
Early evening summary
Boris Johnson earned more than £5m from less than two years of paid speeches after standing down as prime minister, leaked files suggest. This is one of the latest stories in a big Guardian series, the Boris Files, based on leaked papers that provide new insight into the extent to which the former PM is leveraging his political experience and contacts for commercial gain.
But Keir Starmer has condemned Israel’s attack on Hamas in Qatar. In a statement he said:
I condemn Israel’s strikes on Doha, which violate Qatar’s sovereignty and risk further escalation across the region.
The priority must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid into Gaza.
This is the only solution towards long-lasting peace
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Updated
Bell Ribeiro-Addy has written an article for the Guardian about why she is standing to be Labour’s deputy leader. Here is an extract.
Labour needs a radical change of course. That does not mean chasing after the far right. It means standing up for working people with clear policies that tackle inequality, protect our communities and put peace, justice and welfare at the heart of what we do. That is why I am standing: to make the case for Labour to get back to its roots.
I voted for a ceasefire in Gaza. I opposed cuts to disability support and resisted attacks on civil liberties, including the proscription of Palestine Action. As deputy leader, I would ensure Labour members’ voices are heard at the top of our party, not pushed aside by undemocratic stitch-ups.
And here is the full article.
No 10 brushes off new disclosure showing extent of Mandelson's friendship with Epstein
Downing Street has also brushed aside new revelations about the extent of the friendship between Peter Mandelson, now the UK ambassador to Washington, and the deceased billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
As Jamie Grierson reports, a committee of the US House of Representatives has published in full a “birthday book” produced for Epstein by his friends in 2003, which includes a significant contribution from Mandelson.
Robert Peston has posted the Mandelson pages, in their excruciating entirety, on social media.
Asked about the revelations, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists that the Mandelson/Epstein friendship had been “a matter of public record for some time” and that Mandelson was now playing a key role in developing relations with the US. The spokesperson said:
This government is focused on building a relationship with the United States. The ambassador is playing a key role in that, securing jobs and growth here in the UK, he’s playing a key part in the work ahead of the state visit next week, the unprecedented state visit next week that will continue to build the relationship between our countries to deliver for working people here in the UK.
Mandelson has said he now wishes he had never met Epstein.
No 10 criticises Israeli attack on Hamas in Qatar, saying it will 'only risk further destabilisation'
Downing Street has criticised Israel’s decision to launch airstrikes against Hamas officials based in Qatar. Commenting on the attack, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists at the afternoon lobby:
We do not want to see a further escalation in violence in the region. This can only risk further destabilisation.
We want to see an end to the suffering in Gaza starting with the release of all hostages, an immediate ceasefire, and a surge in aid to the region so there can be a long lasting peace in the wider region.
TUC welcomes Phillipson's assurance that government won't accept 'any watering down' of employment rights bill by Lords
Here is the full quote from Bridget Phillipson in her speech to the TUC on the employment rights bill.
Congress, make no mistake, let there be no doubt.
One year ago we were elected to deliver this employment rights bill and, Congress, that is what we will do.
We won’t accept any watering down by the Lords. Forward with the employment rights bill. In full. No ifs, no buts. Forward.
For the TUC, this may have been the most important passage in the speech, which was mostly a summary of measures the government is taking to help working-class children, particularly in areas like early years and skills. In response, Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, said:
It was welcome to hear Bridget Phillipson strongly reaffirm the government’s commitment to delivering the employment rights bill in full. That’s what unions expect – and most importantly it’s what the public wants too.
Stronger workers’ rights like banning zero-hours contracts, ending fire-and-rehire and sick pay from day one in the job are all common sense changes – and hugely popular right across the political spectrum.
Phillipson also told the TUC that the government was elected to deliver the employment rights bill and that it would “not accept any watering down by the Lords” of the legislation. Instead the government would push on with it, “no ifs, no buts”, she said.
Phillipson praises 'wisdom of unions' in speech to TUC
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been speaking to the TUC conference.
She was introduced as someone who was “a great friend of the TUC” and as the minister who had set up Skills England, “a longstanding ask of the trade union movement”.
And Phillipson reciprocated as she started her speech, praising the role the unions played in setting up the Labour party and telling delegates that she had installed a bust of Ernie Bevin in her department, commemorating his role as minister of labour and national service during the war.
She went on:
When I took on this role, I was clear that I wanted to draw on the wisdom of the unions, and that’s why I set up the Improving Education Together initiative – union expertise valued not ignored, the voice of the workforce valued not ignored.
Sarah Owen says she won't stand for deputy leader, and wants to focus on her role as chair of women and equalities committee
The Labour MP Sarah Owen says she won’t be standing for deputy leader. In a post on Bluesky, she says:
I’m truly humbled by everyone who’s encouraged me to stand.
Right now, our country needs strong voices fighting for equality and human rights - I can make the most difference by doing that as Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and as MP for Luton North
She has also written an article for Luton Today setting out her thinking in more detail. In it she says:
In the short time since I took over as chair of the women and equalities committee, our work has led to significant changes on everything from sharing intimate images without consent, to the parental leave review, to highlighting medical misogyny that leaves women undiagnosed and in pain …
In this volatile climate, I want to continue leading this important work that brings people together through greater understanding, not othering. I’m not in parliament to chase the next big job, but to make real change to people’s lives; to serve our party, our country, and the people of Luton North – the place I love and am proud to call home.
Alison McGovern becomes 6th MP, and 2nd minister, to enter Labour's deputy leadership contest
Alison McGovern, who was employment minister until the weekend, when she was moved to housing, communities and local government ministry at the weekend, has confirmed she is standing to be deputy Labour leader.
In a statement she said:
After speaking to party members, trade unions, and MPs, I have decided to put my name forward for the deputy leadership of the Labour party.
Our country faces a huge threat from the dark forces of rightwing populism. We will only defeat that threat by giving people real hope and pride in our diverse country. And by fighting for those things that unite, not divide, us all: the right to a home, a job and to feel part of this country.
I believe I can shape our story, communicating our values in a way that resonates across the Labour family and with the public. Over the past 15 years, I have worked hand in hand with Labour and trade union members, campaigning for good jobs and against child poverty and the need for food banks.
Four generations of my family from Merseyside have worked on the railway and never thought that one of us could be a member of parliament – it was the Labour movement that did that.
Which is why I am proud to live in the community that raised me, also knowing that too many people are still left out of chances and choices in life. That has to change. I have fought tough battles before – and I’ll do so again – because these opportunities are a prize worth winning.
As we enter the next phase of this government we need to quickly show that we have learned the lessons of our first year in office and waste no time in delivering on the promise of change that got us elected last year.
That means there are now six candidates in the contest. This is roughly how they line up politically.
Broadly loyalist: Bridget Phillipson, Alison McGovern and Lucy Powell
Soft left: Emily Thornberry
Left: Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Paula Barker
Updated
Bridget Phillipson receives boost as poll suggests she has clear lead over rival deputy leadership candidates with members
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is the most popular of the main candidates for Labour deputy leader, a poll of members suggests.
LabourList has just published the result of a poll of party members by Survation suggesting she has a clear lead over Emily Thornberry, the next most popular of the candidates who have so far declared.
In her write-up, Emma Burnell reports:
Of those candidates who have currently declared, Phillipson tops the poll with an overall favourability rating – the percentage of members who say they are a good candidate, minus those who say they are a bad candidate – of +39 per cent. Emily Thornberry is the next most popular candidate with +20 per cent.
Other candidates so far declared are further behind, with Lucy Powell having an overall favourability of 1 per cent, and Bell Ribeiro-Addy of -3 per cent.
For those candidates whose names are being mooted who have yet to declare one way or another, Alison McGovern has a 19 percent favourability rating; Meg Hillier is on 14 per cent; Sarah Owen on 13 per cent; Stella Creasy is on 10 per cent; And Nadia Whittome is on -5 per cent.
Here are the full figures.
Survation did not ask members about Paula Barker, the fifth MP to have confirmed they are standing.
It is hard to poll party members (because it is hard to find a representative sample), but the ConservativeHome website has been running surveys of party members about internal Tory elections for many years and their results have always provided a broadly accurate guide to the final outcome. LabourList has only recently started doing its own Labour membership polling, but it uses a respected pollster and its results are taken fairly seriously.
To get on the ballot paper, a candidate needs to be nominated by 80 Labour MPs. But once an MP nominates one candidate, they cannot withdraw their name and nominate someone else (which in effect is what happens in Tory leadership election contests, which use sequential voting) and it is possible that most candidates could fail to meet the 80-MP threshold.
Patrick Maguire from the Times thinks it is possible that Bridget Phillipson could be the only person to reach 80 – which would lead to her being elected unopposed this week.
Increasingly difficult to imagine a world in which Bridget Phillipson isn’t the only candidate validly nominated by Labour MPs tomorrow night
From Keir Starmer’s point of view, this would be an ideal outcome. He would have a loyalist deputy party leader, and avoid a contest which would end up dominated by a debate about whether the government should denounce Israel for genocide and bring in a wealth tax.
But party members might complain they were denied a choice.
Paula Barker confirms she is standing to be Labour's deputy leader
The Labour MP Paula Barker has confirmed that she is standing to be Labour’s deputy leader. (See 11.04am.)
Asked on the World at One if she had enough support to get the 80 MP nominations she will need to be on the ballot paper, she replied:
Our numbers are looking healthy. I have been really humbled by the amount of colleagues who are contacting me and showing me their support and I will be working with them going forward.
Starmer tells cabinet ministers they must 'go up a gear' and take decisions 'even more quickly'
At cabinet Keir Starmer also told his ministers that they needed to “go up a gear” and take decisions “even more quickly”, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists at the lobby briefing.
In a readout from cabinet, the spokesperson said:
The prime minister opened by welcoming the cabinet and looking ahead to the next phase of government, as we move from fixing the foundations to driving forward the growth and national renewal that delivers for working people …
He went on to say that growth underpinned all of the government’s agenda but we needed to go up a gear, including taking decisions even more quickly. He said he understood the frustrations of the public who for more than a decade haven’t seen their living standards improve enough while seeing their public services get worse, and that they were rightly impatient for change. He said this government will deliver change further and faster, and that people would rightly judge the government on whether they feel better off, whether their public services, including the NHS, have improved, and whether they feel safer in their communities and feel their borders are more secure …
The prime minister emphasised the importance of demonstrating to working people that the government was driving down costs and spending their taxes well. He said it was incumbent on the government to go further and faster in reducing the size of the civil service, adopting technology and AI across public services, and reducing the number of regulators.
No 10 says payments to Boris Johnson from allowance for ex-PMs will be subject to checks 'in usual way'
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson was asked if the government would be looking at suggestions that Boris Johnson may have used a £115,000 taxpayer-funded annual allowance available to former prime ministers to help support his commercial work. The spokesperson insisted that the spending would be checked in the usual way. He said:
All payments made to former prime ministers are only to cover official administrative costs related to their position as a former prime minister. They do not cover personal business activities.
Those payments are made retrospectively based on documentation received, and all former prime ministers must abide by those rules, and they’re subject to audit by the Cabinet Office and the National Audit Office in the usual way.
Updated
Al Carns, the former solidier who was made a defence minister straight after being elected to parliament for the first time last summer, has pulled out of the Labour deputy leadership contest, Aubrey Allegretti from the Times reports.
Al Carns’s allies have told MPs he’s “pulled out” of the deputy leadership race.
A short lived bid - but he’s certainly attracted interest for being a 2024 intake MP who seriously considered going for it.
(Many people may not have been aware that Carns was ever considering a run in the first place.)
Carole Walker from Times Radio says she’s been told that tomorrow’s Labour deputy leadership hustings may end up as little more than a Zoom call.
Breaking .. I am hearing MPs have been told the plan is that tomorrow’s hustings for Labour Deputy Leader will be online, rather than in front of the PLP. Lots of anger brewing ....
Thames Water has 'not met threshold' for special administration, minster tells MPs
Helena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter.
Water minister Emma Hardy said that beleaguered water company Thames Water has “not met the threshold” for special administration and suggested it would not do so until taps run dry.
Thames is racing to secure funding to avoid temporary nationalisation and recently secured a controversial, high-interest, £3bn loan to stave off collapse. The company recently secured a payment plan with the industry regulator for fines it owes worth £123m.
The company has been trying to raise money for a turnaround plan for the past year, after building up a net debt pile worth £17.7bn under successive private owners.
Giviving evidence to the Commons environment committee, Hardy claimed it is not the government’s decision whether a company goes into SAR (special administration regime). Hardy said:
There is a mistaken belief that it’s the government or secretary of state’s decision to take a company into special administration. The government doesn’t put companies into SAR, the court does.
A water company goes into special administration when either the secretary of state applies to the court and makes the case for the water company to enter SAR, or if the water company says it can no longer operate and needs to go into SAR.
Hardy added:
[Thames] hasn’t met the threshold for going into special administration. It has to be a serious breach of its principle statutory duties. This would mean fundamentally water doesn’t come out of the taps, toilets don’t flush.
Prof Dieter Helm, economist and utilities expert at the University of Oxford, seemed sceptical at the minister’s claims. He told the Guardian:
In practice an application in itself [to the court] would trigger practically the outcome. As to what constitutes a serious breach etc, imagine trying to argue that Thames had not in fact done so … pretty difficult in practice I guess, given all the evidence of its failings.
Finally – and this is the really important bit – if the criteria are as demanding as the minister suggests, a SAR would only be used in extremis and by then it might be very hard to guarantee the continuity of services which is the reason a SAR is deliberately ‘special’. It would be a disaster. SARs were designed to deal with failures long before the company and its performance goes over a cliff … If they can’t, then there needs to be a new Utilities Failures Act to put a proper regime in place as a matter of urgency.
Ministers appear to be getting ready to place the company into SAR, and have appointed FTI Consulting as potential administrators.
Hardy confirmed the appointment, adding: “It is absolutely right that we should be prepared for everything. I don’t want to be one of those ministers that is caught on the hop so we have made sure we have got everything ready.”
Starmer tells cabinet they must see off 'those that feed off politics of grievance', in swipe at Reform UK
In opening remarks at cabinet this morning, Keir Starmer criticised Reform UK, telling his ministers they were “up against those that feed off the politics of grievance”, and that they had a “patriotic duty” to offer an alternative programme of “national renewal”.
He told his team:
You are the right people to heed the patriotic call to lift up our country and take it forward to national renewal for millions of working people.
And in a reference to Reform, he said:
It is important that we are very clear about what we’re up against. We’re up against those that feed off the politics of grievance, those that do not want problems to be fixed, because if the problems are fixed, their reason to exist, their politics, ceases to have any role in our society.
Starmer said he was working for “a Britain of decent, reasonable, compassionate, tolerant people” as “the vast majority of people in this country are”. He went on:
It’s them that we have in our mind’s eye as we go forward and our mission is the triumph of national renewal over divide and division and decline. That is our patriotic responsibility and our patriotic duty. And I look forward to working with all of you as we go on to this next phase of government.
Former PMs say they use subsidy only for public duties after Boris Johnson revelations
Three former prime ministers have said they do not use a taxpayer subsidy for their private office for any commercial work after the Guardian revealed Boris Johnson appears have done so, Rob Evans and Henry Dyer report.
This is the latest story as part of a major investigation published by the Guardian today. You can read all the stories so far here. And here is the splash story, by Harry Davies, Henry Dyer and Pippa Crerar.
Lucy Powell says she is standing to be deputy Labour leader, pledging to bring 'all parts of party' together
Lucy Powell, who was leader of the Commons until she was sacked on Friday, has announced she is standing to be deputy Labour leader.
She has posted this message on social media.
After much encouragement, I have decided to stand for deputy leader of the Labour party.
Living with my family in my home city, Manchester, has rooted my politics in an understanding of people’s everyday hopes and fears.
These are the experiences our MPs and party members hear too. As our deputy leader, I would ensure these are at the heart of what we do and how we operate, bringing together all parts of the party and uniting our broad voter coalition.
Over the last year, as part of the Labour government I was proud to serve, I have championed our backbenchers, made sure their voices were heard, and sought to unite our team.
We must use all our talents and experience to ensure our Labour government, led by our prime minister, is successful in delivering our mandate of change.
This means responding to the huge challenges we face with bold policies, rooted in progressive Labour values.
I will fight every day to deliver this change.
Green party says its membership has hit a record high at 70,000
The Green party of England and Wales has announced that its membership has reached 70,000 since Zack Polanski’s election as leader. That is a record level for the party. Last week, when Polanski was elected, the figure was 68,500.
Q: What do you think of figures out today showing the number of days workers take off sick to be at the highest level for 15 years?
Badenoch said these figures were “extraordinary”. She claimed that some people had just “switched off work”. And the extension of remote health assessments had made it easier of people report sick.
Q: [From the Telegraph’s Daniel Martin] What do you think of the government’s plan to tighten the way the European convention on human rights (ECHR) is interpreted in the UK to deal with small boats?
Badenoch said she would announce her policy on the ECHR soon.
But she did not believe Labour on the ECHR, she added.
I remember when Shabana Mahmood [home secretary] was signing letters saying we shouldn’t deport foreign criminals. She actually signed those letters. They voted against all of the measures which we were trying to bring in to bring down immigration … So I’m not really convinced that their heart is in this.
Q: [From the Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey] You say you are serious, and can be trusted on the economy. But we have not heard economic policies from you. And when you were in office, you were anti-business, putting up taxes for business. What will you do on tax?
Badenoch said, as business secretary, she knew what business wanted. There were '“many mistakes'” the party made in government. She was not chancellor, she said.
As an example of a new policy, she mentioned her net zero speech last week.
Q: [From the Sun’s Ryan Sabey] Nigel Farage recently said that it was 50/50 that you would be gone by Christmas? Is this the start of the fightback, or make or break for you?
Badenoch said that Farage could say what he liked. At the weekend in interviews he could not say how he would deliver his policies. He was not serious, she said.
Badenoch rules out getting rid of pension triple lock
Q: The cost of the pensions triple lock is going up. If Labour were to proposing getting rid of it, would you back them on that?
Badenoch replied:
No. The triple lock is Conservative policy, has been, and it continues to be.
She said her priority would be to cut spendinng on health and sickness benefits.
And she said, if the country were to achieve 3% growth, concerns about the cost of the triple lock would go away.
(This answer is firmer than Badenoch’s previous answers on the triple lock have been. In the past, while she has said support for the triple lock is current Conservative party policy, she has been reluctant to say that will still be the case at the time of the next election.)
Q: Do you still think you can cut welfare spending by £12bn?
Badenoch said that was a figure from the last election. She said it may be possible to find more savings. But she said she wanted to find “common ground” on this with Labour.
Q: [From Christopher Hope from GB News]At the PLP meeting last night Keir Starmer talked about the threat to Labour posed by Reform UK and the Greens. Are you worried you are becoming irrelevant?
Badenoch said that Starmer is facing a crisis. He is only focused on what the Labour party is thinking, she said. She said she was focusing on the issues affecting the country.
And she accused Reform UK of wanting higher welfare spending.
Badenoch says Tories willing to support Labour on legislation to cut welfare spending
Kemi Badenoch has just delivered a speech offering to help Labour with legislationg for welfare cuts. I will post key points soon.
She is now taking questions.
Q: You have offered to help Keir Starmer cut welfare spending, but you voted against the welfare bill earlier this year. Do you regret that?
No, says Badenoch. She claims that bill would increase welfare spending.
(This is not accurate. The changes to the bill announced at the last minute mean that it is unlikely to save much money over the course of this parliament. But the Tories were committed to voting against the bill before that U-turn, when it would have saved money.)
The Labour MP Paula Barker, who represents Liverpool Wavertree, is thinking of standing for deputy leader, the BBC’s Claire Hamilton reports.
Water companies could move to not-for-profit model, but not with government funding, minister tells MPs
Helena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter.
Water minister Emma Hardy has told the Commons environment committee that English water companies could transition to a co-operative or not-for-profit model, similar to Welsh Water. But she said no government money would be used for such a transition.
She said there is a provision in the government-commissioned Cunliffe Review, which was set up to decide how the failed water system can be reformed so water companies proper invest in infrastructure, and end the scandal of sewage dumping as well as water shortages caused by a failure to build reservoirs.
Asked if the sector could move from a for-profit model to a not-for-profit structure, she said:
We were really clear on nationalisation as we didn’t want to mislead people by putting something into a report that we weren’t going to adopt.
But there is a recommendation, number 46 – we are looking at all recommendations, but 46 looks at a case by case basis whether it would be appropriate for water companies to transition to an alternate ownership model if they wish to do so, or after special administration.
So one of the recommendations is to say, on a case by case basis, would it be appropriate for that water company to transition into another model? So that is there. I do want to be clear that wouldn’t involve state funding, it wouldn’t involve money from government as we won’t be involved in state money going into companies.
Andy Burnham says he's worried north-west lost influence in reshuffle, as he talks up Lucy Powell for deputy Labour leader
Lucy Powell, who was sacked as leader of the Commons on Friday, is going to stand to be Labour’s deputy leader, Kevin Schofield from Huffpost UK reports.
Powell, MP for Manchester Central, is close to Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, and in an interview on Sky News this morning he suggested he would like to see her in the contest, saying she has “a strong voice from the north” and “always had a good degree of independence about what she does”.
Burnham said it was important to have “independent voices in [the deputy leadership contest], and particularly from the north”.
He also said that he was concerned that the north-west of England was losing influence in the reshuffle. He said:
I’m a bit worried about the number of ministers from the north-west, particularly that left the government.
Other north-west Labour figures who left the government in the reshuffle include: Justin Madders (MP for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough, former business minister), Jim McMahon (MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton, former local government minister), Maria Eage (MP for Liverpool Garston, former Home Office minister) and Lord Khan of Burnley (former housing minister).
Updated
Starmer chairs first cabinet meeting since reshuffle
Keir Starmer is chairing the first cabinet meeting since last week’s reshuffle. Downing Street invited a pool photographer to take some pictures (Toby Melville) and, while politicians’ facial expressions aren’t always a reliable guide to what they think, Melville has filed some pictures that seem to reveal a great deal about the reshuffle drama.
Starmer is probably just relieved it has gone reasonably well. Darren Jones, the new chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and first secretary to the PM, has had a colossal promotion. And David Lammy has been promoted too, and is now deputy PM. Those two look pretty happy in this shot.
And Bridget Phillipson? Perhaps a bit nervous about how her bid for deputy Labour leader will go.
But Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is looking a bit glum. She was not directly affected by the reshuffle, but she will have read the articles at the weekend saying Jones is now lined up to replace her if her budget fails in the autumn. And Yvette Cooper, the new foreign secretary, does not seem very chuffed either. Normally minsters want to be foreign secretary, but Cooper will know that Starmer is the real foreign secretary and that she was moved from the Home Office because Starmer thought someone else could do the job better.
Jonathan Reynolds was moved from business secretary to chief whip. Generally that is seen as a demotion, and he does not seem to be smiling either.
Cooper was replaced at the Home Office by Shabana Mahmood. That was a significant elevation, and in this picture she seems positively gleeful about her new role.
Emily Thornberry says she is standing for deputy Labour leader, with Gaza and support for wealth tax key part of her campaign
Emily Thornberry, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, has confirmed that she is standing to be Labour’s deputy leader.
In a statement on social media, she says:
I’m running for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
We fought hard for a Labour government. But we’ve made mistakes and must listen.
Welfare. Gaza. Wealth tax. Changes to come on SEND.
I will be a voice for the membership, unions, PLP, and our constituents - not just nod along.
Thornberry was in Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet, as shadow attorney general, but was surprised after the election not to get a government job. Starmer chose Lord Hermer KC, an old friend and legal colleague, for attorney general instead.
Thornberry’s announcement means there are now three confirmed candidates, representing three strands of party opinion. They are:
Loyalist/pro-government: Bridget Phillipson
Soft left: Emily Thornberry
Left: Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Updated
Bell Ribeiro-Addy says she is standing for deputy Labour leader because party needs debate on 'what's gone wrong'
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, said this morning she was standing for deputy Labour leader because the party needed a discuss on “what’s gone wrong”.
In an interview with the Today programme, she rejected the suggestion that it would be bad for the party if the deputy leadership contest opened up a debate about government policy. She said:
We do have to accept that we have to have a discussion about what members don’t like and what voters don’t like, and what’s gone wrong.
It’s very important to note that a load of Labour members and voters are unhappy about the handling of the situation in Gaza, the winter fuel allowance, the welfare cuts.
All of these things are things that we should be discussing and the idea that we should not have a debate because it may seem critical of the party, I think, is wrong.
She also said that Labour would carrying on “haemorrhaging votes” to other parties if it did not change course.
The Labour party is a broad church and, actually, when we are able to have debates, when we are able to bring forward different views, it actually makes us better. It makes us more appealing to the electorate and, more importantly, it’s what the Labour membership wants to see.
One homogenous view is not going to get us anywhere. It hasn’t got us anywhere at the moment. We are currently haemorrhaging votes to the Lib Dems, to the Greens, and ultimately all we seem to want to do at the moment is chase down Reform. We cannot do that.
The reality is, if we keep going down this direction, we are not going to be able to attract or even to retain voters.
Ribeiro-Addy also claimed that Labour’s decision to give MPs just three days to get the nominations they need to be on the ballot was “unfair”. She is on the left of the party, and leftwingers have claimed this timetable is designed to keep them out of the contest.
Ribeiro-Addy said:
We only have three days to consider who it is that’s going to be put forward to the membership to be deputy leader of the party, and that is not in the strong tradition of Labour party democracy, and it’s that tradition that makes our party strong. It is absolutely unfair and I don’t think it’s what the membership want.
Ultimately, it’s their deputy leader. It’s about them and they should have the right to choose from a range of people.
Streeting suggests Labour needs deputy leader from outside London to 'broaden perspectives'
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, hasn’t just been on the Today programme this morning; he has been doing a media round, promoting the new NHS league tables for England, and in other interviews he has revealed more about why he is not committing to backing Bridget Phillipson for deputy leader at this point. (See 8.35am.)
In an interview with Times Radio, Streeting said he would “certainly prefer the next deputy leader to be a woman”.
Speaking to LBC, Streeting said that, although Phillipson would be a good choice, there were other “great” women candidates too.
[Phillipson] would definitely be a great deputy leader if she was chosen. There are other women in the race who I think would also be great deputy leaders. So I’m not endorsing anyone at this stage.
Streeting may have been thinking in particular of Alison McGovern, who is now housing minister and who is considering standing for deputy leader. Streeting and McGovern were involved with Progress (now called Progressive Britain), the “centrist” Labour group that kept Blairism in the party alive during the Corbyn years. McGovern was Progress chair.
In his interview with Times Radio, Streeting also had a mild dig at Emily Thornberry, who is actively canvassing support for a bid, saying that as a London MP he did not think she would be suitable. He said:
Without being disrespectful to some brilliant women in London who are standing, like Emily Thornberry [whom] I’ve got a lot of respect for, I can well understand why lots of my colleagues are saying we should have a deputy leader from outside London to broaden perspectives, broaden the base.
If Thornberry were to win the deputy leadership, Labour would have a leader, a deputy PM and a deputy leader who were all London MPs and lawyers.
Wes Streeting welcomes 'brilliant' Bridget Phillipson standing for deputy leader - but without confirming he will vote for her
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has welcomed Bridget Phillipson’s decison to stand for Labour deputy leader – but without confirming that he will actually vote for her.
In an interview on the Today programme, asked if he would be voting for Phillipson, Streeting replied:
I haven’t decided yet. I’m delighted Bridget Phillipson has thrown her hat into the ring. She is a brilliant education secretary. We come from very similar working class backgrounds, Bridget in the north-east of England, me in east London, and she has made a big contribution to the Labour party’s success getting elected into government, and she is part of the team that is now delivering change.
There are other candidates who I think also have that kind of background, that kind of campaigning record.
Like other Labour MPs, I’ll be listening intently as they set out their stores this week, and then deciding who I’ll cast my nomination for.
When it was put to him that Phillipson was clearly the leadership candidate, and that he would be expected to vote for her, Streeting disputed that, and said “we’re not afraid of debate”.
Asked to explain what the role of deputy leader meant, now that Keir Starmer has decoupled it from being deputy PM, Streeting replied:
Campaigner in chief is the job of the deputy leader, to ensure the electoral success of the Labour party at the ballot box, in order that we get permission to change communities, locally or the country in the case of general elections, or the Scottish and Welsh elections that are coming up.
That does mean helping Labour’s appeal. It does mean making sure that we are holding our coalition of voters together, and that is the fundamental job.
Bridget Phillipson becomes first minister to enter race to become deputy Labour leader
Good morning. Yesterday around a dozen Labour MPs were being named as potential candidates for the deputy leadership, but it is mathematically impossible for more than four of them to get the required number of nominations and quite possible that only two or three will manage it. And, with hustings scheduled for tomorrow, any serious candidates are going to have to declare today.
This morning Bridget Phillipson has announced that she is standing. As a woman, who is not from London (she is MP for Houghton and Sunderland South) and a loyalist (she is education secretary), she has all the qualities mentioned by Harriet Harman yesterday as ideal for the next deputy leader.
Here is the statement Phillipson has issued:
Today I am putting myself forward as a candidate for the deputy leadership of the Labour party, to unite our great party and deliver for working people.
I am a proud working-class woman from the north-east. I have come from a single parent family on a tough council street, all the way to the cabinet, determined to deliver better life chances for young people growing up in our country.
I’ve taken on powerful vested interests in the education sector – and even as they threw everything at me, I have never taken a backwards step. I will bring that same determination to every battle ahead of us.
Because make no mistake: we are in a fight. We all know the dangers Reform poses our country.
But not only am I ready for it: I’ve proven we can do it. I’ve shown we can beat Farage in the north-east, while staying true to the Labour party’s values of equality, fairness and social justice.
With me as deputy leader we will beat them right across the country and unite to deliver the opportunity that working people across this great country deserve.
The only other candidate to have formally declared so far is Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a leftwinger, who may struggle to get the 80 MPs nominations needed.
As a cabinet minister, Phillipson will be seen (fairly or not) as the leadership candidate. In the current climate, that is probably not an advantage in an election open to all Labour party members, but a lot will depend on who is on the final ballot. It is hard to imagine that Phillipson won’t get the 80 names. There is less clarity about who else might be there.
Phillipson has got an ideal platform today; she is speaking at the TUC conference in Brighton.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet.
10am: Tim Davie, director general of the BBC, gives evidence to the Commons culture committee.
11am: Kemi Badenoch gives a speech on welfare.
11.30am: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, takes questions in the Commons.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 12.30pm: MPs debate the Diego Garcia military base and British Indian Ocean Territory bill, that implements the treaty transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Afternoon: Phillipson speaks at the TUC conference in Brighton.
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