Diane Abbott, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Faiza Shaheen — within a matter of hours, all had fallen victim to the Starmerite machine. Led by campaign chief Morgan McSweeney and candidate supremo Matt Faulding, Keir Starmer’s inner circle have shown themselves to be …
After the election, everything is unknown
Though I am old enough to have voted in general elections since 1983, I cannot recall any time when the result of an election seemed so uncertain. I do not, of course, mean that there is much doubt who is …
What Starmer can learn from George Smiley
For so long Labour had been preparing. “Everything has to be brilliant,” was the motto. There could be no mistakes, no risks, no complacency. The Tories could not be underestimated. And then the Prime Minister walked out of No. 10 …
What Starmer can learn from George Smiley
For so long Labour had been preparing. “Everything has to be brilliant,” was the motto. There could be no mistakes, no risks, no complacency. The Tories could not be underestimated. And then the Prime Minister walked out of No. 10 …
A Euros election is a gift to Starmer
As the Sixties entered its twilight period, Britain was more than ready for change. Beleaguered by inflation, stagnant industrial output and worsening trade-union relations, the Labour Party was on course for a major defeat. By the start of 1970, The …
Labour’s lead isn’t what it seems
Within minutes of an election being called yesterday, the question on every broadcaster’s lips wasn’t whether the Conservative Party would lose in July — but how damaging the margin will be.
Labour’s current lead has a very wide range among …
The McSweeney Project
Walk into Labour’s strangely anonymous new office block home down a side street in Southwark, and you can’t help but notice who sits where. Keir Starmer’s office is to the right, along with his closest aides: chief of staff, Sue …
Will Jamie Driscoll beat Labour in the North East?
It was a scene to bring back memories not just of the Jeremy Corbyn era, but the full-blooded Labour struggles of the Seventies and Eighties — a time when the unions terrified governments of both colours, and when the hard-Left …
Is this the end of Angela Rayner?
Why shouldn’t the Tories make the most of Angela Rayner’s personal housing crisis? When you’re short of electoral options, there’s nothing better than punching your opponent’s bruise. If the police investigation launched yesterday reveals anything, it will land Starmer with …
Fifty years on, who governs?
After months of speculation, the beleaguered Conservative prime minister summoned the cameras to Downing Street to make a special announcement. The economy was stagnating and his attempts to bring down inflation had been hammered by an energy crisis. Public sector …
Why even Julian Assange’s critics should defend him
Britain’s political class rightly responded to the mysterious death of Alexei Navalny with an assortment of horror, outrage and indignation. The Kremlin critic’s treatment was an “appalling human rights outrage”, foreign secretary Lord Cameron said. Putin has to be “held …
An election defeat could save the Tories
In 1981, Neil Kinnock was attacked in the toilets at the Labour Party Conference. His assailant was a supporter of Tony Benn, eager to strike a blow for the radical Left; but as so often in the history of that …
Keir Starmer and the triumph of the middle class
The Labour Party has a bad habit of losing elections, but its overall success can’t be doubted. Historically speaking, one of its functions has been to defuse working-class militancy by channelling it into parliamentary forms — and at this, Labour …
British Nimbys are unlikely populists
What do a mulberry tree, a newt and a railway station car park have in common? All of them have provided a reason, or maybe a pretext, to block the construction of new homes in Britain. In fairness, the mulberry …
Did Labour rig its selection votes?
Sir Keir Starmer may lack warmth and charisma, and he may come across as dull and serious. But at least, his supporters maintain, he has a reputation for integrity. After all, this is a man who was once the country’s …