Category Archives: labour party

Keir Starmer Faces Left-Wing Backlash After Praising Margaret Thatcher

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Keir Starmer is facing a left-wing backlash after he lavished praise on Margaret Thatcher as he attempts to persuade Tory voters to back Labour at the next election.

He said the former prime minister – a hate figure for many – had “sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism” during her 11 years in office.

The Labour leader also said Thatcher, like ex-Labour PMs Tony Blair and Clement Attlee, had brought about “meaningful change” in the UK.

But his comments, in an article for the Sunday Telegraph, received fierce criticism from many of those on the left of British politics.

Andrew Fisher, a former senior adviser to Jeremy Corbyn when he was Labour leader said Thatcher had “set loose unemployment and inequality” in the country.

Former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll, who left the party after failing to get selected as an election candidate, accused Starmer of “abandoning the Red Wall”.

Left-wing singer Billy Bragg posted on X: “Oh fuck off.”

Labour-supporting Daily Mirror journalist Kevin Maguire said Thatcher had “turbo-charged inequality, created mass unemployment, flogged public assets on the cheap to her mates and tried to crush trade unions”.

Asked about Starmer’s words on Sky News this morning, health secretary Victoria Atkins said: “I think the public will see this for what it is.

“Don’t forget he wasn’t appealing to Margaret Thatcher’s entrepreneurial spirit when he was courting votes from the hard left.

“And I suspect the great lady herself would view a man who is trying to ride on the coattails of her success with the following words: No, no, no.”

Elsewhere in his Sunday Telegraph article, Starmer said he wanted to “extend the hand of friendship to you, no matter where you are or who you have voted for in the past” – a clear pitch to disaffected Tories.

He said: “Across Britain there are people who feel disillusioned, frustrated, angry, worried. Many of them have always voted Conservative but feel that their party has left them. I understand that.

“I saw that with my own party and acted to fix it. But I also understand that many will still be uncertain about Labour. I ask them to take a look at us again.”

The Labour leader also accused the Conservatives of squandering “the possibilities of Brexit”.

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Labour On Course For Landslide Election Victory As Tories Face Wipeout, Mega-Poll Says

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Keir Starmer is on course to lead Labour to an even bigger victory than Tony Blair’s landslide in 1997, according to a major new poll.

The Survation survey of more than 12,000 people for the UK Spirits Alliance predicts the Tories will return just 156 MPs – around 200 less than they have now.

Labour, on the other hand, would see their number of MPs soar to 431, handing Starmer a 212-seat majority.

In 1997, Blair’s New Labour won a majority of 179 and ended up holding on to power for 13 years.

In recent days he has also been embroiled in a row with home secretary Suella Braverman over her article in The Times accusing the police of having a left-wing bias.

Sunak is now under intense pressure from many within his own party to sack the home secretary, but that could spark an angry backlash from right-wing Tory MPs.

Starmer, on the other hand, will be delighted at the poll’s findings, which come despite his own internal problems.

The Labour leader is facing a major rebellion by dozens of his own MPs – including many frontbenchers – over his refusal to support calls for a ceasefire in the Israel/Hamas war.

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‘Are You In Denial?’: Robert Jenrick Mocked Over His Response To Tory By-Election Defeats

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A Tory minister was asked if he was “in denial” after he tried to play down the significance of the party’s latest by-election disasters.

Robert Jenrick insisted “the public are undecided” about Labour, despite their seismic victories last Thursday.

The Conservatives lost in Tamworth despite having a majority of nearly 20,000, while Keir Starmer’s party managed to overturn a 25,000 majority in Nadine Dorries’ former seat of Mid Bedfordshire.

But appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme this morning, Jenrick, who is the immigration minister, insisted Rishi Sunak is “making good progress” on his promises to voters, which he said were in tune with people’s priorities.

Presenter Victoria Derbyshire replied: “It doesn’t seem to be having any effect though if you look at what happened in Tamworth and Mid Beds.

“In Tamworth Labour overturned a majority of almost 19,000, in Mid Beds a majority of 25,000.”

Jenrick said: “With all due respect I wouldn’t read too much into by-elections – governments tend to lose by-elections.”

But Derbyshire hit back: “They are massive majorities with double digit swings – are you in denial?”

The minister replied: “I think we all have to listen to what the voters are saying in those by-elections, but we also shouldn’t read too much into them.

“My sense is that the public are undecided, they’re certainly not sold on Keir Starmer.”

Derbyshire interrupted: “Labour just won those two by-elections.”

Jenrick said: “The key thing for us as a party right now is not to worry about party politics but to deliver on the public’s priorities.”

Derbyshire then asked Jenrick how worried he was about losing his own seat of Newark, where he has a majority of 21,816.

“It would be foolish to be complacent – we all need to work hard and be good constituency members of parliament every day,” he said.

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Can The Tories Defy The Polls And Hold On In Today’s Crucial By-Elections?

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The world’s attention has understandably been focused on the Middle East in recent days, and is likely to remain so for some time to come.

But two by-elections on Thursday have the potential to be much more politically significant for Rishi Sunak.

The Tories are defending two nominally safe seats, in Mid Bedforshire and Tamworth.

It is no exaggeration to say that, were the Conservatives to lose both of them, the party could swiftly go into meltdown.

In Mid Beds, the Tories are defending a 25,000 majority, while in Tamworth, the party won the seat in 2019 by 20,000 votes. On paper at least, they should be unassailable.

But given the government’s unpopularity, and the circumstances which led to the by-elections, both Labour and the Lib Dems still hold out hopes of causing an upset.

The contest in Mid Bedfordshire has been caused by the resignation of Nadine Dorries after she was denied the peerage promised to her by Boris Johnson.

In Tamworth, meanwhile, sitting MP Chris Pincher quit amid allegations of sexual misconduct which saw him suspended from the Commons for eight weeks.

Tory hopes of hanging on in Mid Beds have been boosted by an extraordinary war of words between Labour and the Lib Dems.

Both parties insist they are best placed to win, leading to the very real possibility of the anti-Tory vote being split, thereby allowing Conservative candidate Festus Akinbusoye to get elected.

Tamworth is a straight shoot-out between the Tories and Labour, who are odds-on favourites with the bookies.

Nevertheless, Labour insiders insist the prospect of winning either seat is a “moonshot”.

One shadow cabinet member told HuffPost UK: “They’re two very safe Tory seats and it would take a miracle for Labour to win either. Mid Beds is a genuine three way split, but still a real long shot.”

Shadow science, innovation and technology secretary Peter Kyle, who is Labour’s campaign co-ordinator in the seat, said: “I think objectively anybody looking at all of the campaigns would rather be in our position than the others, but this is unlike anything I’ve experienced and uncertainties are constantly lurking.”

But another Labour MP said: “Mid Beds is the Tories for the keeping – no chance of that turning red.

“And to be quite honest, we don’t need it anyway. It’s not a target seat of ours and this isn’t a general election. If anything, it’s amusing that the Tories will frame it as a big win when all they’ve done is keep a seat that is already theirs.”

Labour sources insist winning in Tamworth – where Pincher received 68% of the vote at the last election – would be an even bigger achievement than the party’s stunning victory in Selby and Ainsty in July.

But a senior Tory MP told HuffPost: “I reckon our chances are poor in Tamworth because of how grim Chris Pincher’s reason for leaving was. I think people will punish the party for what he did and vote against us as a protest for all the sleaze we’ve seen in recent years.”

And a Labour MP said: “We do feel good about Tamworth. We know we have the power to overturn such huge majorities, as we’ve done it before.

“This seat in particular often reflects wider politics. It was Labour under Blair and Brown, Tory after that. And now, reflecting how well Labour are doing in the polls, I think that trend will continue.“

Defeat for the Tories would be as much of a psychological blow as an electoral one.

It’s the constituency of former Conservative prime minister Robert Peel, who in 1834 published the Tamworth Manifesto, which paved the way for the modern-day Tory Party.

One Labour MP dispensed with the usual pre-by-election caution and predicted a glory night for the party.

We’ve got both seats in the bag,” the MP said. “It doesn’t matter where the constituency is, or its history – the public want a change and are fed up of Tory lies.

“Their loyal voters are doubting them too, and we will see that on Thursday.”

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Labour’s Jon Ashworth Issues Election Warning: ‘Vote Sunak, Get Truss’

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Voting Conservative at the next general election will see a return of “chaos” and Liz Truss as prime minister, Labour’s Jon Ashworth has said.

In his speech closing Labour conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, the shadow cabinet minister said: “Vote Sunak, get Truss. That’s the fifth Tory term we have to stop.”

Ashworth made fun of the prime minister for being unable to stop cabinet ministers jostling for the party leadership at the Conservative conference last week.

“Penny Mordaunt kept telling the conference to stand up and fight. None of them stood up. But they did fight each other,” he said.

“There was Priti Patel skipping the light fandango with Nigel Farage. Farage waltzing his way back into the Tory Party and Sunak too weak to stop him.

“And then there was Liz Truss too. Letting it be known she wants a second chance to outlast the lettuce and crash and smash family finances all over again.

“More turmoil, more risk, more chaos with Truss, Braverman, Rees Mogg and Farage calling the shots.”

Ashworth also hit out at cabinet ministers for “peddling dark and dangerous internet conspiracy theories”.

Labour has repeatedly tried to tie Sunak to his predecessor, as the prime minister has attempted to position himself as the candidate of change despite 13 years of Conservative government.

During the Tory conference in Manchester, Labour had its plans to display a huge billboard showing a tiny Sunak in the pocket of Truss thwarted after the Conservatives discovered the move.

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New Labour Attack Ad Accuses Rishi Sunak Of Not Thinking Schools Should Be Safe

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Labour has risked stoking fresh controversy by accusing Rishi Sunak of not thinking that schools should be safe.

The party’s latest attack ad comes amid the mounting scandal over schools being forced to close because of crumbling concrete.

It has echoes of the infamous poster from earlier this year which accused the prime minister of not wanting sex offenders to be jailed.

That sparked a furious row, with Labour being accused of “gutter politics”.

Like that one, the new ad also has a picture of the prime minister alongside his signature.

It states: “Do you think your child’s schools should be safe? Rishi Sunak doesn’t.”

The ad goes on to claim that when he was chancellor, Sunak cut spending on school rebuilding by almost half, and says the Tory/Lib Dem coalition ditched Labour’s schools for the future programme in 2010.

The advert adds: “The Tories ignored Labour’s warnings time and again – now our children are paying the price with crumbling schools.”

The latest Labour attack ad
The latest Labour attack ad

Labour Party

A Labour source told HuffPost UK: “It’s a timely reminder as parliament returns that the Tories can talk all they want – they can’t hide from the fact their disastrous running of the country over 13 years is hurting families across Britain.”

It emerged on Thursday – days before the end of the summer holidays – that more than 150 schools had been ordered to either partially or completely close because the “RAAC” concrete used to build them is at risk of collapse.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the government was taking a “cautious approach” to protect pupils and staff.

She said: “Children should attend school as normal in September, unless families hear differerently.”

But her Labour shadow, Bridget Phillipson, said: “This is an absolutely staggering display of Tory incompetence as they start a fresh term by failing our children again.

Ministers now fear that other public buildings, such as hospitals, could also be affected by the scandal.

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Poll: Labour Now On 50% With 25-Point Lead Over The Conservatives

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Labour now has the support of 50% of voters and has surged to a 25-point lead over the Conservatives, according to a new poll.

It will be a blow to Rishi Sunak and a boost to Keir Starmer after a difficult August for the prime minister.

The Deltapoll survey put Labor on 50%, the Tories on 25%, the Lib Dems on 9% and other parties on 17%.

Sunak has to call a general election by January 2025 at the latest, but it is widely assumed he will go to the country next year.

The poll was conducted between August 17 and 21 and showed Labour jumping 4-points and the Conservatives dropping 4-points since the previous survey, which was run from August 9 until 11.

According to the pollster, it means Labour has widened its lead over the Tories by 8-points.

The government had hoped to use the second week of August to take the fight to Labour on migration and the NHS.

But “small boats week” backfired when asylum seekers being housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge were removed after the Legionella bacteria was discovered on-board.

Sunak has also admitted he may not meet his pledge to “stop the boats” by the next election.

And “health week” – which followed – was consumed by a row over waiting times for cancer patients.

There was better news for the prime minister last week however, when the latest figures showed inflation dropped to to 6.8% in the year to July from 7.9% in June.

The PM has promised to half inflation from its peak of 10.7% at the start of the year.

Officials statistics also showed UK wages had grown at a record rate in the three months to June.

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Keir Starmer Defeats Left-Wing Critics As Labour Rejects ‘Unfunded’ Spending Proposals

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Keir Starmer has defeated his left-wing critics to win backing for his “serious and credible” general election plans.

In a major victory for the Labour leader, the party’s National Policy Forum rejected “unfunded” proposals by the Unite trade union and pro-Jeremy Corbyn campaign group Momentum.

A party spokesperson said: “Labour’s democratic policy-making body has endorsed Keir Starmer’s programme, his five missions for government, and the fiscal rules that he and Rachel Reeves have set out.

“This is a serious, credible and ambitious policy programme that lays the groundwork for an election-winning manifesto and a mission-driven Labour government that will build a better Britain.

“There are no unfunded spending commitments in the document.

“This weekend is another proof point that shows that Keir Starmer has changed the Labour Party and is ready to change the country in government built on the rock of economic responsibility and strong fiscal rules.”

The GMB union said the plans “would make a real difference for workers and industries they work in”.

But Unite refused to give the policy document their backing, claiming it “clearly crossed the union’s red lines including around workers’ rights”.

“As the general election draws nearer, Keir Starmer has to prove Labour will deliver for workers and we need clear policies on this,” the union said.

Momentum said it was “a missed opportunity for Labour to lay out real solutions to the Tories’ broken Britain”.

They said: “Unions and members proposed urgent, popular policies like a £15 minimum wage, workers’ rights and free school meals. But Starmer’s fiscal conservatism put paid to hope.

“Worse, the leadership’s steadfast refusal to commit to scrap heinous Tory policies like the two-child cap and anti-protest laws means that an undemocratic and unequal status quo risks being left in place under a Labour government. Britain deserves better.”

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Exclusive: Defeated Labour Candidate Launches Bitter Attack On Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ Expansion

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Labour’s defeated candidate in the Uxbridge by-election has launched a vicious attack on Sadiq Khan’s controversial expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

Danny Beales said the policy had “cut us off at the knees” and handed the seat to the Tories.

In a surprise appearance at Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF) in Nottingham this morning, he declared: “ULEZ is bad policy. It must be rethought.”

His comments are a further sign of the bitter Labour civil war that has erupted since Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell defied the odds to win Uxbridge and South Ruislip by just 495 votes.

The result was a major boost for Rishi Sunak on the same night the Tories suffered seismic losses to the Lib Dems in Somerton and Frome and to Labour in Selby and Ainsty.

Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has insisted he will not scrap the ULEZ expansion, which takes place next month and will see drivers of cars that don’t meet strict environmental standards charged £12.50 a day.

But Beales told the NPF: “Our relentless focus on the cost of living hammering voters across the country should have been enough to win my home seat. But it wasn’t.

“Because – let me be frank – a single policy cut us off at the knees. This isn’t complicated. You cannot tell working people you are laser-focused on the cost of living, on the difficulties facing them, on making life easier and then also penalise them, simply for driving their car to work.

“ULEZ is bad policy. It must be rethought.”

He added: “There were people in Uxbridge desperate for change, sick of the Tories, complimentary about our changed party, about our leadership, about our plans.

“But a single policy – one that felt like a grotesque unfairness to many who might otherwise have voted for us – acted as a dead-weight, one that we were forced to trudge around with on our backs, all day, every day, from one door to another.”

Beales said Labour must use the NPF gathering to learn the lessons of the Uxbridge defeat and focus its policies on helping ordinary people currently struggling with the cost of living.

He said: “We can continue to drive our party back into the arms of working people, as we are doing under Keir’s leadership, by focusing entirely on their priorities, their needs and their desires.

“Or we can spend this weekend focused on the hobby horses, the ideological obsessions and – ultimately – the damaging policies that cost us dear in Uxbridge.”

Keir Starmer yesterday called on Khan to “reflect” on the part ULEZ played in Labour’s by-election defeat.

But the mayor vowed to press on with the controversial policy, saying clean air is a “human right, not a privilege”.

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Labour Blame Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ Scheme For Failing To Win Boris Johnson’s Old Seat

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The Labour mayor of London’s decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the whole of the capital dominated the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.

Speaking shortly after the result was announced, shadow justice secretary Steve Reed suggested Khan should consider ditching the ULEZ expansion – which is due to kick in next month – in light of the result.

He told the PA news agency: “I think the winning Conservative candidate just said it, didn’t he? He said that if it wasn’t for ULEZ, he believes Labour would have won this by-election.

“Clearly, it did resonate with a lot of people. They didn’t like the fact that ULEZ was going to cost people more to drive around at a time when there’s a cost-of-living crisis going on. That’s exactly what [Labour candidate] Danny Beales was saying all the way through the campaign.

“But I think when the voters speak, any party that seeks to govern has to listen. So that’s what Labour will be doing after this.”

A Labour source told HuffPost UK: “If Uxbridge helps us junk more crap then good.”

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