Large parts of the UK vote in local council elections on Thursday. In Westminster, however, the focus is on the so-called ‘pestminster’ scandal after the revelation that as many as 56 MPs are under investigation for some form of sexual misconduct. The case that has most recently sparked headlines is that of the Conservative MP Neil Parish, who has admitted watching pornography while on the parliamentary estate. Sophy Ridge spoke to the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng about the culture in parliament, asking him if the environment was a safe workplace for women:
Keir Starmer – ‘Cultural change has to be modelled from the top’
The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made another Sunday media appearance this week, disagreeing strongly with Kwarteng’s assessment of the culture in Westminster. Starmer argued that ‘a fish rots from the head’ and suggested that he would be taking a much tougher line:
Tony Blair’s support ‘very valuable’
The 2022 local elections hold the potential for Labour to have their first convincing success under Starmer’s leadership after 2021 proved disappointing. Ridge bought up a campaign video in which Starmer’s predecessor Tony Blair sang his praises. With Starmer having positioned himself to Labour members as a successor to Corbyn in 2019, Ridge asked him if Blair’s appearance was potentially provocative:
David Lammy – Angela Rayner was at event with Keir’s beer
One aspect of last year’s campaigning that Labour would rather forget is the photograph of Keir Starmer drinking a beer while campaigning in the Hartlepool by-election. The shadow foreign secretary David Lammy was interviewed by Sophie Raworth. He defended Starmer’s conduct and clarified that the party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner was present at the incident, despite previous assurances to the contrary:
Ed Davey – ‘There is no pact’ with Labour
Ridge also spoke to the Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, questioning him on why the party was not fielding a full slate of candidates across the local elections:
Green co-leader – ‘Our long-term policy’ is to leave Nato
And finally, Ridge interviewed the Green party’s co-leader Adrian Ramsay. With the war in Ukraine still rumbling on, she put the Green’s position on membership of Nato in the spotlight:
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