Category Archives: Labour

Female Labour MPs call on PM to scrap new rape victim guidance

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More than 100 MPs write to Boris Johnson saying guidance will lead survivors to avoid seeking therapy

More than 100 female Labour MPs have written to Boris Johnson calling on him to scrap new guidance on pre-trial therapy for rape victims, which they say will make it less likely they will get the vital therapy they need.

Led by the shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, MPs including Yvette Cooper, Angela Rayner and Jess Phillips argue that the new rules “will cause many survivors to avoid seeking therapy, and make it more likely that cases will collapse when the prolonged stress of waiting for trials becomes too much”.

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Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner return questionnaires to Durham police

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Labour leader and deputy have promised to resign if found to have breached Covid rules by eating curry and drinking beer at event

Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have returned questionnaires to Durham constabulary, giving their account of a gathering during last year’s local election campaign, the Labour party has confirmed.

The pair have both promised to resign if they are found to have breached Covid rules by eating a curry and drinking a beer at the event, which was caught on camera.

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Labour launches review of business funding to support startups

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Rachel Reeves says Labour wants to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business

Labour has launched a review of business startup funding driven by a group of industry leaders including the former Goldman Sachs chief economist and Conservative Treasury minister Jim O’Neill as it attempts to improve its credentials with business.

Announcing the review amid concern over the strength of the British economy, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said Labour wanted to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

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Why is the ECB still fiddling over a potential eurozone crisis? | Nils Pratley

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Christine Lagarde is failing to heed the lesson of last decade’s crisis: act quickly and act clearly

Perhaps the European Central Bank was feeling left out as the financial world turned its attention to the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike. But emergency meetings of major central banks are supposed to produce more substance than the weak offering that emerged from Frankfurt after a morning of contemplation: a plan to accelerate work on a “new anti-fragmentation instrument”.

The fragmentation in question is the widening of bond yields between eurozone countries. In short, as interest rate rises have come into view, weaker economies are having to pay meaningfully greater rates to borrow than the likes of Germany – about 2.4 percentage points more in the case of Italy.

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Stop calling me boring, Keir Starmer tells shadow cabinet

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Labour leader urges colleagues to focus on returning to government, after a string of negative stories

Keir Starmer has urged his shadow cabinet to stop briefing the press that he is boring, warning them: “What’s boring is being in opposition.”

Stung by a series of negative stories about his leadership, Starmer angrily urged colleagues at Tuesday’s shadow cabinet meeting to focus on the job in hand, telling them it was “boring” to undermine Labour’s project of getting back into government.

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BBC to pay £30,000 to Bangladeshi Labour councillor for identity mix-up

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Liza Begum said confusion with Apsana Begum who was acquitted of fraud charges ‘reflects notion all people of colour look the same’

The BBC has agreed to pay £30,000 in damages to a British Bangladeshi Labour councillor after it mixed her up with Apsana Begum in a news item about the MP facing housing fraud charges.

Pictures of Liza Begum at an event to launch Labour’s 2019 race and faith manifesto were broadcast on BBC London News during an exchange on 29 October 2020, in which the BBC London political correspondent said: “This is Apsana Begum … she faces three charges of dishonesty.”

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Poll says Keir Starmer worse choice for PM than Boris Johnson

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Labour ahead of Tories by two points, but Labour’s leader failing to make a personal breakthrough

Boris Johnson makes a better prime minister than Keir Starmer would despite Partygate, the cost of living crisis and the confidence vote in Johnson held by his MPs, according to the latest Observer poll.

The Opinium figures, which will raise further concerns within Labour over the party leader’s performance, shows that the prime minister has a two-point lead over his opponent. It also reveals that Starmer’s party holds a narrow two-point lead, compared with a three-point lead in the last poll a fortnight ago. Labour are on 36% of the vote, with the Tories up one point on 34%. The Lib Dems are on 13% with the Greens on 6%.

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Not full of confidence: Labour frets over Starmer’s response to Tory chaos

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Many in the opposition fear their leader is not sufficiently punishing the government’s weakness

At Tuesday’s shadow cabinet meeting, less than 24 hours after Boris Johnson’s humiliating confidence vote, Keir Starmer gave his troops what one called “a bit of cold reality” about how much work remains to be done in developing Labour’s policies and message in the months ahead.

Many could not agree more. Conversations with shadow cabinet members, party aides and other senior Labour figures this week revealed deep disquiet about whether Starmer and his team are ready to capitalise on the Tories’ weakness.

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David Lammy visits Afghanistan to highlight humanitarian crisis

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Shadow foreign secretary says UK government ignoring catastrophe as millions of Afghans go hungry

The shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, has flown to Kabul to see at first-hand the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.

Lammy is the first senior British politician to visit the country since the west’s chaotic pullout last August. He is being accompanied on his visit by Preet Gill, the shadow minister for international development.

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Tories may face catastrophic defeat in Wakefield byelection – poll

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Survey puts Labour 20 points ahead in the constituency amid reports Boris Johnson could face no confidence vote

The Conservatives are heading for a potentially catastrophic defeat in the Wakefield byelection amid reports Boris Johnson could face a vote on his future next week, according to a new poll.

A survey by JL Partners and reported in the Sunday Times gives Labour a 20-point lead over the Tories in the Yorkshire constituency.

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Labour says it is now the true party of patriotism and British values

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‘We’re standing up for UK institutions,’ says shadow minister, pointing to booing of Boris Johnson

Labour has staked a bold claim to be the true party of patriotism and the best of British values, as four days of nationwide celebrations to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee draw to a close on Sunday.

Senior Labour party figures said Boris Johnson – who was booed outside St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday – was no longer seen by the public as a leader who upholds the British standards of integrity, decency and honesty that the country has long been admired for across the world.

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Blair and former PMs should not act as political ‘figureheads’, says Ed Balls

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Ex-Labour minister tells Hay festival that the involvement of former leaders in the ‘next phase of politics’ may not be sensible

Ed Balls has said former prime ministers such as Tony Blair and David Cameron should not attempt to return as “figureheads for the next phase of politics”.

The former cabinet minister’s comments addressed Blair’s upcoming Future of Britain conference, which is seen as an attempt to reinvigorate centrist politics in the UK by taking inspiration from the success of La République En Marche, the recently created centre-left party that brought Emmanuel Macron to power in France.

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Scottish Labour seizes Edinburgh council with Lib Dem and Tory help

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Labour installed as minority administration in capital with Lib Dem and Tory help, to the outrage of SNP

The Scottish National party has failed to take all Scotland’s largest cities after Labour won control of Edinburgh with Liberal Democrat and Tory help.

The SNP had hoped to retain power in the Scottish capital after winning the most seats and brokering a coalition deal with the Scottish Greens which left them three seats short of overall control.

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Labour should focus on policy instead of ‘tough on crime’ messaging, charity says

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Head of Howard League urges party to abandon ‘cheap politics’ and develop evidence-based position

The Labour party is indulging in “cheap politics” by accusing the Conservatives repeatedly of being soft on crime, the head of a leading prison reform charity has claimed.

Andrea Coomber QC, the chief executive of the Howard League, said the opposition is trying to outflank Boris Johnson’s government on law and order instead of developing evidence-based policies to solve a crisis within the criminal justice system.

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Labour heavyweight Wes Streeting denies plan to succeed Starmer

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A fundraising event held for the shadow minister sparks rumours that he is readying himself to replace Keir Starmer if he resigns over Beergate

Labour rising star Wes Streeting has denied preparing a leadership bid to replace Keir Starmer after it emerged that the wealthy party donor Waheed Alli hosted a recent fundraising event for him and another MP at his central London home.

The Observer has been told that the actors Ian McKellen and Michael Cashman, as well the businesswoman and LGBTQ+ activist Linda Riley, were among 20 to 30 people present at the event in March, where Lord Alli picked up the £4,600 bill for a buffet and drinks.

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Police consider interviewing Starmer face to face over Beergate claims

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News comes as it emerges Labour is preparing dossier to show team worked late on night in question

Detectives investigating Keir Starmer’s alleged breach of lockdown rules are considering interviewing the Labour leader face to face, with his Beergate agony likely to last at least a month before a decision on a fine is made.

Questionnaires are expected to be sent to those who police identify as having been present at a meal of takeaway curry and beer, but some may be questioned in person, the Guardian understands.

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Leaked Beergate memo could clear Starmer, lawyer believes

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Adam Wagner, a barrister specialising in lockdown rules, says document shows purpose of meal was political, not social

A barrister specialising in lockdown rules has said a leaked document showing Keir Starmer attended a prearranged meal in Durham during an election could be used to clear the Labour leader of allegations that he broke the law.

The document, published by the Mail on Sunday, shows that an 80-minute dinner with the Labour MP Mary Foy, featuring a takeaway curry, was planned as part of his schedule.

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‘He is Mr Rules’: Labour denies leak shows Starmer broke lockdown laws

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Tories claim document published in Mail on Sunday proves Labour leader is guilty of ‘rank double standards’

Labour has rejected claims that a leaked planning memo about Keir Starmer’s visit to Durham last year undermined his assertion he did not break lockdown laws, insisting he is “Mr Rules”.

The Labour document, published by the Mail on Sunday, shows that an 80-minute dinner with the Labour MP Mary Foy, featuring a takeaway curry, was planned as part of his schedule.

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What is Beergate and why does it matter?

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Keir Starmer having a beer and takeaway has potentially become a resigning matter after reopening of investigation

The Sun first published a picture of Keir Starmer drinking a beer with Labour workers in a party office in Durham on 30 April 2021 more than a year ago. Until recently, the story was a minor Tory attack line, but it is now potentially a resignation matter following Durham police’s decision to reopen its investigation into whether the Labour leader broke Covid lockdown rules.

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Starmer beer claim ‘smears’ could drag on for weeks, top Labour figures warn

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Shadow cabinet reveal their frustration after elections as police
re-examine allegations of Covid rules breach

Frustration is mounting within the shadow cabinet over Durham police’s decision to re-examine lockdown breach allegations against Keir Starmer, amid claims it has robbed them of the chance to herald Labour’s progress at the local elections.

Senior figures have already been dragged into debates over the conduct of their leader as they attempted to argue that Labour’s gains signalled it was on the road to building an election-winning programme.

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