This Once Great Movement Of Ours

[CumbrianLefty]

Starmer referred to the Commons watchdog over the late declaration of some.....football matches.

This is even more of a nothingburger than Durham, but that hasn't stopped some making hay.

[Blair]

I see once again there is briefing about Keir Starmers anti briefing briefing after a bout of bad briefing against Keir Starmer.

[EastAnglianLefty]

I remember a time when the silly season was only supposed to be three weeks long, and happened because most senior journalists were on holiday. Nowadays that's the only time we tend to get substantive news coverage.

[CumbrianLefty]

I see once again there is briefing about Keir Starmers anti briefing briefing after a bout of bad briefing against Keir Starmer.

Though there is now also anti-Streeting briefing going on, it appears. Joy of joys.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

You can tell it's Summer because everyone in the Labour Party is briefing to the papers every fifteen seconds for no obvious reason. Somehow it's even more amusing when literally no one's attention is on the Party for the moment.

[Blair]

It’s too hot for this.

Even Burnham is back with his job audition.

[Blair]

Guardian reporting the party is preparing for a leadership vacancy in case Durham fine Keir.

In a move designed to trigger this board there’s someone stupid enough on the NEC who wants Harriet to do it. No doubt if she did she’d try to help Yvette again and end up giving the race to Burgon.

Chatter about Andy hangem and Burnham running- irrelevant really. It will be a quick and short contest and he would have to break his own pledge to serve a full term and would need a seat.

I subscribe to Al’s view the PLP would limit the race to two MPs- I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s a coronation with one getting deputy and the other getting leader. *

More seriously the NEC would pick the temporary leader (even if the deputy remains in post- a quirk from JC era put in to stop the Fat Controller running the shop if JC died)

John Healey was floated and would make sense- non factional, good in Parliament and not connected to any of the favourites. Anneliese Dodds has been floated in other places and would, as party chair, be the natural choice.


*if not the deputy race will be more interesting and will show a lot more in terms of the future- I’d expect Lou Haigh to run!

[Blair]

The much shorter version is that it could all be very messy and melodramatic.

[CumbrianLefty]

Just for a change, eh.

[Blair]

Just for a change, eh.

I see this applies today.

[Blair]

Olivia Blake has resigned as junior climate minister. Not an explicit anti-Starmer resignation but not gushing..

Significant in as much as she’s one of the few campaign group members left on the frontbench and is quite good. It was a red flag for the bad operation in early 2021 that individuals were quitting for no real policy reason (which often means ‘I hate the job, the party and would rather spend my time doing what I want’)

[Blair]

She also has a very marginal seat that could be slightly weird in the next GE…

[CumbrianLefty]

(which often means ‘I hate the job, the party and would rather spend my time doing what I want’)

As far as showing the party in a bad light is concerned, the recent stuff about Apsana Begum isn't a great indicator there is it. Especially given the sense many on the factional right of the party weren't bothered about it happening (if not actually cheering it on)

Not least that an internal party "source" from the party's right appears to have been feeding one notably credulous and factional lobby journalist pretty much wholly fictitious information about it.

(they couldn't even get the number of party branches in the CLP right!)

[Blair]

(which often means ‘I hate the job, the party and would rather spend my time doing what I want’)

As far as showing the party in a bad light is concerned, the recent stuff about Apsana Begum isn't a great indicator there is it. Especially given the sense many on the factional right of the party weren't bothered about it happening (if not actually cheering it on)

Not least that an internal party "source" from the party's right appears to have been feeding one notably credulous and factional lobby journalist pretty much wholly fictitious information about it.

(they couldn't even get the number of party branches in the CLP right!)

And largely seems to be people getting excited who don’t understand the new trigger ballot rules- I very much doubt many affiliates will vote to trigger her.

She’s also been quite a good MP but ofc these things are irrelevant in these viper nest CLPs.

[YL]

Olivia Blake has resigned as junior climate minister. Not an explicit anti-Starmer resignation but not gushing..

Significant in as much as she’s one of the few campaign group members left on the frontbench and is quite good. It was a red flag for the bad operation in early 2021 that individuals were quitting for no real policy reason (which often means ‘I hate the job, the party and would rather spend my time doing what I want’)

My MP.  She's tweeted pictures of herself on the RMT picket line today.

She also has a very marginal seat that could be slightly weird in the next GE…

It could be, but as long as Labour's strength among students holds up I think she's favoured.  The currently proposed boundary changes are minor but to the extent that they change anything they help Labour.

[Blair]

Durham apparently expecting to make a decision in the first full week of July.

I’m not sure if ‘police sources’ briefing this is a sign of anything or not.

[CumbrianLefty]

I think it was in response to speculation they would be going public yesterday.

[Blair]

I see there’s another row caused by a frontbencher going off script- a reminder that David Lammy is actually quite right wing!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

One of the most right-wing members of the PLP in fact, which people often fail to notice for a reason that does not reflect entirely well on them.

[Blair]

One of the most right-wing members of the PLP in fact, which people often fail to notice for a reason that does not reflect entirely well on them.

The comments about the BA strike were telling; this is a strike led by a union (GMB) affiliated to Labour & loyal to the leadership, against a company (BA) that has trashed its brand quite badly and where the strike is proposed in order to stop a pandemic related pay cut. My worry is that no-one in the senior levels even seems to know this!

They just see it as another strike & another 'summer ruined by strike action' consumer story.

It's very strange as Labour had a very strong line on fire & re-hire & P&O. They were proposing as well a set of trade union reforms that would be quite radical, yet it very much seems like no-one at senior levels in the party seems to know what they're doing on the economy.

This does come back to a central problem is that it's impossible for people to go 'The leadership think X, therefore I can say Y on this issue'. There is no guiding light, so people just freelance...

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

This does come back to a central problem is that it's impossible for people to go 'The leadership think X, therefore I can say Y on this issue'. There is no guiding light, so people just freelance...

And of course, Starmer was supposed to fix this after the Corbyn years.

There's a specific problem here too - Shadow Foreign Sec is basically a free-roving position most of the time, and it's been given to someone who has strongly-held views that may not necessarily align with the tack the party wants to take at any given moment, isn't shy about expressing them, and hasn't been given a party line. This was a bit of an issue with Nandy too, but not to the same extent. It doesn't reflect well on Starmer and his team either that they've put Lammy in such a post as opposed to one (Shadow Home) that would genuinely reflect his strengths. But I suppose it was vital to give clique fave Yvette Cooper yet another chance to accomplish nothing in particular.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Where there is an issue is that the leadership often seems to assume that people ought to be able to work out certain things for themselves, but of course that's not how things often work out in practice: politicians often need quite clear briefs even about what 'ought' to be inherently clear.

[Blair]

This does come back to a central problem is that it's impossible for people to go 'The leadership think X, therefore I can say Y on this issue'. There is no guiding light, so people just freelance...

And of course, Starmer was supposed to fix this after the Corbyn years.

There's a specific problem here too - Shadow Foreign Sec is basically a free-roving position most of the time, and it's been given to someone who has strongly-held views that may not necessarily align with the tack the party wants to take at any given moment, isn't shy about expressing them, and hasn't been given a party line. This was a bit of an issue with Nandy too, but not to the same extent. It doesn't reflect well on Starmer and his team either that they've put Lammy in such a post as opposed to one (Shadow Home) that would genuinely reflect his strengths. But I suppose it was vital to give clique fave Yvette Cooper yet another chance to accomplish nothing in particular.

Yeah looking at recent occupants it's generally be a prestige title given to someone in the party for internal reasons or to keep them away from other jobs- it was briefed Lammy was given it because of his 'close links' to the US democrats (which imo don't seem to go beyond appearing on Pod Save America) and because Starmer wanted him to organise a meeting with Biden in the White House.

The Labour frontbench is due another shake before the next election- although you reach a stage where you're shuffling the same old cards and the underlining problem doesn't change so what's the point?

[Blair]

https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/status/1541074162537594881

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

Louise Haigh my beloved