Thornberry joins Bridget Phillipson and Bell Ribeiro-Addy in having said she will stand
Kemi Badenoch has just delivered a speech offering to help Labour with legislationg for welfare cuts. I will post key points soon.
She is now taking questions.
Continue reading...Education secretary Bridget Phillipson favourite to win as she is most likely to meet the threshold of MP nominations
Bridget Phillipson, Emily Thornberry and Bell Ribeiro-Addy have thrown their hats in the ring for the Labour deputy leadership contest.
Phillipson, the education secretary, immediately became the favourite to win as she is most likely to meet the threshold of MP nominations.
Continue reading...The MP said police should be focusing on people who are members of the group, not those who ‘recklessly express support’ for it
Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, used his speech to conference this morning to say that the TUC expected the government to deliver its workers’ rights bill “in full”. He said employment rights were “overwhelmingly popular with voters across the political spectrum”.
And he condemned Reform UK for its stance on employment rights. After saying that Nigel Farage claimed to represent working class people, he went on:
Here’s the truth – there is a world of difference between what Nigel says and what Nigel does.
Every single Reform MP, including Mr Farage, voted against outlawing fire and rehire, against banning zero hours contracts and against day one rights for millions of workers.
Ask yourself this fundamental question. Do you believe in your gut that that Nigel Farage really cares about the people of Clacton when he’s off collecting his speaker’s fees in the United States?
Do you believe that Richard Tice really worries about the people of Skegness while he’s living it up at home in Dubai, or are they just rightwing conmen lining their own pockets?
I just have to say this. No amount of TikToks, or ozempic, or expensive haircuts, will ever hide the eager inner ugliness of Robert Jenrick.
The man who ordered murals painted over in a reception centre for children seeking asylum is indeed a xenophobe, an opportunistic xenophobe hoping to create a political climate that ends up with far right folks laying siege to hotels and black and Asian people being threatened and harassed on our streets.
If we look at the powerful geopolitical push factors, they’re things like regime change. We think Afghanistan, war, civil conflict. And when we look at people crossing in small boats, where do they come from? Well, the top nationalities: Afghan, Eritrea, Iranian, Syrian, Sudanese – just those five nationalities account for almost two thirds of all small boat arrivals, and these individuals are from some of the most chaotic parts of the world.
But there are also some pull factors, and the question is, why not claim asylum in France, why come to the UK? A number of reasons recur there when we speak with asylum seekers. It’s the presence of family members, the English language.
In those circumstances, typically, flagged upon the system, the UK government would be able to issue a speedy refuse refusal and try and effect removal.
As it is, people arrive, we don’t have that record, so we don’t know who they are.
Continue reading...Prime minister faces criticism from Emily Thornberry, who highlights risk of ‘handing country to Farage’
Keir Starmer has been warned by senior Labour figures to stop making mistakes, before a battle over the party’s deputy leadership and amid fears the government could row back on workers’ rights.
As candidates began to jostle to replace Angela Rayner, the prime minister faced public criticism from Emily Thornberry, a potential contender, who said further mistakes from Starmer could lead to having to “hand our country to [Nigel] Farage”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Andy Burnham-backed Mainstream group will inevitably influence looming deputy leadership contest
Keir Starmer is facing fresh pressure from Labour insiders, days after a sweeping government reshuffle, as party figures from the left and centre mobilise through a network, backed by Andy Burnham, designed to change Labour’s direction.
The network, called Mainstream, will inevitably influence Labour’s looming deputy leadership contest, with Burnham already throwing his weight behind former cabinet minister Louise Haigh as well as Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader.
Continue reading...With Reform exploiting tensions in society, Mahmood must address frustration about immigration
Shabana Mahmood already showed she was willing to defy convention when she praised Margaret Thatcher for smashing a political mould – now she’s making history as the first Muslim woman to hold one of Britain’s great offices of state.
It’s not the new home secretary’s only moment as a surprising politician. Mahmood has spoken of how she has a “natural affinity for the faith, flag and family element of Blue Labour”, a small socially conservative fraction of the party which now holds some sway in No 10.
Continue reading...New home secretary will be joined in London by counterparts from US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand
Shabana Mahmood, the new home secretary, will host a meeting of the Five Eyes security alliance to discuss how to stop people-smuggling, as the number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the channel topped 30,000 in record time on Sunday.
Mahmood is to be joined in London by Kristi Noem, the US secretary of state for homeland security, as well as interior ministers from Australia, Canada and New Zealand – the other member countries of the intelligence-sharing pact.
Continue reading...New home secretary is expected to unveil plans to use military sites as Labour seeks to harden immigration policy
Shabana Mahmood is expected to unveil plans to move asylum seekers from hotels into military barracks as Labour seeks to harden its immigration policy amid rising numbers of crossings in the channel.
The new home secretary is reportedly set to announce the use of Ministry of Defence sites to house people after a wave of protests outside migrant accommodation over the summer.
Continue reading...Some believe fight is looming over sweeping reforms after employment rights minister Justin Madders sacked and union allies sidelined
Keir Starmer has sought to tighten his grip on his government with a wave of junior ministerial changes that has sidelined allies of the unions, raising questions over the future of Labour’s workers’ rights package.
The reshuffle has been used by Downing Street to signal a tougher stance on immigration in an apparent bid to take on Reform UK, with Shabana Mahmood – a self-described social conservative rising star – now in charge of the Home Office, supported by Sarah Jones who returns to her former policing brief.
Continue reading...Some believe fight is looming over sweeping reforms after employment rights minister Justin Madders sacked and union allies sidelined
Keir Starmer has sought to tighten his grip on his government with a wave of junior ministerial changes that has sidelined allies of the unions, raising questions over the future of Labour’s workers’ rights package.
The reshuffle has been used by Downing Street to signal a tougher stance on immigration in an apparent bid to take on Reform UK, with Shabana Mahmood – a self-described social conservative rising star – now in charge of the Home Office, supported by Sarah Jones who returns to her former policing brief.
Continue reading...Reform UK leader criticises Angela Rayner’s ‘entitlement’ and vows to ‘stop the boats’ within two weeks if elected
Nigel Farage has said there is every chance of a general election in 2027, declaring he will run on a pledge to “stop the boats” within two weeks of entering No 10.
Speaking at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham, he said the chaos in government and Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy prime minister meant the party needed to be “ready” to fight a contest two years early.
Continue reading...Deputy leader election campaign will distract from Starmer’s reset and winner may well come from left of party
At 9.30am on Monday morning, as MPs made their way back to Westminster, Keir Starmer gathered the entire staff of No 10 in the Pillared Room of Downing Street to tell them they were about to enter the next, delivery, stage of government.
“We go into phase two in good spirits, confident and with conviction,” he told them, as some of those gathered shuffled awkwardly. His remarks, after all, followed a difficult summer during which Labour vacated the pitch to Reform UK and ahead of what is likely to be an even more turbulent autumn.
Continue reading...Chancellor offers unequivocal backing to colleague following stamp duty error
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was also asked in her Sky News interview if the Rayner controversy showed that the stamp duty regime was “way too complicated”. Reeves sidestepped the question, saying:
Well, look, Angela tried to do the right thing, and of course it is incumbent on all of us to try to properly understand the rules, and she is now working to make sure that the correct tax is paid.
Well, the definitive advice came in on Wednesday morning, and that’s when Angela put out the statement.
On Tuesday as well some court injunctions were lifted related to her disabled son and those circumstances, and that’s why Angela was able to make a full statement on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Cross-party Poverty Strategy Commission says abolishing limit would be part of its ‘once in a generation’ plan
A cross-party commission including former welfare ministers is urging the government to scrap the two-child benefit limit as part of an ambitious “once in a generation” plan to lift millions of people out of poverty.
The Poverty Strategy Commission said billions of pounds of investment – including a boost to the rate of universal credit – was needed to reverse record levels of poverty in the UK, and tackle longstanding failures over rising hardship and destitution.
Continue reading...Jamie Raskin says Farage is ‘a Trump sycophant’ before UK politician addresses the House judiciary committee in Washington
Kemi Badenoch is probably hastily redrafting her PMQs script in the light of Angela Rayner’s statement about underpaying her stamp duty. She has got less than half an hour to craft the right questions. And she will probably want to ask about the economy, and hate speech laws, too.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Continue reading...Prime minister has a track record of firing errant ministers – but will her power within the party protect his beleaguered deputy?
Keir Starmer has a hard-won reputation for ruthlessness when it comes to dispensing with ministers who cause the government embarrassment. But the future of his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, is the toughest call of its kind.
Every time Starmer has been confronted with this kind of decision since the very early days of his leadership, his instinct has been to cut loose.
Continue reading...Yvette Cooper has announced several tough policies after a summer dominated by Farage and Reform UK
After a summer recess dominated by headlines about Reform UK’s hardline immigration proposals and protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, the home secretary returned to parliament seeking to wrest back control of the narrative.
Yvette Cooper has announced a flurry of tough asylum measures including suspending refugee family reunion applications, and even floated the idea that refugees could be moved out of hotels and into warehouses instead.
Continue reading...Home secretary earlier suggested warehouses could be used instead of hotels, while PM will urge ministers to go ‘further and faster’ on immigration in Tuesday meeting
Lamb says the Greens are “the antidote to Reform”.
That gets a big round of applause.
We’re a home for all those people across the country holding their heads in their hands as the Labour government lets them down again and again and again, whether it is switching from the aid budget or from people with disabilities and not bringing in taxes … we need.
And that is why, in reaction, a new Green wave is sweeping the country as people turn to us.
It’s already become a bit of a cliche, but we are really moving into a multi-party system, with the Greens poised to help create the next government.
And, like all the best cliches, it has the distinct advantage of also being for true.
Continue reading...Yvette Cooper says rules were designed years ago to help families separated by war but are being used in a different way now
And while we are talking about Blair-era Labour aides, Peter Hyman, who wrote speeches for Tony Blair and later worked for Keir Starmer in the run-up to the general election, has launched a new Substack blog. It is called Changing the Story, which tells you quite a lot about what he thinks is going wrong with No 10. Here is an extract from his first post.
Starmer is an ‘opportunity’ prime minister forced to become a ‘security’ one. And that’s why the government’s narrative is seen by some to be elusive.
Let me explain.
I remember well Tim Allan’s leaving drinks at Number 10 in the earlyish Blair era. In his fulsome farewell speech Tony Blair noted only half jokingly “Tim’s even more right wing than me..”
The same Tim Allan who as head of Portland had a contract to polish Vladimir Putin’s reputation?
Continue reading...Education secretary targets 800 schools as she attempts to turn around post-Covid trends with enhanced support
Parents and caregivers “need to do more” to reverse post-Covid trends of poor attendance and behaviour in schools, the education secretary has said, announcing new measures to support schools in England before the start of the new school year.
Bridget Phillipson unveiled a UK government programme on Sunday targeting 800 schools attended by about 600,000 pupils, beginning with an initial wave of 21 schools that will serve as attendance and behaviour hubs.
Continue reading...