Labour Party

Labour after the by elections

Two by-election defeats on 20 July and a narrow victory in a third have damaged the Tories. A big victory for Labour in Selby and Ainsty for Keir Mather, a former CBI staffer who had previously worked for Wes Streeting and for Times journalist Matthew Parris, is exactly what Starmer would have hoped for. The derisory Labour vote in Somerset and Frome reflects the Lib-Dems going all out to target the seat. It was never likely to see a Labour victory. But the scale of the vote squeeze there, and the Tories holding on in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, should tell us that Labour’s current Steve-Reed...

Driscoll's opt-out is a misstep

North of Tyne Labour mayor, Jamie Driscoll, has resigned from the Labour Party. He intends to run as an independent for the position of North East mayor. In June Driscoll was barred from the selection longlist for the role by the Labour leadership. On 17 July Labour chose Kim McGuinness, currently Northumbria Police commissioner, as Labour’s candidate. McGuinness, the clear choice of Labour leader Keir Starmer, apparently polled 76% of a turnout of just under 50% of eligible Labour members. She easily beat the only other candidate, former MEP Paul Brannen. McGuinness says her priority is...

After NPF, make unions fight back!

The 21-23 July meeting of Labour’s National Policy Forum was its first full pre-election gathering since 2014 (supposedly because 2017 and 2019 were snap elections). It’s tricky to report on it in any detail, given a dearth of solid information. For sure the Labour Party leadership is doubling down on its existing course — right-wing, anti-democratic and dishonest. They should face rebellion at Labour Party conference (8-11 October, Liverpool) and beyond, and Labour’s affiliated trade unions should lead it. At the NPF Starmer and co. pushed hard to take the party further to the right not just...

Will Lawson scandal be a watershed?

Labour HQ’s moves against Neal Lawson, a longstanding Labour figure close in their days to Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, have brought protests from way beyond the left. Jon Cruddas MP has denounced “the most rightwing, illiberal faction in the party” as destroying what he sees as the pluralism of... New Labour in Blair’s heyday. Jon Trickett MP, a longstanding soft-leftist, has organised a Zoom protest meeting for 13 July . Technically Lawson is targeted for supporting non-Labour candidates. But the specific “offence” is a tweet from 2021 endorsing a Lib-Dem call to vote tactically for a Green...

Model Motion: As Early as Possible, As Late As Necessary

The sentencing of Carla Foster in June, for procuring drugs to induce an abortion past the legal term limit, has been a stark reminder of how limited our reproductive rights really are. This is unjustifiable. No one should be imprisoned for ending a pregnancy, and no should be forced to stay pregnant against their wishes. Below is a model motion to submit to your Labour Party or trade union branch, calling for the decriminalisation of abortion and the abolition of term limits. Please amend as appropriate and let us know when it has been passed: office@workersliberty.org.uk MOTION: AS EARLY AS...

North East mayor: almost half of CLPs refuse to nominate

Of the 22 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) in the catchment for the new “North-East mayor” to be elected in May 2024, eight have voted to make no nomination for Labour candidate for mayor. Hexham, Wansbeck, Blyth Valley, Blaydon, Newcastle East, Newcastle Central, Easington, and City of Durham have voted that way to protest against the 2 June decision by a panel of Labour’s National Executive to exclude Jamie Driscoll, current Labour North of Tyne mayor, from the longlist. Three CLPs did not meet to consider nominations, and two nominated all the candidates longlisted. Only nine nominated...

Tax the rich, fund services!

The Tory government has ruled on behalf of the capitalist class and the rich. Under the Tories, Britain has become more unequal. In 2022, incomes for the poorest 14mn people fell by 7.5%, while incomes for the richest fifth saw a 7.8% increase. The richest fifth of earners had an income more than 12 times the amount earned by the poorest fifth. The top 1% have incomes much higher than the rest of those in the top 10%. The differences in wealth are even starker. In 2020, the Office for National Statistics calculated that the richest 10% of households hold 43% of all wealth. The poorest 50% own...

Punishing families is no cure

Darren Rodwell, the Labour leader of Barking and Dagenham council and parliamentary candidate for Barking, has threatened to evict council-tenant families not working with the police over knife crime. “If your child is involved in an incident and knows who the perpetrators are, and refuses to speak out, we will look at reviewing your housing agreement,” Rodwell said. “Everyone must play their part in stopping these crimes. As parents, it is up to us to know where our children are, and that we play an active role.” He added: “If families know their relatives are linked to crime, they must speak...

Re-establish the right to protest!

New laws aimed at repressing radical protest and scaring activists into silence are being used to harass environmental, anti-deportation and left-wing political campaigners. And so are many old ones: in fact, jail sentences tend to be for “old” offences. The new laws give the police vast new powers against protest which they are only just starting to use. In April two Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters were sentenced to long jail terms for “public nuisance” over occupying the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford near London. Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker spent 37 hours on the bridge...

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