPolitical Editor 30 May 2024

Cathy Newman: ‘It’s not a Corbynista cull, it’s quality control. That was the way Sir Keir Starmer tried to explain away the row over the growing list of left-wing candidates being stopped from standing for Labour.

He said today he’s entitled to select the highest quality potential MPs. But he and his deputy Angela Rayner seem to be split over whether Diane Abbott should be one of them, as Gary Gibbon reports.’

Jeremy Corbyn says Sir Keir Starmer is 'clearly intervening' in 'purge' of left-wing Labour candidates

The ex-leader, now running as an independent candidate in the general election, said those being blocked from Labour's list had "all spoken out in favour of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza".

Jennifer Scott
Political reporter @NifS

SKY NEWS
Thursday 30 May 2024


Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused Sir Keir Starmer of "clearly intervening" in a "purge" of left-wing candidates from the party.

Confusion over whether Diane Abbott will be allowed to stand under Labour's banner on 4 July has dominated headlines in recent days, as well as the suspension of Lloyd Russell-Moyle and the blocking of Faiza Shaheen - with critics of the leadership claiming it is an attack on the left.

But while Sir Keir has continued to say the decisions are not down to him but the party's national executive committee, Mr Corbyn - who is standing as an independent candidate after being expelled from the party himself - focused the blame on his successor.

Speaking to Sky News's political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh about Ms Abbott, Mr Russell-Moyle and Ms Shaheen, the ex-leader said: "The one thing they all have in common, the people that have been purged, is that they're on the left of the party and have all spoken out in favour of an immediate ceasefire and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

He claimed that reports Ms Shaheen was stopped from running over tweets she liked on X regarding Israel were "a bit thin," adding: "The Labour Party's procedures ought to be more robust and more open than that."

And asked about whether Sir Keir was behind the decisions, Mr Corbyn said: "He claims sometimes it's nothing to do with him and other times that he's made the decision. He better make up his mind what it is.

"I think the leader ought to be independent of the other processes. But he clearly is intervening all along the way."

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused Sir Keir Starmer of "clearly intervening" in a "purge" of left-wing candidates from the party.

Confusion over whether Diane Abbott will be allowed to stand under Labour's banner on 4 July has dominated headlines in recent days, as well as the suspension of Lloyd Russell-Moyle and the blocking of Faiza Shaheen - with critics of the leadership claiming it is an attack on the left.

But while Sir Keir has continued to say the decisions are not down to him but the party's national executive committee, Mr Corbyn - who is standing as an independent candidate after being expelled from the party himself - focused the blame on his successor

Speaking to Sky News's political correspondent Serena Barker-Singh about Ms Abbott, Mr Russell-Moyle and Ms Shaheen, the ex-leader said: "The one thing they all have in common, the people that have been purged, is that they're on the left of the party and have all spoken out in favour of an immediate ceasefire and permanent ceasefire in Gaza."

He claimed that reports Ms Shaheen was stopped from running over tweets she liked on X regarding Israel were "a bit thin," adding: "The Labour Party's procedures ought to be more robust and more open than that."

And asked about whether Sir Keir was behind the decisions, Mr Corbyn said: "He claims sometimes it's nothing to do with him and other times that he's made the decision. He better make up his mind what it is.

"I think the leader ought to be independent of the other processes. But he clearly is intervening all along the way."


THE LEFT ARE FINDING OUT THE HARD WAY ABOUT STARMER'S DISTANCING FROM 2019

Serena Barker-Singh

Political correspondent@serenabarksing

Jeremy Corbyn is a figure that has loomed large in this general election campaign - even though he's not been a Labour MP or even in the party at all for some time.

The Conservatives have always tried to align the current Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, to his predecessor in an attempt to conflate their politics.

But the Labour Party is doing all it can to distance itself from the days of 2019 - and members of the Labour left are finding that out the hard way.

Last night, those on the left of the party accused Starmer of a "purge" of left-wing candidates, after a sweep of nominees, who had already begun campaigning in what they'd hoped to be their constituencies, were told they could no longer run for the party.

Faiza Shaheen told me she thought this was not because of any tweets she'd liked, but because of her views on the conflict in Gaza.

Jeremy Corbyn told me he doesn't think the Labour Party looks like a broad church anymore and instead it's a party that only holds "centrist opinions" - and he sees this "purge" as going against anyone with a dissenting opinion.

Sir Keir said today he is not blocking left-wing candidates - he simply wants the "highest quality candidates" in this election.

But it's that comment that has filled many candidates with hot rage. One former senior Labour adviser spoke of the leadership as "little boys drunk on power" - and others are personally offended by what they understand as a personal offence against their character.

They think it doesn't matter about optics because they think the leadership want a fight - they believe the strategy is to look tough on 'radical' voices.

But Faiza Shaheen has been public about the disproportionate number of people of colour who have been affected by the decisions of last night and worries about what it tells voters. "This is not the message Labour should be sending to Black and brown voters," she says.

Others who experienced the purge themselves called Faiza Shaheen's situation a "stitch up" and others have told me the leadership have been hauling in outgoing MPs who have been critical of the leadership for meetings with the leader's office.

Whether this is a concerted strategy or just the culmination of the selection process, the left now believe they know - in the eyes of the newly charged Labour Party - exactly where they stand.

Mr Corbyn had a tumultuous exit from Labour after running the party for four years.

He was first kicked out of the parliamentary party in 2020 after claiming a report into antisemitism under his tenure was "dramatically overstated for political reasons".

But he was ejected from the party entirely after announcing he would be running as an independent candidate in Islington North, having been barred from standing in the seat for Labour.

Mr Corbyn faced his ownJeremy Corbyn says Sir Keir Starmer is 'clearly intervening' in 'purge' of left-wing Labour candidates

The ex-leader, now running as an independent candidate in the general election, said those being blocked from Labour's list had "all spoken out in favour of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza".

Jennifer Scott
Political reporter @NifS
Thursday 30 May 2024

Tony Blair’s reinvented Labour Party pursues a risky ideological ‘purge’

On the center-left of British politics, current leader Keir Starmer wants to show voters Labour is ready for office again. Not everyone’s on board with his methods.
S

The decades-long feud between Brownites and Blairites still defines some aspects of Labour politics today. | Pool photo by Kirsty O’Connor via Getty Images

MAY 30, 2024 
BY TIM ROSS AND STEFAN BOSCIA

POLITICO

The U.K.’s Labour Party is surging back to power — and tearing itself apart.

For the first time since Tony Blair was its leader in 2005, Labour is on course to win a general election, polling more than 20 points ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s moribund Conservatives.

But Labour’s leader, Keir Starmer, has run into trouble with just five weeks to go before the vote. A bitter and long-running ideological civil war between left-wingers and centrists has flared back into life, reigniting allegations of racism, old tribal disputes and personal feuds. The furor now threatens to disrupt Labour’s seemingly unstoppable march to power.

Starmer likes to give the impression he won the battle for the soul of his party long ago, saving the progressive movement from ruin. A decade and a half in the political wilderness taught him and his team that they need to be moderate, centrist and pragmatic to regain the public’s trust.

Under its previous leader, the radical socialist Jeremy Corbyn, Labour became easy for its opponents to caricature as a gang of hardliners who wanted to renationalize industry, punish the rich, take the U.K. out of NATO and scrap nuclear weapons. Labour under Corbyn was also condemned for failing to stamp out antisemitism.

In 2019, despite winning more votes than Blair did in his 2005 victory, Corbyn’s Labour suffered a crushing defeat — the party’s worst election result since the 1930s.

For more polling data from across Europe visit POLITICO Poll of Polls.

When Starmer took over in 2020, he pledged to reset and win back the voters Corbyn had scared off. The overhaul that followed saw Corbyn and many of his cohorts exit the stage.

This week, the remaining Corbynite socialists on Labour’s hard-left flank found a new cause to rally behind.

One of the party’s most famous politicians, the U.K.’s first Black female MP, Diane Abbott, is claiming Starmer’s team have banned her from standing as a Labour candidate in the July 4 election.

Starmer has said this is factually incorrect, but that hasn’t stopped Abbott and her allies crying foul and the leader’s team seems unsure how to respond.

At first, it seemed Starmer’s officials seemed happy enough to have the fight with Abbott’s backers — who were also Corbyn’s backers. They thought it proved his point that Labour had moved on from the bad old days of election-losing, hard-left failure.

But by Thursday, the dispute was in danger of spiraling out of Starmer’s control. Abbott vowed to defy the leadership and stand in her old seat regardless of whether she’s denied Labour backing. Corbyn had already announced he’ll stand as an independent candidate in his old seat. Faiza Shaheen, another leftwing candidate who’s been denied the chance to stand for Labour, is threatening legal action.

The concern for Starmer is that Abbott, who was suspended last year after saying Jewish people did not face racism in the same way Black people do, will ultimately win a PR battle, even one that is most closely followed by political obsessives on the British left.

On Thursday, Starmer tried to dampen the flames, praising Abbott as a trailblazer. His deputy, Angela Rayner went even further, saying she saw no reason why Abbott could not stand again to be a Labour member of Parliament.

But there are other fracture lines not far beneath the surface of Starmer’s ship. In common with parties on the left around the world, the Labour family has been bitterly divided over how to respond to the Israel-Hamas war. Watered-down climate commitments and Starmer’s restrained tax and spending policies are also sore points for many Labour supporters.

No doubt the damage of the Abbott row would be worse if Labour were not 20 points ahead in the polls and Sunak’s Conservatives were a united fighting machine. Luckily for Starmer, the Tories are even more divided than Labour and show no signs of turning their fortunes around.

But there’s a warning light here for any future Labour administration. Blair’s three election victories represent the most successful period in the party’s history and Starmer has consciously sought to replicate some elements of Blairism. But that time in office was marred by the toxic infighting and a spectacular breakdown in relations between Blair and his chancellor Gordon Brown. The decades-long feud between Brownites and Blairites still defines some aspects of Labour politics today.

If there’s one thing some British progressives still seem to love more than fighting Tories, it’s fighting themselves.

If Starmer is ruthless, he needs to resolve 'purge' row quickly - as Labour faces first election crisis

Labour high command knew "wobbles" would come, but this one is dominating what was at first a slick election campaign for the party, Beth Rigby writes.

Beth Rigby
Political editor @BethRigby
SKY NEWS
Thursday 30 May 2024 

Image:Pic: Thabo Jaiyesimi/Shutterstock


When I asked Sir Keir Starmer a couple of weeks back if he was ruthless, he said he was - but qualified it.

His ruthlessness was trained firmly on trying to get a Labour government that "could change this country for the better".


He was "not ruthless for [his] own ambition" - nor was it ruthlessness for the Labour Party, he said.

"I'm ruthless for the country," said Sir Keir. "The only way we'll bring about change in the country is if we are ruthless about wining the general election."

But that ruthlessness is now blowing up and knocking the party's election campaign off course.



Politics live: Another Conservative defects to Labour

8:56'Ruthless' Starmer tells Sky News he would stop Rwanda flights

After a slick first week, Labour is having its first crisis, as the row over whether to de-select Diane Abbott has seized the headlines and muddied the message.

It has prompted, not just open splits at the top of the party, but wider questions about whether Starmer is purging the Labour Party as left-wing candidates are blocked from standing and loyalists are being drafted into safe seats.

Ms Abbott herself has called it a purge, while Andrew Fisher, who worked in Jeremy Corbyn's team, asked: "Is it racism, sexism, factionalism or a combination of all? Either way, it looks appalling."

After previously iron-tight discipline, the party is beginning to fray at the edges.

Ms Rayner, the most senior woman in the party, came to Ms Abbott's defence today, telling me on the Sky News Daily podcast that she should be allowed to stand if that is what she would like to do.

Yvette Cooper has also weighed in, describing Ms Abbott as a trailblazer and a "really important figure in the Labour party".

Starmer, for his part, says the decision hasn't been taken and will be made by the party's national executive committee.

But there is clear a split - and it looks ill-disciplined at exactly the time when the party needs to show the public that it is not another version of the warring Tories.

Ms Rayner was careful not to lay the blame of this at the feet of Starmer.

She told me when I asked if the party leader was trying to purge the left that she "didn't think Keir was acting in a factional way" - but that doesn't mean others are not.

When I asked her about what Andrew Fisher had said about this being a very bad look for the party, Ms Rayner said: "It's not a great look the way Diane was briefed against."

1:47Rayner: 'No reason why Abbott can't stand as Labour MP'

The briefings in The Times newspaper on Thursday night that Ms Abbott was going to be barred from standing, promoting her defiant response and a rally outside Hackney Town Hall, has taken the issue from being relatively contained to out of control.

And this is the dilemma for Starmer. If he is ruthless about changing Britain, the fewer left-wing firebrands on his benches, the better.

If he only wins a small majority, he needs the support of all his MPs and can ill-afford a left faction frustrating his government.

So de-selecting potentially unruly future MPs and replacing them with loyalists makes perfect ruthless sense.

But when does being ruthless tip over into something more sinister, that seems unfair and actually turns voters off?

Perhaps the Labour high command thinks they can ride it out, purge these left-wingers and the news cycle moves on.

But the party already has a big problem in what are supposedly safe seats with the Muslim community that are angry over their stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

They are also facing an independent Jeremy Corbyn in Islington North.

Does the party really want to kick out the first-ever black woman MP from the party, too?

One senior Labour figure insists to me that this is not a purge and that it's "important" to see all these cases differently.

But even if that is the intention, it is not how it's being received among big chunks of Labour backers and voters.

If Sir Keir Starmer is really ruthless about winning this election, he might be advised to resolve this issue - and quickly.

As Rayner acknowledged, it has become a distraction and that will be - in her words - a "frustration" to Starmer.

His top team have long said they will have wobbles along the way and what's important is how it is handled.

This one needs sorting.

‘I will not be intimidated’: Diane Abbott vows to fight General Election despite being ‘banned’ from standing for Labour

'Diane Abbott has always been standing up and has always been put down.'

By Kieran Kelly@kellyjourno

30 May 2024

Diane Abbott has insisted she will stand as an MP following reports she has been "barred" by the Labour leadership from standing under the party's banner.

It emerged on Tuesday evening that Ms Abbott had the Labour whip restored following an investigation into comments she made about the Jewish community.


But Labour has reportedly banned Ms Abbott from standing under the party banner, meaning she will likely fight for re-election as an independent.

"For as long as it is possible, I will be the member of Parliament for Hackney North and Stoke Newington," Ms Abbott said on the steps of Hackney Town hall on Wednesday evening.

She insisted evening that she was "shocked" to learned she would be banned.

"They haven't personally communicated with me personally," Ms Abbott added.

But the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted "this is not true" and that "no decision has been made".

Following a report in The Times, Ms Abbott claimed that she had been "banned" from standing as a Labour candidate in July's General Election.

Ms Abbott said this morning: "Although the whip has been restored, I am banned from standing as a Labour candidate."

She went on to confirm her statement writing online this morning: "Naturally I am delighted to have the Labour Whip restored and to be a member of the PLP.

"Thank you to all those who supported me along the way. I will be campaigning for a Labour victory. But I am very dismayed that numerous reports suggest I have been barred as a candidate."

Labour sources told The Telegraph that senior figures in the party are trying to reach a “soft landing” for the MP whereby she can “go with grace”.

Read more: ‘Cutting NHS waiting lists is our priority’: Starmer unveils ‘first steps’ for Government if elected into Downing Street

Read more: Iain Dale to step down from LBC to put himself forward to be selected as a candidate for MP in the General Election

Sir Keir has come under pressure over Diane Abbott's candidacy, after it emerged she had the Labour whip restored on Tuesday following its withdrawal in April last year over comments she made about racism.

The Labour leader continued to refuse to say whether the veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington would be allowed to stand under his party's banner on July 4

Follow the LBC live General Election blog for all the twists and turns of the campaign train and listen live to LBC on Global Player, our official app

He faced renewed questions after it was reported an internal investigation into Ms Abbott was completed five months ago, but insisted the matter would be resolved by Labour's National Executive Committee "in due course".

Former Labour leader and independent MP Jeremy Corbyn has told LBC's Fraser Knight he will support Ms Abbott as she plans to stand to be the MP for Hackney North.

"I've spent my life fighting for justice, peace and socialism - sometimes you have to fight back against the people who attack us. It's not me they are attacking, or Diane they are attacking, it's the people here," Mr Corbyn told LBC.
Corbyn's message to Starmer

"The Labour party ought to be a broad church and any movement that tends to represent working class has to be a broad inclusive church. You don't achieve things by driving people out - only by bringing people in," the former Labour leader said.

LABOUR HUB EDITORS

Thousands more back Diane Abbott

MAY 30, 2024

Labour Lords have written to Keir Starmer saying she should stand, while Young Labour and Labour Students’ members from across the country have also spoken out, reports the Labour Assembly Against Austerity.

Two well-respected, decades-long labour movement campaigners who are current Labour members of the House of Lords have written to Keir Starmer to deliver on behalf of its signatories a petition in support of Diane Abbott. It has been signed by over 17,500 people from over 550 parliamentary constituencies.

Their letter reads as follows:

“Dear Sir Keir,

We are writing to draw your attention to the fact that over 17,5000 people have now signed this petition in support of the PLP whip to be restored to Diane Abbott petition.

In light of this level of support, the idea that Diane Abbott should not also be permitted to stand as a Labour Party candidate in the forthcoming general election is unthinkable.

As the General Secretaries of ASLEF, the CWU, FBU, NUM, TSSA and Unite said in their recent letter to you on this matter, “For over thirty years – since becoming the first Black woman ever elected to parliament – Diane has stood in every election as a Labour Party candidate.

“We believe that the whip should be restored to Diane and that she should be confirmed as the candidate at the general election for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, which she has represented for so long.”

Yours,

Baroness Christine Blower & Lord John Hendy KC.”

Baroness Christine Blower said:“Diane has been a stalwart of the Labour Party and an inspiration to so many. It is indeed unthinkable that she shouldn’t be a Labour Candidate in this election.”

Lord John Hendy KC, added: “The idea that Diane Abbott should not be permitted to stand as a Labour Party candidate in the forthcoming general election is unthinkable. It would be the ultimate insult on top of the catalogue of vile abuse she suffered at the hands of the Party recorded by Martin Forde KC in his Report. It must not happen.”

The petition was initiated by the Labour Assembly Against Austerity and Arise – A Festival of Left Ideas. Commenting on behalf of the two organisations, Matt Willgress said: “Each day we see illustrations of the growing support there is for Diane across the whole Labour Party and trade union movement and beyond. The message from thousands of us is clear – let Diane Stand!”

Meanwhile, Young Labour and Labour Students members from across the country have called on Keir Starmer to confirm that Diane Abbott will be allowed to stand as a Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington. Their statement reads as follows:

“As young people and students who are members of the Labour Party, we urge you to confirm that Diane Abbott will be allowed to be the Parliamentary candidate for Labour in her constituency now that the whip has been restored.

Diane is a trailblazer who inspires thousands of young people across the country, and is a valuable, popular asset to our party amongst young voters.

If the PLP can be a broad enough church to host Natalie Elphicke, then it can surely find a space for Diane, who voters in Hackney clearly wish to be their Labour MP.”

The Open Letter’s initial signatories included Aaron Stringer, Nottinghamshire Young Labour; Anya Wilkinson, Lancaster University Labour Club; Alec Severs, Manchester Labour Students; Alex Bourne, Derbyshire Young Labour; Alex Burt, Leicester Young Labour; Alexy King, NTU Labour Society; Django Perks, Yorkshire and Humber Young Labou; Emily Payne, Warwick University Labour Society; Erin Hall, Lancaster University Labour Club; Fraser McGuire, Manchester Labour Students; Harriet Limb, Derbyshire Young Labour; Harry Wrench, Lancaster University Labour Club; James Varney, Warwick University Labour Society; Liv Marshall, Nottinghamshire Young Labour; Luca Dunmore, Cambridge University Labour Club; Niamh Iliff, Nottingham Labour Students; Ollie Chapman, Warwick University Labour Society; Ollie Probert-Hill, North West Young Labour; Oliver Mousley, Derby Labour Students; Rufus Sammels-Moore, Derbyshire Young Labour; Sohail Hussain, Birmingham University Labour Society; Vanisha Karna, South East Young Labour; Will Jones, Liverpool Labour Students; Zack Hayward, Cambridge University Labour Club.

The petition supporting Diane can be viewed here.  The petition has also been supported by numerous prominent figures on social media including MPs in the last Parliament Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Beth Winter, Richard Leonard, Richard Burgon, Apsana Begum, Jon Trickett, Nadia Whittome and Ian Lavery.

The General Secretaries of six affiliated trade unions – ASLEF, CWU, FBU, NUM, TSSA and Unite – recently wrote a letter to Keir Starmer asking for the whip to be restored and Diane to be a Labour candidate. It can be read here.

Starmer Is Purging Women of Colour

ByTaj Ali

30.05.2024

THE TRIBUNE

Labour’s disgraceful treatment of Diane Abbott and Faiza Shaheen sends a very clear message to Black and Asian voters — give us your votes and know your place, or face humiliation.

(Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

‘Honestly I’m so shocked right now, to be treated this badly,’ said a visibly shaken Faiza Shaheen, on the verge of tears last night. She was on Newsnight, describing how she’d been sent an email an hour earlier telling her she was being deselected as the Labour candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green. Shaheen, a British-Pakistani woman, the daughter of a car mechanic, is the latest casualty of Starmer’s purge. Her crime? Detailing her own experiences of Islamophobia within the party and liking a tweet of a Jon Stewart sketch from many years ago.

It comes just a day after Labour sources briefed the Times that Diane Abbott, Britain’s first Black woman MP, would be barred from standing as Labour’s candidate in Hackney. This isn’t the first time Abbott has been humiliated by the party. The former Shadow Home Secretary received half of all abusive tweets sent to female MPs in the run-up to the 2017 general election, according to research by Amnesty International. A Labour document, leaked in April 2020, revealed WhatsApp messages showing that when Abbott was found crying in the toilets in the wake of such abuse, senior Labour staffers were mocking and insulting her.

The few remaining Socialist Campaign Group MPs in the party have remained tight-lipped about the whole ordeal, fearful that they might be next. This is the culture of fear that Starmer’s bully boys have created within the party. Where speaking up on genocide in Gaza or expressing concerns about Labour’s lack of ambition on tackling child poverty is perceived to be a punishable offence. Dissent will be crushed. Racism will be tolerated. And pluralism is as ugly a word as socialism. Welcome to Keir’s Starmer’s changed Labour Party.

If you’re a white male MP like Barry Sheerman, who happens to be an ally of the current leadership, you can joke about how there’s been a ‘run on silver shekels’ when two Jewish businessmen miss out on peerages, and get a slap on the wrist. If you’re a Black woman MP like Kate Osamor and you highlight genocide in Gaza, you will be suspended for months and ordered to repent for your sins.

Speaking in Monmouthshire today, Keir Starmer said he wanted ‘the highest quality candidates’ to stand. A white male MP like Neil Coyle, who is firmly on the party’s right, can racially abuse journalists and have a complaint of sexual harassment upheld against them and still be on the ballot paper at the next election, while a socialist Black woman like Diane Abbott, who has given 4 decades of service to the party, is deemed unfit to stand for office for ill-judged comments in a letter that she apologised for straightaway.

This is a party that welcomes right-wing Tory MPs like Natalie Elphicke — a woman who used a debate about Boris Johnson’s misconduct to demonise refugees, launched an unhinged attack on Marcus Rashford’s campaigning on child poverty and was suspended from the Commons for trying to ‘improperly influence’ the penalty meted out to her sex offender husband.

This was never about standards. And it is about more than just factionalism. It is a continuation of a trend where outspoken Black and Asian members of the party are treated with utter disdain.

The Forde report, released in 2022 after a 2-year delay, accused the party of ‘operating a hierarchy of racism or discrimination’, with many forms of racism and discrimination being ignored. It noted that ‘the criticisms of Diane Abbott are not simply a harsh response to perceived poor performance—they are expressions of visceral disgust, drawing on racist tropes, and they bear little resemblance to the criticisms of white male MPs elsewhere in the messages.’ Over 1,100 submissions were made to the inquiry, detailing widespread anti-Black racism and Islamophobia within the party. One witness said: ‘I write this submission to you feeling degraded, overlooked and insulted on so many levels. I am a prime example of why so many say the party has a problem with race. It is why you can count on one hand the number of senior Black women in the party, and on multiple hands the number of Black people that have left.’

Just a few weeks before the Forde Report was published, Apsana Begum, the first hijab-wearing Muslim MP, and a survivor of domestic abuse, was signed off work by her GP following an alleged campaign of misogynistic abuse in her local party. The Labour leadership failed to intervene.

And a survey in 2020 by the Labour Muslim Network prior to the release of the Forde report found 1 in 3 Muslim members of the party had experienced Islamophobia, and more than half of those surveyed said they didn’t trust the Labour leadership to tackle it.

The Labour leadership like to claim that they have put all of this behind them, but just last year, Black Labour MPs wrote a letter to Keir Starmer, demanding urgent action from the Labour leadership to tackle anti-black racism. A section of the letter, shared with Channel 4 News, read, ‘Despite our Party’s claims to be anti-racist… We, our members and supporters are losing faith in the ability and commitment of this leadership to tackle the issues raised in the Forde report and we demand urgent action.’

Over four decades ago, an almighty struggle was waged to ensure greater Black representation in the party. The Labour Party Black Sections went up against numerous barriers, including Neil Kinnock’s controversial decision to block Martha Osamor from standing in Vauxhall. Minority communities were seen in a similar manner to the broader Left — a problem to be contained rather than a vital part of Labour’s supposed broad church.

From defending the rights of refugees to calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, it has often been Black and Asian MPs unapologetically championing the demands of the communities they represent who have been on the receiving end of deselection attempts and purges. For the Labour leadership, it is far easier to backtrack on their support for Kashmir or ditch any reference to systemic racism when critical Black and Asian voices are no longer in the room.

The Labour Right control the internal apparatus of the party and clamp down on any dissent but they cannot control the public mood outside Westminster. The return of mass politics, as demonstrated by the hundreds of thousands marching for a ceasefire in Gaza while frontbenchers were briefing against it will prove to be a serious thorn in the side of an incoming Labour Government. The last few days have demonstrated that even Starmer can’t control the right-wing clique that now runs the party. Its briefings, from racist dog whistles comparing Muslim voters to Hamas in the West Midlands to determining the fate of those Black and Muslim politicians they despise, illustrate not just a hideous rot at the top of the party but immaturity and arrogance in equal measure. And it will come back to haunt them.

Labour’s strategy of targeting swing voters in marginal seats at the expense of their traditional voters will almost certainly win a sizeable majority in the upcoming election. But history tells us that disregarding loyal supporters will have long-term consequences. Black and Asian voters disproportionately reside in Labour’s traditional working-class heartlands. Voters made their anger on Gaza clear in the Rochdale by-election and in recent local elections where the party lost support in places like Oldham, Bradford, Newcastle and Blackburn.

The rise of the Scottish National Party, UKIP, and the Brexit Party is a cautionary tale of what happens when loyal party supporters feel they are not being listened to. ‘Hold your nose and vote Labour to get the Tories out,’ we are told.

As the stench of Islamophobia and anti-Black racism in the party gets stronger, many are, indeed, holding their noses. Labour’s contempt for our communities stinks.
About the Author

Taj Ali is the editor of Tribune.