Former MP loses paid party job in radical Sinn Fein shake-up
High-profile politician one of five staff axed amid overhaul
Sinn Fein has let go a number of employees in a radical party restructuring — including a high-profile former MP.
Michelle Gildernew was MP for Fermanagh-South Tyrone until the 2024 General Election.
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The Independent
13 hours ago
- The Independent
Top cabinet ministers at risk of losing seats even after Starmer recognises Palestinian state, pollsters warn
Sir Keir Starmer 's historic decision to recognise Palestinian statehood later this year will not be enough to stop some of his top cabinet ministers from facing major battles to hang on to their seats, leading pollsters have warned. Health secretary Wes Streeting and justice secretary Shabana Mahmood are among those who could be ousted from parliament at the next general election, the UK's top pollster Sir John Curtice warned, in the face of major challenges from pro-Gaza candidates. Sir Keir lost a key member of his top team, Jonathan Ashworth, to a pro-Palestine independent candidate at the last election. Mr Streeting was among those who held his seat, but saw his majority in his Ilford constituency slashed from 5,198 in 2019 to just 528. But pollsters now warn anger over the issue of Palestine, which Jeremy Corbyn's newly announced political party will attempt to capitalise on, could see Mr Streeting and other high-profile casualties from the cabinet. Labour pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in its manifesto before the last general election, and Sir Keir this week bowed to growing pressure from his own MPs – and some high-profile members of the cabinet – to lay out a plan to recognise the state of Palestine. Asked if the move on Palestinian statehood could help save Mr Streeting and Ms Mahmood next time around, Sir John told the Independent that it 'may not be sufficient given the current condition of the Labour Party'. Luke Tryl, from pollsters More in Common, was more blunt. 'No,' he said. Sir John added that it was clear that Starmer had also 'lost out' on votes in his own constituency last year because of the issue, although the PM's majority is significantly larger than some of his cabinet colleagues. After promising to tackle Labour's antisemitism crisis when he came to power, Sir John summed up the PM's problem: 'Here is somebody who spent a great deal of time and effort trying to reconnect with the Jewish community, and now he's finding himself having to spend a great deal of effort trying to reconnect with the Muslim community. It is very difficult to keep himself on board with both groups at the moment.' Mr Tryl said the war in Gaza had uncovered 'deeper' problems for Labour. 'When we have done focus groups with voters in Muslim areas, particularly some of those who backed or were thinking about backing pro-Gaza independent candidates, I compared it to speaking to voters in the red wall after Brexit,' he said. 'In the sense that Brexit was the thing which caused the split, but it actually brought to the fore much deeper resentments - that they have been taken from granted, ignored, left behind by Labour … I think we're going to see exactly the same thing with Muslim voters.' Mr Corbyn confirmed his party would campaign heavily on Palestine when he launched it last week. Sir John said that the polling suggested that the new party would take the most votes from the Greens, followed by Labour. But he added, when it came to a new party run by their ex-leader: 'Given that Labour, even without Corbyn being put onto the hypothetical ballot, are behind Reform, they don't really want this.' Sir John said the Palestine announcement could be seen, in one way, as an example of Labour's problem connecting with the wider electorate. Asked what the party could do to win back voters across the board, he said: 'Explain to people what you are about. It's the point that everybody's making now. This is a government that has no known direction. And of course, some people are painting (the Palestine move) as yet another example of policy change. 'In terms of substance, (Labour should) turn around the economy and make sure that the health service doesn't have long waiting lists. It's not complicated, just very, very difficult to do.'
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Government internships to be restricted to working-class in major shake-up
New civil service intern scheme will be limited to students from 'lower socio-economic backgrounds' and based on which jobs their parents held when they were 14 Government internships will be restricted to people from working-class backgrounds in a major shake-up next year. The move is designed to recruit more students to the civil service from lower incomes and boost representation. Set to be launched in 2026 the new scheme will replace an existing intern programme that is currently open to all. Research in 2021 showed nearly three in four civil servants were from privileged backgrounds and more likely to hold jobs at centre of power at the Treasury of Foreign Office. The report by the Social Mobility Commission also suggested hidden rules favoured those with the "right accent". It comes after The Mirror's Kevin Maguire wrote: 'Labour must find engaging story for the UK - or face election wipeout'. The Cabinet Office said it will give around 200 undergraduates the chance to work for a government department for two months. It will be limited to students from "lower socio-economic backgrounds" and based on which jobs their parents held when they were 14. Cabinet Office chief Pat McFadden said: 'We need to get more working class young people into the Civil Service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country. Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve." He added: 'I want to open up opportunities for students from all backgrounds, and in every corner of the UK, so they can take a leading role at the heart of government as we re-wire the state and deliver the Plan for Change.' Changes are expected to take effect from summer 2026 and will give young people experience writing briefings, planning events, conducting policy research and shadowing civil servants, according to the broadcaster. It could help students win a place on the civil service fast stream programme - the top graduate programme for working in government. Currently just 11.6% of successful applicants to the scheme are students from lower income backgrounds, according to the most recent data. After winning the General Election last year, Keir Starmer said he was "proud" to have the most ever Cabinet ministers from comprehensive schools. 'I'm really proud of the fact that my cabinet reflects the aspiration that I believe lies at the heart of our country,' he said. "I'm proud of the fact that we have people around that Cabinet table who didn't have the easiest of starts in life. To see them sitting in the cabinet this morning was a proud moment for me.'
The National
3 days ago
- The National
Take new Corbyn-Sultana party 'seriously', polling expert tells Labour
Keiran Pedley, the research director, public affairs UK, for the polling firm Ipsos, said he thought the nascent party could 'pretty well' under Westminster's first-past-the-post voting system which 'rewards a geographical concentration of votes'. Writing on social media, Pedley said that the 'most important thing any new left wing party could do is have a simple name'. 'None of this united socialist workers of Great Britain yadda yadda nonsense,' he went on. READ MORE: Hedge fund boss and Labour donor buys Scottish island as last residents leave 'Something clean. The new left party or similar. Does what it says on the tin. See Brexit party for details.' Pedley's comments came after Professor John Curtice told The National that it was 'not inconceivable' that Labour Cabinet ministers including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood could lose their seats at the next General Election. 'Just look at the size of their majorities and look at how far Labour's vote's fallen,' Curtice said. At the last election, Starmer's vote almost halved, Streeting's majority was reduced to just 528, and Mahmood's vote fell by 53%, all facing pro-Palestine independent challengers. Pro-Palestine independents took four seats at the 2024 election, most notably Labour shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth's defeat at the hands of Shockat Adam in Leicester South. Curtice, however, also questioned whether the new Corbyn-Sultana party could organise efficiently enough to be an electoral force. 'The crucial question is now: will the fight next year's local and devolved elections? Are they going to be up and ready? At the moment, they're engaging on a consultation about a name,' the polling expert said. He also noted that Sultana's initial public announcement of the new party appeared to have taken Corbyn by surprise. READ MORE: Scottish Government approves one of world's biggest wind farms amid controversy Earlier in the week, Corbyn announced that 600,000 people had signed up for the new party, outstripping Labour at its peak under his own leadership (at 565,000 in 2017). Corbyn said: 'Up and down the country, there is huge appetite for the policies that are needed to fix society in 2025: public ownership, wealth redistribution, housing justice, and a foreign policy based on peace and human rights. "For too long, people have been denied a real political choice. Not anymore. 600,000 people have already signed up to build a real alternative to inequality, poverty and war. This is just the beginning. 'We are an unstoppable movement for equality, democracy and peace – and we are never, ever going away.'
