Labour party

Labour’s Soft Left goes on the offensive

The Labour Party is starting this conference season in its most confident mood for years – even though it still isn’t in government. It’s not just the confidence of the party’s leader as he makes demands on public spending which would previously have been dismissed, but also what MPs and activists are now calling for as they stand up at fringe meetings. They may not have won an election, but they have started to regain the political narrative, and so they are in a considerably less defensive mood than over the past few years. Take tonight’s Open Labour fringe rally. Open Labour is a ‘soft left’ pressure group in the

Tom Goodenough

Labour keeps Brexit off the menu at their party conference

Brexit has given the Labour party something of a collective headache ever since the referendum. Now, the party is trying a new approach: pretending it doesn’t exist. The party’s annual conference has just decided which issues will be voted on by those gathering in Brighton – and the issue of leaving the EU failed to make the cut. Brexit got 72,000 votes in a ballot of Constituency Labour Party delegates. But because other issues, including the NHS (187,000), social care (145,000), housing (187,000) and railways (120,000), got more, Brexit won’t now be the subject of a vote. This is a win for Momentum, who appear to have used their clout in

Sunday shows round-up: Corbyn’s single market dilemma

Jeremy Corbyn – We need to ‘look very carefully’ at any future EU trade relationship As the Labour party conference in Brighton gets underway, Jeremy Corbyn put in an appearance on The Andrew Marr Show. Of particular interest, was Labour’s position on the single market – particularly whether the Labour leader was prepared to change his mind after pressure from party members and senior Labour figures: AM: 66 per cent of your party members want to stay inside the single market. Will you listen to them? JC: Of course I will listen to them. What I would say is that the important priority is to ensure that we have a tariff

Steerpike

Labour conference, in pictures

It’s that time of the year again. As Labour conference kicks off in Brighton, the annual event has managed to attract a range of interesting characters – all with a common aim: true socialism. With Labour leading in the polls, Mr S has been touring the conference centre and World Transformed festival to get a glimpse of what life would be like under Corbyn:

Steerpike

Watch: Clive Lewis vs Caroline Flint on racism and migration

Labour’s conference only started a few hours ago but already the cracks are starting to show. While the Tories are doing a good job of tearing themselves apart over Brexit, Labour is determined not to be outdone. Clive Lewis and Caroline Flint don’t see eye-to-eye on many issues – and the question of freedom of movement is no different. On Sky’s Sunday with Paterson, the pair debated the question of whether opposition to immigration was a matter of racism. It’s fair to say their exchange summed up why Labour’s still has some work to do on its Brexit stance… Does opposition to immigration come down to racism? pic.twitter.com/azknSkn8Xo — Sunday

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit confusion continues

One of the daily rituals in British politics at the moment is each of the main parties sending out press releases about how ‘hopelessly divided’ the other is on Brexit. There are so many facets on which politicians can bicker that this ritual won’t end with the negotiations, or the transition period (however long that ends up being) or indeed with the eventual relationship with the EU that Britain settles into. “There will be a lot of movement” of workers after Brexit – @jeremycorbyn tells #marr pic.twitter.com/qn38wWGQks — The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) September 24, 2017 Today Labour is ‘hopelessly divided’ over the question of single market membership and freedom

Katy Balls

Battle lines drawn ahead of Labour conference

Comrades, Labour conference is here. Today MPs and members descend on Brighton for four days of speeches and discussions on what Labour has to do in order to become a party of government. With the party now leading in the polls, the fringe talks on 21st century socialism, Venezuela and foreign policy at large will be watched with newfound interest from the business community. Given the trouble the Tories found themselves in last week over Europe, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Labour party by comparison is now the picture of stability and calm. But as the party comes together for the first time since the snap election, a number of battles are being fought

Tom Goodenough

Labour’s conference, day one: The Spectator guide

As the  Labour party conference kicks off, Jeremy Corbyn’s grip on power has never been stronger. The party’s moderates have been sidelined from the main stage at this year’s event in Brighton. And a vote this week on rule changes affecting future Labour leadership contests is likely to give a further boost to those on the party’s left. On day one of Labour’s conference, here are the main events to watch out for: Labour conference: 10.30am: Morning plenary session: NEC Chair’s Address; CAC report 11.20am & 2.15pm: Protecting our communities 4.30pm: General Election report Fringe events: 12.30pm: Will one last heave win Labour the next general election? Hall 7 – Trent, Hilton Brighton Metropole

Is Sarah Champion regretting nominating Jeremy Corbyn?

Sarah Champion could hardly be blamed for bearing a grudge against Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour MP was among those who nominated Corbyn in his original bid to become Labour leader. Yet it’s likely that she regretted that decision when she was forced out of the shadow cabinet for her comments on Pakistani grooming gangs. Now, it seems, support for Champion’s decision to nominate Corbyn is being quietly deleted from Twitter. A message retweeted by Sarah Champion during Corbyn’s 2015 leadership bid was taken down this morning. Here’s what it said: @SarahChampionMP top move nominating @Corbyn4Leader … you’ve done democracy a service, much love Is Sarah Champion regretting nominating Jeremy Corbyn?

Hacks banished from the floor at Labour party conference

Oh dear. Since Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader, he has had an at times difficult relationship with the ‘Mainstream Media’. From hacks being booed at press conferences to Corbyn avoiding questions, it’s safe to say that the media feel a little bit unloved. Now, it seems Labour’s high command is keen, too, that party members have limited interaction with the MSM. At this year’s party conference in Brighton, the press will not be granted access to the floor. Instead journalists will have to watch proceedings from the balcony. This means that the media will be away from the action – and unable to interact with delegates on the floor. The official

Can anyone unite the Tory tribes?

One of the reasons that coalition governments are so unusual in Britain is that both main parties are coalitions themselves. The Tories have long been a party of both social conservatives and libertarians, Eurosceptics and Europhiles, buccaneering free traders and economic nationalists. Labour has always brought together Methodists and Marxists, middle-class liberals and working-class trade unionists, hawks and doves. These internal alliances mean the parties mostly avoid the need for an external one. But the Labour and Conservative coalitions are nearing breaking point. Labour’s problem is that its far left now dominates, making the party unbalanced. The two years since Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership have seen his wing gain

Who will blink first in the Brexit bill fight?

Tonight’s series of votes on the second reading of the EU withdrawal bill are unlikely to be the most spectacular part of its passage through the Commons. MPs have decided in the main to focus on the Committee stage which follows, as this allows Brexit-sceptics to try to force changes to the legislation without being accused of blocking Brexit. Labour is voting against the Second Reading and the programme motion, but the Tory rebels have decided to keep their powder dry, and so the debate this afternoon is much more of a preview of the fights in committee stage than it will be about the principle of the legislation, which

Keith Vaz’s ‘Diversity Nite’ comeback

Keith Vaz kept a low profile at last year’s Labour party conference. In the wake of allegations surrounding a pair of rent boys, Vaz had to call off his annual ‘diversity’ shindig. Now, a year on he is returning to the limelight – and his ‘Diversity Nite’ is back on. The event, held in Brighton’s Walkabout nightclub, is hailed as a chance to ‘join Keith Vaz and the Labour Party’s Ethnic Minority Taskforce to celebrate diversity with special guests’: Mr S for one is looking forward to it…

Starting again at 48

My name is Katherine and I’m an intern at The Spectator. What does that say about me? If you had to guess, you’d probably assume I was just finishing university and that I’m perhaps the niece or goddaughter of someone important. Because that’s how the media works, isn’t it? That I’m probably unpaid, but it doesn’t matter because my parents will sort me out — that’s if they didn’t buy this internship for me in a charity auction in the first place. And to be honest, that’s exactly how I imagined interns, too. Yet here I am, a 48-year-old mother of three. I felt embarrassed telling my husband I was

Will Labour Brexiteers keep the withdrawal bill clean?

With second reading of the EU withdrawal bill coming this week, there’s a lot of speculation about Tory rebels and what amendments might be able to command a majority at committee stage. But there won’t just be rebels on the Tory side. There will be some Labour MPs who will be prepared to defy the party whip in the interests of getting the bill through without any changes. These Labour rebels could be crucial. For every Labour rebel, will cancel out a Tory one. It doesn’t matter if Anna Soubry votes against the government, if Kate Hoey votes with it. One minister closely involved with the bill told me last

Anti-Semitism is not a priority in the Labour Party

It is the gripe of every end-of-the-bar bigot you meet. ‘Look, I’m not saying there isn’t any racism but there can’t be as much as they claim. They exaggerate it. This isn’t me saying this, by the way. I know loads of black lads who say the same. They’re just milking it. It stands to reason.’ Place that paragraph before almost any Labour member and they would know exactly what they were looking at. They would call it textbook racism. The throat-clearing at the outset. The downplaying of the problem. The some-of-my-best-strawmen-are-black rhetorical device. Whatever the intent (though we can probably guess), the overall effect is to delegitimise critics of

Isabel Hardman

Where will the real trouble come from on the EU Withdrawal Bill?

Things may be rather awkward for David Davis in Brussels at the moment, but at least he doesn’t need to worry too much about what’s going on in the Commons. The EU Withdrawal Bill starts its second reading debate this Thursday, with the big vote on whether it will pass to Committee stage, and how long that next stage will be, on Monday 11 September. The Tory whips are now confident that there won’t be any trouble from their own side at this stage, with pro-Remain Conservatives planning to table all their amendments at the Committee stage, rather than trying to block the Bill’s progress this week. The Tories who

Steerpike

Labour MP: I’ve found the magic money tree

For once, theres’s no vacancy in the shadow cabinet but when one inevitably comes up, Mr S would like to put forward his pick for promotion: Jared O’Mara. The Labour MP popped up on Channel 4 News last night to criticise the Tories for their spending on benefits. Inevitably, the dilemma of how it would be paid for came up. While that question might have troubled some, O’Mara had an answer: Britain has ‘loads of money’ to spend, he insisted. The Labour MP’s insight didn’t stop there though, as he also revealed where the much talked-about ‘magic money tree’ is: ‘If you want to know where this magic money tree

How Kezia Dugdale made Mission: Impossible more difficult for herself

When Kezia Dugdale was elected Scottish Labour leader, she tweeted: ‘Mission: Impossible has a happy ending, right?’ As she steps down from the job, Dugdale is getting enough praise to suggest that her mission has a happy ending. But is that really fair? She leaves with more Scottish Labour MPs in Westminster than she started with: impressive, given many had assumed Scottish Labour was dead for at least a generation after the SNP surge in 2015. But then again, she leaves with her party in third place at Holyrood. Her critics on the Left will argue that the party’s recovery in its Scottish seats was far more down to Jeremy