Latest news with #UKLabourParty
Euronews
6 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Ex-UK Labour leader Corbyn says he's starting a new left-wing party
The former leader of the UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn said on Thursday that he is forming a new left-leaning political party to advocate for "mass redistribution of wealth and power" and take on his former colleagues at the ballot box. The new political entity has a website — — but does not yet have a name. "It's your party," Corbyn said. "We're going to decide (a name) when we've had all the responses, and so far the response rate has been massive." Corbyn said he hoped the new party would have its inaugural conference in the autumn. Corbyn, 76, led Labour to election defeats in 2017 and 2019, but the veteran socialist campaigner remains popular with many grassroots supporters and the new party has the potential to further fragment British politics. The long-dominant Labour and Conservative parties now have challengers on both left and right, including the environmentalist Green Party and the hard-right Reform UK. Plans for a new party emerged earlier this month when lawmaker Zarah Sultana, who has been suspended from Labour for voting against the government, said she would 'co-lead the founding of a new party' with Corbyn. At the time, Corbyn did not confirm the news. On Thursday he denied the party launch had been messy, saying the process was "democratic, it's grassroots and it's open." A long-time supporter of Palestine and critic of Israel, Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 after Britain's equalities watchdog found anti-Jewish prejudice had been allowed to spread within Labour while he was leader. He was suspended after failing to fully accept the findings, claiming opponents had exaggerated the scale of antisemitism in Labour for "political reasons." Corbyn was re-elected to Parliament last year as an independent. Prime Minister Keir Starmer succeeded Corbyn as Labour leader in 2020 and dragged the party back toward the political centre ground. He dropped Corbyn's opposition to Britain's nuclear weapons, strongly backed sending weapons to Ukraine and stressed the party's commitment to balancing the books. Starmer won a landslide election victory a year ago, but has struggled to maintain unity among Labour lawmakers as the government struggles to get a sluggish economy growing and invest in overstretched public services. He has been forced into a series of U-turns by his own lawmakers, including one on welfare reform that left his authority severely dented.
The Journal
27-06-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Starmer's Labour party in turmoil as his Irish chief of staff becomes the villain of the UK left
AFTER WINNING A stunning electoral victory just under a year ago, the UK Labour Party has been roiled by divisions this week over Prime Minister Keir Starmer's proposed cuts to social welfare payments. Starmer has now reversed course on his planned cuts to sickness and disability supports, an issue that had become emblematic of the ideological divisions in his party. Only days after the Labour leader insisted he would plough ahead with the reforms, Social Care Minister Stephen Kinnock confirmed concessions had been made to 'rebel' MPs who had threatened to scupper the bill's progress. A total 126 of Labour's more than 400 MPs publicly backed a move to block the proposals, forcing the the government into its latest U-turn. The new reversal on welfare payments would protect some 370,000 existing claimants who were expected to lose out. The cuts, as they were first proposed, would have taken away benefits amounting to about £5 billion. Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Starmer told MPs he wanted the reforms to reflect 'Labour values of fairness' and that discussions about the changes would continue over the coming days. He insisted there was 'consensus across the House on the urgent need for reform' of the 'broken' welfare system. Starmer previously felt the anger of the left wing of his party when it came to his first budget, and changed tack when it came to the UK's winter fuel allowance and the two-child benefit cap. The welfare bill will be up for debate again next Tuesday, when MPs will have their first opportunity to support or reject it. Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo A spokesperson for Starmer's office said: 'We have listened to MPs who support the principle of reform but are worried about the pace of change for those already supported by the system.' 'Our reforms are underpinned by Labour values and our determination to deliver the change the country voted for last year. Starmer's chief of staff, Irishman Morgan McSweeney, who has been credited as the brains behind Labour's general election victory, has emerged as a primary target for Labour 'rebels'. Advertisement Those MPs have been pointing to McSweeney as the main influence behind Starmer's austerity measures and Starmer's rightward shift more generally. 'They just kept saying that MPs were in a different place from the public on benefit cuts and we'd just have to tough it out,' one MP who signed the blocking amendment told The Guardian this week. 'But we speak to our constituents all the time and many of them are terrified. They just don't get it.' Another MP was reported describing McSweeney and his team in 10 Downing Street as running around 'like extras in The Thick of It', a reference to the satirical TV series about UK politics. Outside of economic policy, Starmer has also angered large portions of his party with his crackdown on immigration and massive increases in military spending. In a speech he delivered earlier this year, Starmer echoed the infamous 'Rivers of Blood' speech made by the anti-immigration Conservative MP Enoch Powell in the 1960s. Starmer said Britain risked becoming 'an island of strangers' due to high levels of immigration. Starmer said today that he 'deeply' regretted using the phrase. On top of that, he has angered anti-war Labour supporters with his approach to foreign policy, particularly UK support for Israel and the repressive measures taken against protesters – as well as calling for the Irish band Kneecap to be excluded from the line-up at the Glastonbury music festival. Starmer has also committed to spending £15 billion on upgrading the UK's nuclear weapons while making simultaneously pushing cuts to welfare spending. All of these issues have highlighted Starmer's general rightward shift since assuming the premiership, a continuation of his approach to leading Labour after taking over from Jeremy Corbyn, which was widely characterised as a 'purge' of the left wing of the party. Since winning the general election last year, when they defeated an abject Conservative Party, Labour has seen its popularity outstripped by Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK. Many have seen Labour's lurch to the right as a reaction to that surge in support for the far right, but it seems that courting conservative voters is coming at the expense of Labour's progressive base. Labour may well end up appealing to neither next time Britons go to the polls. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
More than 100 MPs sign open letter backing Philomena's Law
More than 100 MPs and Peers in Westminster have signed an open letter backing legislation to help UK based survivors of Irish mother-and-baby homes access compensation. It comes ahead of the first Westminster debate on 'Philomena's Law' this afternoon. The legislation has been named after Philomena Lee, a mother and baby home survivor, whose story about her son being forcibly adopted was chronicled in the Oscar nominated film "Philomena". It's estimated that around 13,000 people living in the UK are mother and baby home survivors, however many risk losing their means-tested benefits if they avail of compensation under the Irish Mother and Baby Institution payments scheme. "Philomena's Law" was first introduced to the House of Commons by the chair of the UK Labour Party's Irish Society, Liam Conlon MP. "Our campaign has also been about shining a light on the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme itself. Uptake is incredibly low in Britain and we want to ensure that every eligible survivor knows about it and feels empowered to apply", he explained. The actor Steve Coogan, who starred in the film 'Philomena' has also expressed his support for the legislation. "Liam is doing fantastic work to raise awareness of this important issue and I'm backing 'Philomena's Law' to help him ensure that all survivors get the compensation they are rightfully due", he said. Irish actor and star of Derry Girls Siobhán McSweeney said that she "wholeheartedly" supports Philomena's Law, adding that "this legislation is a crucial step towards justice and dignity for those who have suffered in silence for far too long." The open letter has been signed by politicians from a number of parties, including Labour, DUP, UUP, SDLP, SNP, Sinn Féin, Liberal Democrats and Alliance. It states that: "This complicated and stressful situation is putting undue pressure on survivors who are currently making applications to the payment scheme, forcing them to revisit their most traumatic experiences as they weigh up the cost of accepting compensation."
Kiwiblog
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Kiwiblog
The Telegraph review of the Ardern book
Tim Stanley is a former UK Labour Party candidate, and writer for The Telegraph. He reviews the recent autobiography by Jacinda Ardern: Don't read this book. You won't, anyway: it's by Jacinda Ardern. But if I tell you that it's a memoir dedicated to 'the criers, worriers, and huggers,' you'll have an idea of the nightmare you've dodged. A Different Kind of Power reads like a 350-page transcript of a therapy session: 'My whole short life,' the author writes, 'I had grappled with the idea that I was never quite good enough.' Regrettably, she persisted, rising through the two or three ranks of New Zealand society to become prime minister at the age of 37, from 2017 to 2023. And yet the practicalities of the job don't interest her: this book hinges on how everything felt . A fairly brutal introduction. As for what drew her into politics: was it Marx? Or Mahatma Gandhi? Well, one influence came early on: she saw a newspaper cartoon of a Tory stealing soup from children and thought, 'that definitely didn't feel right.' Few people know this, but this is factually correct. In the 1990s, teams of Young Nationals roved the nation breaking into the homes of poor people, and stealing soup from them. she wants us to know, too, that she replied to every child who wrote to her As did John Key, just that he didn't feel the need to tell everyone about it. By contrast, the anti-lockdown crowd Ardern describes protesting outside New Zealand's Parliament, wore 'literal tinfoil hats', flew 'swastikas' and 'Trump flags'. This is exactly how centrist dads (and mums) subtly vilify their opponents: set a perfect example and imply a comparison. I am so kind that anyone who disagrees with me must be nasty; so reasonable that my critics must be nuts. There were a few fringe figures there, but the vast majority were just people angry that they had lost their jobs on the basis of vaccine mandates that turned out to be based on an incorrect assumption that they would stop transmission. A poll of around a third of the protesters done by Curia staff found that 27% of the protesters were Maori (so unlikely to be Nazis!) and 40% of the protesters voted for Labour, Greens or Te Pati Maori in 2020. Post-office, Ardern became a fellow at Harvard University, teaching a course in… you guessed it: 'empathetic leadership'. The principle that the world would be a better place if we just empathised with each other is nice in theory, but codswallop in practice. How does that work with Vladimir Putin or the boys in Hamas? On the contrary, true leadership is about making tough judgments, guided by sound philosophy: St Jacinda bungled the former, lacked the latter. By reducing all government to thoughts and prayers, she transformed humility into vanity – a softly photographed carnival of her own emotions. Ouch, and a final jab: But there is one wonderful moment of zen. It comes when Ardern meets the late Queen in 2018, and asks whether she has any advice on raising children. 'You just get on with it,' said the monarch. It must have been a put-down; it sounds like a put-down – and yet Ardern is too naive to notice. The Queen of course became Queen at age 26, and had two children while in office.
Extra.ie
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Ryan Tubridy: 'Sarah tells her story with extraordinary dignity and insight'
I migrated to Times Radio last Monday for a three-hour juggernaut of a show that covered everything from Ukraine to UK Labour Party tax U-turns and on to more feature-based stories, including an interview with Thomas Harding, author of a fascinating book called The Einstein Vendetta. Towards the end of the show, an 18-year-old Irish woman joined me in the studio to talk about her desperately sad story. I first met her when she was just nine years old, and again when she was 13. So, here we were, five years later, in a London radio studio, but this time to talk about her book and her involvement in a much-talked-about Netflix documentary. Sarah Corbett Lynch has had a very unfair run at life since she was a baby. Her birth mother, Mags, died when Sarah was just 12 weeks old, leaving her father, Jason, to look after baby Sarah and her brother Jack. Sarah Corbett Lynch. Pic: Tom Honan Most of you will know the story, but as a brief reminder, Molly Martens arrived on the scene as an au pair. She and Jason fell in love, got married and moved to America to set up home. On the face of it, all was well until August 2, 2015, when Jason was beaten to death by Molly and her father, Tom Martens. What followed were endless court cases and appearances until the eventual conviction and subsequent release of Molly and Tom Martens. I won't get into the details here, as this is a reflection on Sarah herself. I was keen to have her on my Times Radio show on Monday because she is an exceptional person with a terrible story to tell, and yet she does it with extraordinary dignity and insight. Ryan Tubridy and Sarah Corbett Lynch. Pic: Supplied Her book, A Time For Truth, is a personal and difficult account of her life so far. She takes us through every detail of a story that fascinated the nation for so many years, offering intimate and thoughtful commentary along the way. She also participated in a recently released Netflix documentary, A Deadly American Marriage, which is not an easy watch but yet reinforces the image of Sarah and her family's dogged persistence for the truth and a need for justice on behalf of Jason Corbett. It was so good to reconnect with Sarah and with her aunt Tracey and uncle David, who were with her in London. Their bond is clearly unbreakable and, in their hands, the story of what happened will continue to be told for as long as they feel the world should know. Shobsy. Pic: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos In the last couple of years I spent hosting the Late Late Show, we enjoyed introducing lots of new Irish singers to the country. One of my absolute favourites was Shobsy, a charismatic and pitch-perfect performer whose appearances were always utterly compelling and whose voice drifted from smooth bass to heavenly falsetto. I'll never forget his version of Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy, which he sang for us after a week that saw fatal attacks on two gay men in Ireland. It always stayed with me as the lyrics were so relevant and the performance so compassionate. I was delighted to watch Shobsy command a crowd in London last weekend, reminding me of everyone from Roy Orbison to Elton John, as well as being very much his own man. It was a joy to watch him own the stage and bring the punters to their feet. Here's hoping he'll break the London music scene and then keep going to the very top. I was very fortunate to be invited to a small but intriguing lunch at The French House in Soho last weekend. The invitation came courtesy of Ewan Venters, who is currently looking after one of my all-time favourite designers, Paul Smith. I was a little late, as my radio show ends at 1 pm, so I had to jump on a city bike (the quickest way to navigate this city) and make it before 1:30 pm. There were only two tables, so I swiftly sought out my name place (complete with RT-monogrammed Paul Smith card wallet – a touch of class!) and before I knew it, I realised I was beside the incomparable actor and foodie, Stanley Tucci, and across from the always amiable comedian, John Bishop. We covered everything from Conclave to US politics and the state of British comedy. Paul himself joined the chat, as did Stephen Fry and Vernon Kay, among others, in this small but fascinating crew. By 4 pm, I was back on the bike and homeward bound to meet my brother, who was in town for the weekend, which was tremendous fun, but that's for another day!
