From the very beginning, Keir Starmer’s Labour has been proudly patriotic. The 2022 Labour Party conference opened with delegates coming together to sing the national anthem to pay their respects to the late Queen. Flags feature prominently at conference and in the background of key speeches. Labour wants to reassure voters that we are a government-in-waiting that loves this country and will work tirelessly to serve people throughout the UK.  It was interesting to see newspaper articles suggesting some unnamed MPs felt discomfort with the idea that the UK flag was featured on recent elect ..read more

The Fabian Society’s chair has said it is “deeply sorry” after its own report said a “culture of misogyny and marginalisation”, abuses of power and sexual harassment had developed within the Young Fabians, with some current and former members calling it “toxic”. A leaked report seen by LabourList reveals the findings of an investigation for the Labour-affiliated think tank into claims of “unacceptable behaviours and troubling practices”, convened in November last year. It highlights “troubling reports of unchecked misconduct: of bullying, of sexual harassment, of poorly understood safeguarding ..read more

The Prime Minister’s speech on welfare reform last Friday was not only high on rhetoric and low on evidence, it was grossly offensive to millions of sick and disabled people and to thousands of GPs up and down the country. It’s clear we’re in an election year. The Prime Minister says he supports the ‘values’ of the welfare state and agrees that a ‘safety net’ should be there for those who ‘genuinely need it’. He refers to a ‘moral mission to reform the welfare system, giving everyone who can a chance to return to work, making it a fairer system ‘for the taxpayers who fund it’. Let’s just unpic ..read more

Hartlepool almost spelt the end of Keir Starmer’s leadership before it really began, as a recent biography revealed. Labour’s loss of the town in County Durham, which had been held by the party for almost six decades, in a 2021 by-election was a new low after the party was ousted from power on the local council in 2019. The by-election defeat is engraved in the heart of Jonathan Brash, deputy leader of the local Labour Party and the party’s candidate for Hartlepool at the general election. “My immediate feeling was that Labour have to listen and they have to learn,” he said. “We’d been given a ..read more

Local elections offer a window into the mood of the nation – making this year’s set of elections all the more interesting ahead of a likely general election later in the year. These locals will offer insights into how Labour is faring in seats that could prove crucial to it securing a majority, albeit the picture is often complicated by specific local issues and differing voting patterns at the national and local level. Here’s our rundown of some of the councils worth keeping an eye on as we (inevitably) look ahead to the general election: Swindon Labour took control of Swindon council last ye ..read more

For some months now Tory ministers have been trying to do individual deals for youth mobility visa schemes with European countries – mirroring those the UK already have with Iceland, Japan, India and Australia. It is a brutal admission of how damaging leaving the European Union has been to the prospects of our young people– This week the EU itself offered to short-circuit this process by negotiating a bloc-wide mobility scheme. For the sake of British business and British workers Labour must grasp this opportunity, not spurn it. Quite how many times a young worker from the UK has been passed o ..read more

Rishi Sunak may have chickened out of calling an election this May, but we still have the opportunity to create enormous change. Here in Milton Keynes, Labour stands poised to take majority control of the City Council, the first Labour majority on the local authority in 28 years. The history of Milton Keynes is entwined with the history of the Labour Party. We’re the most successful of Labour’s postwar new towns. We’re home to the Open University, Labour’s pioneering project to widen participation in higher education. Not only that, but we serve as a bellwether for Labour’s success. Winning in ..read more

Keir Starmer is more trusted than Rishi Sunak to handle the crisis in the Middle East, despite Labour’s recent tensions over Gaza, an exclusive poll for LabourList reveals. More than half of voters said they could not trust the Prime Minister to deal with the issues in the region, while 40% said they trusted the Labour leader to handle the situation. The poll of 1,066 adults, carried out by Savanta on April 15 for LabourList, found that only 37.7% trusted the Prime Minister on the Middle East crisis, with 54.6% distrusting him to handle the situation. Keir Starmer had the trust of 40.1% of tho ..read more

More than half of Labour voters and a quarter of Tory voters say the row over Angela Rayner’s housing arrangements “sounds like a smear campaign”, an exclusive poll for LabourList and Labour Business reveals. Around a third of all voters in the poll said the deputy leader being a woman was a relevant factor in the level of press attention given to the story. Some 30% said it was a factor, while 34% cited her personality, 28% cited her being from a working-class background, and 25% cited her being northern. Just over half (51%) said increased scrutiny of Labour as the election approaches was a ..read more

Open Labour is currently looking at how Labour transitions from opposition to government. While currently likely, we’re not treating it as a certainty. We see a rocky road to Downing Street, despite strong polling. The Tories and their media outriders will ratchet up their desperate attacks as the general election approaches. They’re currently targeting Angela Rayner. She’ll be a key campaigner in the election campaign and so effective they want to drive her off the campaign trail. When it isn’t Angela, it will be someone else. The Mail group previously flailed at and missed Keir Starmer. The ..read more