Politics

Which factions have the most influence in the Labour leadership and deputy leadership contest? The biggest split in the party is between the pressure group Progress and those with links to trade unions. Their respective outlooks are often perceived as being mutually exclusive, and the way the leadership contest is shaping up seems to suggest that this is true. Here is how the party breaks down between those two political poles, both in the 2010 contest and the one taking place currently. Around 80 of the 232 MPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party have taken part in Progress events over the last five years according to its website. Such MPs

The government is upping its attacks on Labour’s railways legacy, as the war of words over electrification continues. Coffee House has seen a letter from the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to Michael Dugher, his opposite number in Labour, which hits back at claims that the government mislead the public over its delayed plans to electrify railways. In the letter, McLoughlin directly pointing the finger of blame at Labour: ‘I am grateful for your sudden interest in our program of rail enhancement: in the many months between your appoint by Ed Miliband and the General Election you did not ask a single question about electrification, so allow me to set out the

Barack Obama has given his perennial reminder that Britain should stay in the European Union. In an interview with the BBC, the President of the United States has said it is important for both Britain’s prosperity and influence around the world to remain ‘In’: ‘Having the United Kingdom in the European Union gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union and is part of the cornerstone of institution built after World War II that has made the world safer and more prosperous. ‘And we want to make sure that United Kingdom continues to have that influence. Because we believe that the values that we share are the

After weeks of speculation over who will be the BBC’s next political editor, a senior BBC employee today announced on Twitter that Laura Kuenssberg is to be Nick Robinson’s successor. However, just moments later the tweet was hastily deleted. Happily, the Mail’s John Stevens managed to screen grab it before it disappeared: The tweet that mysteriously vanished pic.twitter.com/FJnyHRq9uI — John Stevens (@johnestevens) July 22, 2015 While the BBC are declining to comment at this time on whether Laura, who is currently Newsnight‘s chief correspondent, is the new political editor, others have been quick to offer their congratulations: https://twitter.com/alstewitn/status/623864313917362176 Congrats to @bbclaurak (if reported tweet is true) on taking over from @bbcnickrobinson as @BBCNews political

Well, look, it’s Ed Miliband’s fault isn’t it? Thrice over in fact. First for winning the Labour leadership, then for leading the party in the way he did and, finally, for leaving the leadership so abruptly. There are many ways of measuring the funk into which Labour has plummeted but one of the best is to consider that it is now seriously believed, in some quarters anyway, that Jeremy Corbyn might not be the worst choice as leader. Believed, I mean, by sensible people of reasonably sound mind who recognise that Corbyn would be a disaster for Labour and, quite possibly, for Britain. (If you doubt that, consider whether the

The YouGov survey might be ‘just one poll’ in a notoriously tricky race to predict, but it has sent shockwaves throughout the Labour party. Tristram Hunt and Tony Blair have been activated to plead with the party to stick to the centre ground, while the other leadership camps are taking differing views on what it means. Andy Burnham’s campaign do not seems too worried and thinks it spells trouble for Yvette Cooper. A source in the Burnham camp says: ‘It shows that Yvette is dead in the water, it’s a two horse race and she’s gone. We are ahead with members, just, and we’ll continue to fight for every vote. On the Jeremy Corbyn threat, Team