UK Politics

A senior union leader has warned that Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of the railway strikes “may end” the Labour party.Starmer has infuriated many on the left of the party by ordering Labour frontbenchers to stay away from picket lines during the RMT dispute which brought much of the UK’s rail network to a halt for a second day today.The comment by Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef and co-chair with Starmer of the Tulo organisation which co-ordinates union support for Labour, reflects the depth of the rift within the movement over the leader’s stance.Mr Whelan was responding to comments from former Starmer aide Simon Fletcher, who told LBC radio that the Labour leader had got his approach to the strike “quite badly wrong” and “created a very bad feeling” in the party.The Aslef boss tweeted in response: “May end the party.”In an email to shadow ministers ahead of the first rail walkout on Tuesday, Sir Keir said: “We must show leadership and to that end, please be reminded that frontbenchers including [parliamentary private secretaries] should not be on picket lines.“Please speak to all the members of your team to remind them of this and confirm with me that you have done so.”His edict was widely taken as a warning that any frontbenchers seen on picket lines could be sacked or even lose the Labour whip.But at least four members of Starmer’s top team ignored the warning, while north of the border Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar joined a picket line.Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock last night said he would have voted for industrial action if he was an RMT member.“Yes, I would,” he told Sky News’ The Take with Sophy Ridge.“Because I think that there is the right to strike and it’s really important that workforces have that right to strike. We believe that rail workers, health workers, people working in every industry that has done so much as well to keep our economy going through the pandemic, have the right to strike and to fight for a better deal.”Starmer’s official spokesperson on Wednesday appeared to be backing away from suggestions of automatic dismissal, saying that chief whip Alan Campbell would speak to frontbenchers who had joined pickets after the three days of planned strikes are concluded. More

Polls opened Thursday in Britain for two special elections that could deliver a new blow to scandal-tainted Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson.Wakefield in northern England and the southwestern constituency of Tiverton and Honiton are both electing replacements for Conservative lawmakers who resigned in disgrace. One was convicted of sexual assault; the other was caught looking at pornography in the House of Commons chamber — an episode he explained by saying he was searching for pictures of tractors on his phone.Defeat in either district would be a setback for the prime minister’s party. Losing both would increase jitters among restive Conservatives who already worry the ebullient but erratic and divisive Johnson is no longer an electoral asset.“For the Conservatives to lose one by-election on Thursday might be regarded as unfortunate,” polling expert John Curtice of the University of Strathclyde wrote in the Independent newspaper. “However, to lose two might look like much more than carelessness – but a sign of a government that is at risk of losing its electoral footing.”Johnson was 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) away at a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda as voters went to the polls. The electoral tests come as Britain faces the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, with Russia’s war in Ukraine squeezing supplies of energy and food staples at a time of soaring consumer demand while the coronavirus pandemic recedes.Polls suggest the Tiverton race is neck-and-neck between the Conservatives and the centrist Liberal Democrats. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said residents were “fed up of Boris Johnson’s lies and neglect.”“Families are facing soaring petrol bills and food prices, and this government’s only answer is to hammer them with constant tax rises,” Davey said.Johnson won a big majority in a 2019 general election by keeping the Conservatives’ traditional voters — affluent, older and concentrated in southern England — and winning new ones in poorer, post-industrial northern towns where many residents felt overlooked by governments for decades,Thursday’s elections are a test on both fronts. Rural Tiverton and Honiton has voted Conservative for generations, while Wakefield is a northern district that the Tories won in 2019 from the left-of-center Labour Party.Opinion polls suggest Labour is likely to regain Wakefield, which would be a boost to a party that has been out of office nationally since 2010. Labour leader Keir Starmer said victory there “could be the birthplace of the next Labour government.”Even if the Conservatives lose both seats, Johnson retains a large majority in Parliament. But his crumbling authority among his own lawmakers would erode further. Allegations about his judgment and ethics have buffeted the prime minister for months, culminating in a scandal over parties held in government buildings during Britain’s coronavirus lockdowns. Johnson was one of 83 people fined by police for attending the parties, making him the first prime minister found to have broken the law while in office. A civil servant’s report on the “partygate” scandal said Johnson must bear responsibility for “failures of leadership and judgment” that created a culture of rule-breaking in government.He survived a no-confidence vote by his own party this month but was left weakened after 41% of Conservative lawmakers voted to remove him. Johnson could face another rebellion in the coming months.Polls in the two districts close at 10 p.m. (2100GMT), with results expected early Friday. More

Foreign secretary Liz Truss has accused Russia’s Vladimir Putin of “weaponising hunger” and using food security as a “callous tool of war” by blocking millions of tonnes of grain leaving Ukrainian ports.Highlighting the urgency of the crisis, the cabinet minister said action is needed before the new harvest next month, with commercial vessels given “safe passage, in order to prevent “devastating consequences”.Ms Truss also said the UK is offering its own “expertise” to Ukraine on ways to bypass Russian blockades of grain leave ports in the Black Sea, but warned: “It’s going to require an international effort.”Earlier this week, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said his country was engaged in “complex negotiations” to solve the grain crisis, accusing the Kremlin of creating “unjust level of food prices” on all continents.Speaking at a joint press conference — alongside Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara — Ms Truss said: “Putin is weaponising hunger.“He is using food security as a callous tool of war. He has blocked Ukrainian ports, and is stopping 20 million tonnes of grain being exported across the globe, holding the world to ransom”.She added: “I’m here in Turkey to discuss the plan to get the grain out, supported by the United Nations.“We’re clear that commercial vessels need to have safe passage to be able to leave Ukrainian ports, and that Ukrainian ports should be protected from Russian attacks.“We support the UN talks, but Russia cannot be allowed to delay and prevaricate. It’s urgent that action is taken within the next month ahead of the new harvest. And we’re determined to work with our allies to deliver this.”The foreign secretary also told the press conference if the situation is not resolved, it is “likely to lead to huge hunger across the globe”.“This grain crisis is urgent, that it needs to be solved in the next month, otherwise we can see devastating consequences,” she added.Her remarks come after Boris Johnson raised the issue earlier this week during a phone call with the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the need to “urgently end Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports”.A No 10 spokesperson said the crisis is hitting developing countries “particularly hard”, adding: “The prime minister welcomed Türkiye’s ongoing leadership on this issue and commitment to keep Black Sea trade routes open.”They added: “Looking ahead to next week’s NATO summit, the prime minister reiterated the UK’s support for Sweden and Finland’s accession to the alliance and agreed with president Erdoğan that all parties would continue to work together to find a path forward.” More

Six years on from the EU referendum, Brexit has left “enduring scars” on European nationals living in the UK, according to a new study.Two-thirds of UK-resident EU and EEA citizens taking part in the survey said Brexit had “significantly – and mostly negatively – affected their feelings about Britain”, said researchers from the University of Birmingham and Lancaster University.And many of the 364 people questioned said that Brexit had prompted them to reconsider their future in the UK and undermined their trust in British institutions and politicians.In comments which researchers said reflected the experience of numerous participants, one 64-year-old French-born naturalised British female respondent said: “I will for ever remember that Thursday in 2016 when I woke up and saw the result.“I cried. I had to go to work. I felt betrayed, unheard, uncared-for, left to wonder about my life in the UK and what had been the point.”Respondents expressed a strong sense of attachment to the EU triggered by the referendum and the Brexit negotiations that followed.One 55-year-old female with dual citizenship said she had only a “vague” understanding of the EU before the referendum, but added: ”I’ve learnt much more about the EU since 2016 and come to admire the project and its positive impact on EU citizens’ lives.”A 35-year-old Irish citizen told researchers: “I identify the EU as my homeland now, I identify as a EU citizen before I identify with any nationality.”Despite the majority of those questioned having settled status or British citizenship, legal status and right to residence remain primary concerns of the EU nationals questioned, affecting their thinking about future plans on whether to stay in the UK.Launching the report on the sixth anniversary of the Brexit deal, main author Professor Nando Sigona, from the University of Birmingham, said: “While the public narrative suggests that Brexit is done and dusted, for EU citizens Brexit is still an open scar.“Strong feelings of insecurity, unsettlement and sadness coexist with feelings of home and opportunity, with the latter prevailing in England, while more positive feelings are expressed by those living in Scotland and Wales.“Rebuilding trust is challenging when the ramifications of Brexit still have such profound consequences of the lives of EU citizens in Britain.”Questioning took place between December 2021 and January 2022, a year after the end of the Brexit transition period. More

Boris Johnson fails to deny he offered Carrie Symonds top jobBoris Johnson has insisted it would be “crazy” for him to resign as prime minister if the Tories are dealt a double-blow in this week’s by-elections, in Wakefield and in Tiverton and Honiton.Speaking to reporters travelling with him in Rwanda, Mr Johnson sought to defy those claiming his electoral stock may have been critically damaged by the Partygate saga, protesting that “it was only a year ago” that his party defied historical precedent to win Hartlepool by-election.“Governing parties generally do not win by-elections particularly not in mid-term,” he said. “You know, I’m very hopeful, but you know, there you go. That’s just the reality.”His comments came as former Brexit minister Lord Davist Frost claimed that we might never get evidence to show “one way or the other” if leaving the EU has been bad for the economy “as there was “so much else going on”.Lord Frost suggested one test of Brexit’s failure “would be if we are still debating this in five or six years’ time in the same way”.Show latest update

1655995256ICYMI: The Tories are at risk of losing more than both by-electionsFor the Conservative Party to lose one by-election would be unfortunate – to lose two would be a sign it is at risk of foregoing its electoral footing, writes Professor John Curtice.Read his full analysis here: Matt Mathers23 June 2022 15:401655994162Collapse in Tory support threatens ‘Conservative Celtic Fringe’ in South-West, poll findsA collapse in Conservative support across the South-West of England could see the party lose 11 seats in a general election – and come within a hair’s breadth of losing the constituency of Jacob Rees-Mogg.YouGov found that Tory vote share in the seats which they dubbed the “Conservative Celtic Fringe” has dropped a remarkable 19 points since the 2019 general election, leaving Boris Johnson’s party on 38 per cent in the region.Our politics editor Andrew Woodcock reports: Matt Mathers23 June 2022 15:221655993303Shocking to see genocide memorials in RwandaBoris Johnson found it “utterly shocking” to witness the images and physical memorials of the genocide in Rwanda as he was led around a museum by survivors.The prime minister bowed his head during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where the remains of an estimated 250,000 people are interred.Mr Johnson wrote a lengthy message in the visitors book before pausing at the flame of remembrance marking 28 years since the 100 days that saw Hutu extremists claim the lives of around 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus.”It has been utterly shocking to see these images, and so many physical memorials, of the appalling and inexplicable genocide against the Tutsis,” it read.”We must do everything we can to ensure that human hearts never again are allowed to breed such hatred.”Matt Mathers23 June 2022 15:081655991572Rail workers to ‘pause’ and ‘consider’ state of play next weekRail workers will “pause” and “consider” their position next week following three days of walkouts, a union boss has said.Mick Lynch, secretary general of the RMT, spoke to Sky News earlier.Watch some of his interview below: Matt Mathers23 June 2022 14:391655990463Momentum to keep list of Labour MPs who fail to back rail strike Left-wingers in the Labour Party are upping the ante on the party’s MPs to support this week’s rail strike, after Keir Starmer banned frontbenchers from picket lines.Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports: Matt Mathers23 June 2022 14:211655989556Johnson too busy to visit Rwanda asylum seeker accommodationBoris Johnson is too busy to visit some of the accommodation sites in Rwanda earmarked for hosting asylum seekers deported from the UK, Downing Street has suggested.Mr Johnson is in the African country for the first time since becoming prime minister.But a No 10 spokesman suggested it would not be a good use of the PM’s time to visit the hotels, which are being paid for by UK taxpayers. More

A Labour MP is taking time away from work after suffering from “a sustained campaign of misogynistic harassment and abuse”.Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse, posted a statement on Twitter on Wednesday night that said she attended hospital on June 12 and was subsequently signed off work by her GP.She said: “For the duration of my time as a Member of Parliament, I have been subjected to a sustained campaign of misogynistic abuse and harassment.“As a survivor of domestic abuse, it has been particularly painful and difficult. This abusive campaign has had a significant effect on my mental and physical health.Ms Begum, who was part of the 2019 intake of MPs, added that her staff and office will still be open to help people in her east London constituency while she is off sick.Her absence from work means that she will not be able to take any part in Labour’s trigger ballot process. This is when local party and affiliate branches decide if the sitting MP will contest the next general election or if there should be a new selection process.Ms Begum added: “I am very concerned by the wider circumstances surrounding the trigger ballot process. This has included complaints of alleged rule-breaking and alleged misogynistic intimidation.”She said it is important the Labour Party investigates these claims and warned that the intimidation she has faced “will be all too familiar to women, socialists, and those from ethnic backgrounds.”The east London MP was supported by a number of her Laboour colleagues. Ian Bryne MP wrote on Twitter: “The bravery shown by Apsana over the last 3 years of relentless attacks is remarkable but sickening it’s continuing. “I hope the party realise they have a duty of care and act to protect my friend and colleague.”And former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “Apsana is a strong good woman. Appalling treatment. My full support.”Ms Begum first spoke of being a victim of domestic violence after being cleared of fraud charges in July last year. More

A crucial by-election in the Conservative stronghold of Tiverton and Honiton is “neck and neck”, according to the Liberal Democrats, who are aiming for a major political upset in the Devon seat.As voters prepare to head to the polls on Thursday in two by-elections, Sir Ed Davey suggested his party “could be on the verge of a historic victory” in the southwest constituency – overturning a 24,000 Tory majority.The second ballot will be held in Wakefield – a “red wall” seat Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to seize back for Labour after it fell to the Tories at the 2019 election for the first time since the constituency was created in 1932.Conservative MPs told The Independent at the weekend a double by-election defeat on Thursday would be a “disaster” for the embattled Boris Johnson, who narrowly survived a vote of no confidence a fortnight ago.Writing in The Independent, polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice suggests that Labour “ought to have little difficulty” in winning the Wakefield by-election by achieving a swing of a little less than 4 per cent.Many Tory MPs are privately expecting a “big defeat” in the Yorkshire constituency after a poll by JL Partners earlier this month gave Labour’s candidate Simon Lightwood a 20-point lead over his Tory rival, Nadeem Ahmed.Sir John said a 20-point lead – representing a swing of around 14 per cent – is “probably the kind of result that the party needs to achieve if it is to suggest that it might be capable of posing a bigger threat to the Conservatives than it did at the last three general elections”.In Tiverton and Honiton, however, the polling expert warned success for the Liberal Democrats “is by no means guaranteed”, and that the collapse of Labour support in the constituency “could well be crucial to the outcome”.He added: “The party is still no stronger in the national polls than it was at the last general election – so it is wholly reliant on the momentum that it can generate locally. Success will depend not only its ability to garner the support of dissatisfied Conservatives but also the tactical support of those who would otherwise vote Labour.” More