Labour Left seek to undermine Starmer as shadow minister quits
SIR KEIR STARMER’S leadership of the Labour Party suffered a blow last night after one of his main team resigned during the party conference, in what appeared to be a concerted attempt by the hard Left to undermine him.
Andy Mcdonald, the shadow employment secretary, said his position had become “untenable” after the Labour leader had asked him to oppose an increase of the minimum wage to £15.
Mr Mcdonald was one of the few remaining Corbynite members of the shadow cabinet, and is said to have become angry with the leadership over proposed rule changes that would have made it more difficult for the party to elect a Left-wing leader.
In a resignation letter last night, he said Sir Keir’s office had asked him to attend a meeting with two unions, Aslef and Unite, to oppose their call for the increase. “This is something I could not do,” Mr Mcdonald wrote. He said that although he had been promised Sir Keir would “maintain our commitment to socialist policies”, he had concluded that “the movement is more divided than ever” and that pledges made to the membership “are not being honoured”.
Greeted by a standing ovation at a fringe event last night, Mr Mcdonald said the day had been “torrid” and involved a “very difficult” decision.
News of his decision was circulated by allies of John Mcdonnell, the former shadow chancellor, shortly after 5pm.
Within minutes, broadcast journalists had been invited to conduct interviews with Mr Mcdonald.
Meanwhile, an article written by Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader, was published online, in which he accused the Labour leadership of wanting to “prop up” the wealthy and powerful. Mr Mcdonald is speaking at a conference event with Mr Corbyn today.
Allies of Sir Keir said the move had been deliberately planned to sabotage the conference, after the leader won big votes to reform the party’s rules and welcomed Dame Louise Ellman, the Jewish former MP, back into the party.
Rebecca Long-bailey, the former Labour frontbencher, told a rally organised by Tribune magazine that she was “speechless” over Mr Mcdonald’s resignation. Sir Keir thanked Mr Mcdonald for his service.
LABOUR will today vow to return bobbies to the beat and hire more special constables in an attempt to crack down on the “epidemic” of antisocial behaviour sweeping the country.
Sir Keir Starmer is determined to make tackling crime a central pillar of his offering to the electorate at the next election, having identified it as a potential weak spot for the Tory Government.
The opposition has reprised the New Labour mantra crafted by Tony Blair, pledging to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime”. The strategy involves addressing poverty and inequality as upstream causes of crime.
Nick Thomas-symonds, the shadow home secretary, will today set out Labour’s plan to “bring back neighbourhood policing”, as he accuses the Conservatives of being “soft” on antisocial behaviour. Labour last night highlighted that since 2010 the Tories have slashed the police budget by £1.6billion, while the number of police officers has plunged by 8,400 and the number of special constables has fallen by 6,300.
Labour would reverse the last trend with a major recruitment drive, Mr Thomas-symonds will say.
He will also promise to increase visible policing with “eyes, ears and boots on the ground”, including by rolling out “police hubs” across the nation. All of these would boast a “neighbourhood prevention team” to tackle crimes and antisocial behaviour in the community more quickly. The police hubs would be based at visible and accessible points in each local area. Prevention teams attached to the hubs would seek to bring together police, community support officers, youth workers and council staff to combat antisocial behaviour.
Mr Thomas-symonds will propose a tougher approach on closing down drug dens, relying in part on information gleaned from upgraded neighbourhood watch schemes.
The Opposition said last night that the number of people who say they never see a police officer on foot has doubled, arguing that this has contributed to a rise in antisocial behaviour.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Thomas-symonds said that should Labour enter government they would “not be going back to freedom of movement” and that deportation flights of illegal migrants would continue. He said that “someone who, having gone through the process who doesn’t have a valid claim, should be removed”.
The Tories also vowed to curb crime, pledging in their 2019 manifesto to hire 20,000 more police officers and introduce tougher sentences for offenders.