Labour party

Labour MPs advised on personal safety after pro-Corbyn demo

The demonstration in support of Jeremy Corbyn is starting to dissipate, but Labour MPs have this evening been contacted by their whips to advise them on their personal safety as they leave Parliament after the late votes. They have been advised on what entrances are being kept open for their safety, and told that anyone who is worried should contact the Serjeant at Arms. Labourites are particularly annoyed that their party’s whips have had to send this message to them given they confronted Jeremy Corbyn at the parliamentary Labour party meeting this evening over the behaviour of the grassroots group Momentum. Ian Murray received a big cheer for telling him to ‘call

Isabel Hardman

Team Corbyn defiant after parliamentary party turns on him

Journalists aren’t allowed inside the meetings of the Parliamentary Labour Party. But this evening they got a glimpse of just how high tensions had been running when Jeremy Corbyn faced his MPs when the press briefing from the Labour leader’s spokespeople descended into a loud stand-off in the corridor between them and one of his most vocal opponents, John Woodcock, who took issue with the official account of the meeting that was being offered, accusing the aides of a ‘highly distorted account’. Other MPs leaving the meeting said it was ‘heartbreaking’, and ‘awful, just awful’. They could be heard applauding criticisms of the Labour leader during the meeting. Senior figures

Rod Liddle

How much longer can David Lammy hold on?

It’s all looking very grim for Lammy. My petition to have him removed as MP for Tottenham has now soared past the 3,000 mark. He surely cannot hang on much longer. Another 2,000 signatories and we will have proved, beyond all doubt, that he is not fit to sit as an MP, because he does not understand democracy. Either that or he – and all those other caterwauling and whining ponces (as Julie Burchill wonderfully put it) – on the Remain side will understand that a petition is basically the charter of an idiot and has no force.

Isabel Hardman

Labour makes a mess of holding the Government to account as Parliament returns

Even when Britain has just voted to leave the European Union, Commons business must go on. And so this afternoon the first item on the agenda in the Chamber was not the statement from the Prime Minister on Brexit and his own resignation, but Defence questions.   This should have been awkward for the Government, which is in chaos at the moment. But instead it was awkward for Labour, whose newly-appointed Shadow Defence Secretary Clive Lewis was unable to get back to Westminster from the Glastonbury Festival in time. Despite kind offers to help from supportive friends of Jeremy Corbyn, Emily Thornberry stepped into the breach instead, telling the Chamber that

Katy Balls

Alan Johnson throws Corbyn under the bus over Remain campaign

As the pressure piles in from Labour MPs on Jeremy Corbyn to stand down in the wake of the referendum result, Alan Johnson has added his voice to the cause. Johnson — who worked as the Chair of Labour In for Britain — has sent an email to Labour staff in which he criticises Corbyn’s leadership in the campaign. Johnson starts by praising several key Remain figures such as Brian Duggan, the head of the campaign. He then goes on to point some of the blame at Corbyn and his team — writing that at times it felt as though the Leader’s office were ‘working against the rest of the Party and had conflicting objectives’:

Katy Balls

Jeremy Corbyn begins Shadow Cabinet reshuffle – Emily Thornberry for Shadow Foreign Secretary

After losing 12 members of his Shadow Cabinet on Sunday and with a vote of no confidence looming, there was speculation that Jeremy Corbyn would have a hard time filling the vacancies. However, this morning Labour have announced his new Shadow Cabinet recruits. The list of ten new appointments is comprised of many known Corbyn loyalists, as well as a round of new MPs who came through in the 2015 General Election: Emily Thornberry has been promoted to Shadow Foreign Secretary, while Diane Abbott has been given the role of Shadow Health Secretary. Pat Glass’s EU gaffe (in which she called a voter a ‘horrible racist‘) seems to have done her

Isabel Hardman

Jexit: running tally of Labour frontbench resignations

Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he is staying put, despite a vote of no confidence from Labour MPs passing by a big majority. Frontbenchers have now been resigning one after since Sunday 26th June to show that they want Corbyn out. And moments after the party leader issued a statement to say he was staying put, the latest round of resignations were announced. Here’s our full tally of who has stepped down from the shadow cabinet: Monday 4th July: Fabian Hamilton, the shadow Europe minister has stepped down from the Labour frontbench. Thursday 30th June: 3.30pm Rob Marris quits during a bill committee. The shadow Treasury secretary said he wanted to raise a point

Jeremy Corbyn vows to fight on after day of resignations

Jeremy Corbyn’s enemies in the Labour party had hoped that the leader would do the ‘decent thing’ and stand down after the day-long programme of frontbench resignations had made it clear that he will not be able to run an effective opposition. But this evening he has made it clear that he doesn’t agree with this assessment of the state of his frontbench, releasing a statement that says he will carry out a reshuffle tomorrow, and fight on. You can read the full statement below. What it means is that the coup against the Labour leader will have to be brutal and will likely involve a motion of no confidence

Steerpike

What Labour coup? Tom Watson parties the night away at Glastonbury

As Jeremy Corbyn tries to hold off the threat of a coup from members of his shadow cabinet, it’s probably for the best that he pulled out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury today. However, not everyone in Labour’s top command appears to have received the memo about putting the party’s woes above the annual music festival. Step forward Tom Watson. Labour’s deputy leader had no qualms about living it up at Worthy Farm last night. In fact, Labour’s worries over Europe appeared to be far from Watson’s mind as he used snapchat to document his crazy night on the — muddy — tiles: Tom Watson's final Glastonbury snapchat…. He must be on a

Watch: Jeremy Corbyn heckled over Europe at London Pride – ‘it’s your fault!’

It’s not turning out to be a great weekend for Jeremy Corbyn. First he had to pull out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury on Sunday to focus on Brexit, now his visit to London Pride has, too, been ruined by the referendum result. On meeting with members of Labour’s LGBT community at Pride, Corbyn was repeatedly heckled over Remain losing the EU referendum. In a video shared on Twitter, Labour members repeatedly shout at the party leader: ‘It’s your fault Jeremy! It’s your fault! When are you resigning? I had a Polish friend in tears because you couldn’t get out the vote in Wales, the North and the Midlands.’ I get so

Isabel Hardman

Will Jeremy Corbyn step down as Labour leader?

Jeremy Corbyn is giving a speech this morning about Labour’s response to the EU referendum. Rumours have been sweeping the party overnight that the Labour leader will use the event to step down and hand over the reins to John McDonnell, who has been on manoeuvres for months. But aides deny that this will happen today. Nevertheless, there must be recognition in the Corbyn team that the situation is pretty precarious. The lengthy Shadow Cabinet meeting yesterday wasn’t as furious as some other parts of the parliamentary Labour party might have hoped, but some members are discussing resigning en masse to trigger a change at the top of the party.

Labour MPs table no confidence motion in Jeremy Corbyn

In the past few minutes, two Labour MPs – Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey – have submitted a motion of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn. This is not a surprise given how angry the parliamentary party was after last night’s referendum results in its heartlands, but it now depends on whether their parliamentary colleagues have enough confidence to speak in its favour at a discussion at the parliamentary Labour party meeting on Monday, and then to back it in a secret ballot of the parliamentary party the following day. It is not yet clear whether the rebels, who have been preparing for this for a while, yet have the numbers.

Isabel Hardman

Leaked: Labour’s script responding to its terrible referendum result

As Katy reported earlier, Labour has prepared a script that attempts to exonerate Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s terrible night in its heartlands in this referendum. I have now been leaked that script, which MPs are expected to use from 6am, and it makes rather entertaining reading. The best line is the following: ‘Jeremy Corbyn has showed that he is far closer to the centre of gravity of the British public than other politicians. He is now the only politician who can unite a divided country, as he can speak to both sides.’ It also says that ‘Jeremy is uniquely placed as a critical remainer. He understands why people voted

A new home for Old Labour

On the eve of last year’s general election result, many pundits predicted the demise of Britain’s two-party system. The likeliest outcome was another hung parliament in which one of the smaller parties — the Lib Dems or the SNP — held the balance of power. These same pundits pointed to the steady decline in membership of the two main parties, as well as the success of insurgent parties in the European and regional elections, as evidence of this sea change. In the event, the pundits were ridiculed for getting it wrong. Yet is it possible they were just a year too early? The surprise Brexit win in yesterday’s EU referendum looks like it

Jeremy Corbyn refuses to take the blame for a Brexit in lacklustre Sky debate

After finding himself accused of putting forward a half-hearted case for Remain, tonight Jeremy Corbyn had the chance to prove the naysayers wrong in his first — and final — live television debate of the referendum. Yet instead of making a passionate plea for In, Corbyn used the Sky News debate to raise some of his own reservations with the EU. While Corbyn admitted that he is not a ‘lover of the European Union’, he argued that it is better to stay and fight from within than to leave and be left with greater economic problems. However, it’s his answers dwelling on the EU’s flaws which are most likely to be remembered. While fielding questions from a studio audience of young voters, Corbyn was asked how he

Tom Goodenough

‘Our Jo’: MPs unite in grief to pay tribute to Jo Cox in Parliament

MPs from all parties have gathered in the Commons to pay tribute to murdered Labour MP Jo Cox. Parliament was recalled today following the terrible events last Thursday. The Speaker John Bercow opened the moving session by saying politicians were gathered in ‘heartbreaking sadness’. He went on to say: ‘An attack like this strikes not only at an individual, but at our freedom. That is why we assemble here, both to honour Jo and to redouble our dedication to democracy.’ Jeremy Corbyn then delivered his tribute to Jo Cox: David Cameron followed Corbyn in paying tribute to Jo Cox. The Prime Minister said it was important at this time to

Tories pledge not to contest by-election after Jo Cox killing

There are few moments in politics when parties put aside their differences to come together. Yesterday’s tragic events in Birstall has brought about one such occasion. After the terrible killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, the Conservatives have said they will not be contesting the by-election held in Batley and Spen. In a statement, the Conservative party said: ‘Following the tragic killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, the Conservative Party has decided not to contest the forthcoming by-election as a mark of respect to a much-loved and respected politician’ The Prime Minister, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow have also appear

Tom Goodenough

‘Our Jo’: Newspaper front pages pay tribute to tragic Labour MP Jo Cox

Unsurprisingly, the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox dominates the front pages this morning. The 41-year-old MP for Birstall died yesterday after being shot and stabbed in the street whilst out serving her constituents. Politicians from all parties have paid tribute to the mum-of-two since the dreadful attack. And today’s newspapers are also united in expressing the widespread shock and horror felt at the killing. The Yorkshire Evening Post led with Jo Cox’s husband Brendan’s emotional tribute to his wife. In his statement, issued shortly after the tragic death was confirmed yesterday, Mr Cox pays tribute to his wife and says she would want only that her ‘precious children are

The Spectator’s Notes | 16 June 2016

The Remain campaign takes as its model the ‘No’ one in the 2014 Scottish referendum. First and last — hence the Osborne/Darling fantasy horror Budget on Wednesday — inspire fear. Second, late in the day, leave it all to Labour and get Gordon Brown to make a passionate speech (Mr Brown took this too literally and made almost exactly the same passionate speech). Finally, shortly before polling, get leaders of all stripes to make a solemn ‘vow’ to win over the doubters. I am trying to work out what that vow could be. All 27 other member states promising some guarantee of Britain’s independence within the EU? This device has