Category Archives: Labour

Starmer rules out breaking Labour’s fiscal rules to meet £28bn green target

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Statement is clearest sign yet party is willing to drop one of its flagship policies in face of Conservative attacks

Keir Starmer has ruled out breaking Labour’s fiscal rules to meet its green investment targets if it wins the election this year, in the clearest sign yet that the party is willing to scale back one of its flagship policies in the face of Conservative attacks.

The Labour leader told an audience in Bristol on Thursday that he would not borrow £28bn to spend on green projects if it meant breaking a separate promise to reduce government debt as a proportion of economic output.

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Rishi Sunak indicates he will not call election until second half of 2024

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PM says it is his ‘working assumption’ vote will be called in latter part of year, puncturing Labour hopes of earlier poll

Rishi Sunak has given his strongest indication yet that he will not call a general election until the second half of 2024, puncturing Labour hopes that it could come as early as the spring.

The prime minister told broadcasters on Thursday it was his “working assumption” the vote would be called in the latter part of the year, giving him more time to try to reverse the Conservatives’ deficit in the polls. The date of the election is solely in his hands after the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in 2022.

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Labour election win would lift downtrodden UK, Keir Starmer to say

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In a speech in the west of England, Labour leader will say he wants British people to believe in politics again

A Labour win at this year’s election will improve the mood of “a downtrodden country”, Keir Starmer will say, as he hopes to inject a note of optimism into what is set to be one of the most bitterly fought campaigns in recent history.

The Labour leader will set out his pitch to voters at a speech in the west of England on Thursday marking the beginning of what Labour believes will be a five-month lead-up to the election.

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Labour’s poll lead could still collapse, shadow ministers warned

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Chief strategist uses examples from around world to urge against complacency, warning ‘polls do not predict the future’

Labour’s poll lead could collapse in the weeks before the general election, the party’s chief campaign strategist has told shadow ministers, as he warned them not to be complacent going into the election year.

Morgan McSweeney, Labour’s director of campaigns, recently gave a presentation to the shadow cabinet in which he showed MPs what happened in the months before eight different elections from around the world. In each case, the clear favourite lost after their poll lead disappeared in the weeks leading up to the vote.

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No 10 refuses to follow Cleverly in setting end of 2024 as target date for ending all small boat crossings – as it happened

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Downing Street refuses to endorse home secretary as he says his aim is to reduce number of people crossing Channel on small boats to ‘zero’. This live blog is closed

At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning the PM’s spokesperson claimed the government had “gone further” than promised in tackling the asylum application backlog. In response to comments from Labour and others saying the legacy backlog has not been fully cleared, the spokesperson said:

We committed to clearing the backlog. That is what the government has done.

We are being very transparent about what that entails.

I said that this government would clear the backlog of asylum decisions by the end of 2023.

That’s exactly what we’ve done.

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Why Labour needs to decide whether to break the consensus on Israel

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Airstrikes against Houthi rebels and the prospect of a year-long Gaza conflict will test cross-party thinking at Westminster

Two developments in the past 48 hours could test the cross-party consensus in Westminster on the conflict between Israel and Hamas: the signal sent by the Ministry of Defence that it is prepared to join the US in launching airstrikes against Houthi sites in Yemen, and statements by the Israeli political and military leadership that the war may take months or even a whole year to complete.

Labour has so far largely concurred with UK government policy, which in turn has largely shadowed thinking inside the White House.

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Labour pledges ‘new deal for farmers’ to boost UK agriculture

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Measures include target for British food in public institutions and seeking veterinary deal with EU

Labour has pledged to improve food security and boost the UK’s agriculture sector with a “new deal for farmers”, including a target that at least half of the food used in hospitals, schools and prisons is British.

Condemning what the party called an abandonment of farmers under the Conservatives, the plan also includes a reiteration of Labour’s proposal to seek to sign a new veterinary agreement with the EU.

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Labour should make UK leader in wellbeing-informed policy, says peer

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Call by economics of happiness expert Richard Layard comes as research agency set up under David Cameron is to be axed in Whitehall cuts

A Labour government should make the UK the world’s first country to make policy based on its impact on wellbeing as well as the economy, one of the world’s leading experts on the economics of happiness has said.

With Keir Starmer in No 10, Downing Street should require Whitehall departments to appraise the potential impact on citizens’ wellbeing when they make funding bids, Richard Layard said. The next chancellor should announce measures of happiness and misery alongside GDP in their annual budget statements, he added.

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Labour pledges to ‘clean up politics’ after outrage over Liz Truss honours list

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Shadow front bencher says Keir Starmer would not have resignation honours after ‘appalling spectacle’ of ex-prime minister ‘rewarding cronies’

Labour last night promised there would be no resignation honour’s list issued by Keir Starmer if he were to become prime minister, as outrage grew over the list of peerages, knighthoods and other rewards showered by Liz Truss on those associated with her disastrous 49 days in office.

Shadow leader of the House, Lucy Powell, told the Observer: “The appalling spectacle of Truss rewarding her cronies for helping her crash the economy and cause mortgage misery for millions demeans politics.

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Keir Starmer ‘lacks clear sense of purpose’ claims Labour ex-policy chief

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Party historian MP Jon Cruddas questions readiness for power of leader with few ties to movement’s roots or ideology

A key centre-left Labour MP says Keir Starmer appears to lack a clear sense of purpose due to his detachment from his party’s traditions, and casts doubt on whether he can become one of its more successful prime ministers.

In A Century of Labour, a book published to mark 100 years since the formation of the first Labour government on 22 January 1924 under Ramsay MacDonald, Jon Cruddas says that Starmer – while clearly a “decent” and “principled” man – “remains an elusive leader, difficult to find”.

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‘I didn’t know who to talk to’: MPs on the hidden toll on their mental health

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While a handful of politicians have openly discussed the stresses of their job, the scale of the problem appears far greater

It was a year after they were made a minister when the MP had the second breakdown of their political career, and realised they simply had no idea what to do next: “I was so terrified. I didn’t know who to talk to. There didn’t seem to be anybody I could trust.

“A family member told me to take time off. But as a minister if you were to say you needed time off sick, the whips would go, ‘Yeah, fine. We’ll get someone else to do your job.’ It’s often easier to keep your head down and pretend.”

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Businessman in passports scandal asked if he should avoid UK until after 2001 election

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Srichand P Hinduja spoke to diplomat over fears of embroiling Labour party in row, National Archives files show

The man at the centre of the “cash-for-passports” scandal two decades ago asked the government if he should delay returning to the UK until after the 2001 general election, newly released official files show.

Srichand P Hinduja was embroiled in a row that ultimately led to the second resignation of Peter Mandelson from the cabinet over his actions when the businessman, who made a £1m donation to the Millennium Dome, was applying for a British passport.

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May election is ‘worst kept secret in Westminster’, says senior Labour MP

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Emily Thornberry says country is desperate, and Labour is ready, for general election

Labour is talking up the prospect of a May 2024 general election, with the shadow cabinet minister Emily Thornberry saying it was “the worst kept secret in Westminster” that a contest would be called then.

Thornberry told Sky News on Thursday that the government’s decision to announce a budget in early March – the earliest date in 13 years apart from during the pandemic – “seems to confirm” that May is the most likely date.

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Labour plans thousands of nursery places in English primary schools

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Party has asked former Ofsted head Sir David Bell to find new ways to increase levels of childcare

Labour is considering creating thousands of nursery places inside existing primary schools in England and has tasked the former Ofsted head Sir David Bell with finding new ways to increase levels of childcare.

In the latest evolution of Labour’s policy in an area that still has a widespread shortage of spaces, plus a lack of affordability and staffing, Bell will advise on potential ways to tackle this, with detailed policies set out nearer the election.

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Labour to crack down on ‘dodgy’ candy stores in push to revive high streets

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Party says American-style sweetshops – some under investigation for tax evasion – are ripping off public

A Labour government will launch a crackdown on “dodgy” candy stores if it wins the next election, as part of plans to revitalise Britain’s high streets.

There are more than 20 of the US-themed sweet stores on Oxford Street, London, alone. Many of them appeared during lockdown as high-street stalwarts closed down and landlords faced the prospect of long-term empty shops.

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Labour reportedly considering offshoring asylum seekers’ claims

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Keir Starmer mulling ‘detailed plans’ to outsource process overseas as alternative to Rwanda plan

Labour is reportedly considering a scheme that would see asylum seekers’ claims processed elsewhere.

Keir Starmer is mulling “detailed plans” for an offshoring scheme as he seeks to deter Tory attacks on Labour’s alternative to the Rwanda plan, the Times said on Monday.

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James Cleverly apologises for ‘appalling’ date rape drug joke at No 10 event

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Home secretary said secret of a long marriage was sedating spouse on the same day a new policy on spiking was announced

James Cleverly has apologised for joking about spiking his wife’s drink with a date rape drug in comments made at a Downing Street reception.

The home secretary’s remarks came just hours after the Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking, when someone puts drugs into another person’s drink or directly into their body without their knowledge or consent.

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Two former health secretaries join calls for new law on assisted dying

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Senior Conservative and Labour figures said they would back changes to legislation on the issue in England and Wales

Two former health secretaries on Saturday night became the latest senior figures to join the growing demands for a new attempt to legalise assisted dying, as a prominent Tory said he is willing to champion the legislation in parliament.

With both former Conservative minister Stephen Dorrell and Labour’s Alan Milburn stating they back changing the law in England and Wales, the Observer understands that a Labour government would make time and expert advice available for an assisted dying bill should MPs back it in a free House of Commons vote.

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Labour warns of ‘Christmas chaos’ on the trains after record payouts for delays

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Three rail companies saw their highest ever number of payments to passengers for delayed services in November

In analysis that might not come as news to rail passengers already stranded this festive season, Labour have warned of potential “Christmas chaos” on trains after data showed a record level of payouts for rail delays in November.

Three train operating companies – Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway (GWR) and East Midlands Railway – saw their highest ever number of payments to passengers for delayed services last month, above pre-Covid levels, the party said.

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Keir Starmer considers scaling back Labour’s £28bn green plans

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Insiders fear further watering down of party’s flagship economic policy could leave leader open to charges of ‘flip-flopping’ by Tories

Labour is considering scaling back ambitious plans to borrow £28bn a year to invest in green jobs and industry amid fears the Conservatives will use the policy as a central line of attack in the general election campaign.

The Guardian understands that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will discuss the party’s flagship economic policy next month, with senior Labour figures pushing to drop the £28bn commitment entirely while others want to retain key elements of the plan.

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