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Sir Keir Starmer’s watered-down proposals for changing Labour’s rulebook will be put to the party’s conference in Brighton following a bruising internal row.

The Labour leader has been forced into retreat, amid opposition from trade unions and the party’s left wing, in his bid to alter the rules on how his future successors are elected.

Sir Keir abandoned an effort to scrap the “one member, one vote” system that saw Jeremy Corbyn twice elected to the Labour leadership.

But he has managed to put a revised shake-up of Labour’s rules to a vote at the Brighton conference, with a vote expected on Sunday.

Critics have accused Sir Keir of an attempt to shut out Labour’s membership and its left wing from future leadership elections, with allies of Mr Corbyn urging conference attendees to reject even the leader’s watered-down plans.

But Sir Keir said, if approved, his plans would put Labour “in a better position to win the next general election”.

The row threatens to continue to overshadow the beginning of Labour’s gathering in Brighton.

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Sir Keir’s first in-person conference as party leader has been billed as hugely important to his hopes of shaking off critics and offering evidence that he can lead them to victory at the next general election.

A focus has also once again been thrust on Sir Keir’s relationship with his deputy, Angela Rayner, after she used an eve of conference newspaper interview to confirm she would be willing to stand as a leadership candidate in the future.

But there were signs that Sir Keir should be confident of asserting his authority at the Brighton conference by having his rules shake-up approved on Sunday.

Labour’s general secretary David Evans challenged his critics by calling a vote on his own position on Saturday, which he subsequently won by 59.05% to 40.95% to suggest Sir Keir and his allies maintain the majority support of delegates in Brighton.

This was despite Mr Evans facing heckles of “Oh Jeremy Corbyn!” as he asked members why they joined the party in his conference address.

Away from the internal party tensions at Brighton, Sir Keir and Labour shadow ministers will seek to use Sunday to focus on education and climate policies.

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In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, Sir Keir reiterated Labour’s pledge – which was also made in the party’s 2019 election manifesto – to end the charitable tax status of private schools in England.

It is calculated this could raise as much as £1.7bn in extra VAT and business rates revenues, which Labour would intend to use to boost funding for state school pupils.

“Labour wants every parent to be able to send their child to a great state school,” Sir Keir said.

“But improving them to benefit everyone costs money. That’s why we can’t justify continued charitable status for private schools.”

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner at the Labour Party conference in Brighton. Picture date: Saturday September 25, 2021.
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Sir Keir’s deputy, Angela Rayner, has confirmed her willingness to stand in a future leadership election

Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow business secretary Ed Miliband will use a conference speech on Sunday to announce that Labour would invest up to £3bn over the coming decade to make the steel industry greener.

Calling on Labour to become the “party of climate and economic justice”, Mr Miliband is expected to say: “As we respond to the climate crisis with all the transformation that entails, we have a fateful choice to make: We can try and put a green coat of paint on an unfair, unequal, unjust Britain.

“Or we can make a different choice. For a green Britain where there is an irreversible shift of income, power and wealth to working people.”

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MP Zarah Sultana who was ousted from Labour announces she is starting new political party with Jeremy Corbyn

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MP Zarah Sultana who was ousted from Labour announces she is starting new political party with Jeremy Corbyn

An MP who was ousted from the Labour Party has announced she is setting up a new political party with Jeremy Corbyn.

Independent MP Zarah Sultana said she and the former Labour leader will co-lead the new party, which she did not provide a name for.

She said other independent MPs, campaigners and activists from across the country will join them, but did not name anyone.

Politics latest: Zarah Sultana’s stinging resignation letter

Ms Sultana also said she was “resigning” from the Labour Party after 14 years.

She was suspended as a Labour MP shortly after they came to power last summer for voting against the government maintaining the two-child benefit cap.

Several others from the left of the party, including Mr Corbyn, were also suspended for voting against the government, and also remained as independent MPs.

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However, Ms Sultana was still a member of the Labour Party – until now.

Zarah Sultana

Mr Corbyn has previously said the independent MPs who were suspended from Labour would “come together” to provide an “alternative.

The other four are: Iqbal Mohamed, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan and Adnan Hussain.

Mr Corbyn and the other four independents have not said if they are part of the new party Ms Sultana announced.

In her announcement, Ms Sultana said she would vote to abolish the two-child benefit cap again and also voted against scrapping the winter fuel payment for most pensioners.

Ms Sultana also voted against the government’s welfare bill this week, which was heavily watered down as Sir Keir Starmer tried to prevent a major rebellion from his own MPs.

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Protesters block Israeli arms manufacturer in Bristol

On Wednesday, Ms Sultana spoke passionately against Palestine Action being proscribed as a terror organisation – but MPs eventually voted for it to be.

She said to proscribe it is “a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity and suppress the truth”.

Ms Sultana said they were founding the new party because “Westminster is broken but the real crisis is deeper – just 50 families now own more wealth than half the UK population”.

She called Reform leader Nigel Farage “a billionaire-backed grifter” leading the polls “because Labour has completely failed to improve people’s lives.

Reform leader Nigel Farage attending day three of Royal Ascot.
Pic: PA
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Ms Sultana called Nigel Farage a ‘billionaire-backed grifter’. Pic: PA

The MP, who has spoken passionately about Gaza, added: “Across the political establishment, from Farage to Starmer, they smear people of conscience trying to stop a genocide in Gaza as terrorists.

“But the truth is clear: this government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.

“We are not going to take this anymore.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “In just 12 months, this Labour government has boosted wages, delivered an extra four million NHS appointments, opened 750 free breakfast clubs, secured three trade deals and four interest rate cuts lowering mortgage payments for millions.

“Only Labour can deliver the change needed to renew Britain.”

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Tornado Cash co-founder keeps testimony plans unclear ahead of trial

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Tornado Cash co-founder keeps testimony plans unclear ahead of trial

Tornado Cash co-founder keeps testimony plans unclear ahead of trial

Roman Storm is scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom for his criminal trial on July 14, facing money laundering and conspiracy charges.

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US Senator Cynthia Lummis drafts standalone crypto tax bill

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US Senator Cynthia Lummis drafts standalone crypto tax bill

US Senator Cynthia Lummis drafts standalone crypto tax bill

The Wyoming Senator seeks to end double taxation and add clarity to the tax treatment of crypto staking, mining, and lending transactions.

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