Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly refused to say if he is moving Labour away from the left to the centre of British politics, but insisted: “You can’t lose four elections and not change”.
On the eve of his first in-person Labour conference speech as party leader, Sir Keir said he was focussed on turning Labour “from a party that looks inward to a party that looks outward” and “from a party that looks backwards to a party that looks forward”.
The Labour leader told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the change to the party during this week’s conference in Brighton had been “profound”, following his efforts to alter Labour’s internal rulebook.
The first few days of Labour’s gathering in Brighton were dominated by a row over Sir Keir’s efforts to change the party’s rules on leadership elections, with him accused of attempting to freeze out the party’s left-wing from future contests.
Sir Keir denied he was pleased to see Mr McDonald – who had been among the last remaining supporters of his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, in the shadow cabinet – announce he was leaving Labour’s top team.
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But he said: “I don’t want to have a discussion about Andy McDonald, I want our party to be focussed on the country.
“The change this week has been profound for our party.”
And on his battle to change Labour’s rulebook, Sir Keir added: “A lot of people said to me ‘why are you doing this Keir? Are you going to get it over the line?’.
“I took a lot of criticism, but we stuck with it because it was a tough decision that had to be taken.
“You can’t lose four elections and not change, and we’ve changed.”
However, pressed on whether the Brighton gathering had shown how he was moving Labour away from Mr Corbyn’s leftist agenda, Sir Keir repeatedly refused to engage with the suggestion he was positioning his party closer to the centre of British politics.
“I want to move the party to a position where it focuses on what matters to working families,” he said.
“Let me tell you what that is, that is a decent education for every child, it is secure work, well-paid work near where people live, it is a health service that works for people where they need it and security.”
He added: “I’m moving it from a party that looks inward to a party that looks outward, I’m moving it from a party that looks backwards to a party that looks forward.”
As well as Mr McDonald’s resignation, Sir Keir and his allies have also been forced to field questions about Ms Rayner’s description of Conservatives as “scum” to Labour activists during a conference rally.
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Party conferences: What’s the point?
Asked if this hindered his efforts to win back former Labour voters who backed the Tories in recent elections, Sir Keir said: “I wouldn’t use language.
“Angela Rayner and I have different approaches and different styles.
“It’s not language I would have used. Angela and I talk everyday – of course we have huge agreements and disagreements.”
But he added both he and his deputy had “one central aim” to “get the Labour Party in a position to win an election, and then to win an election”.
Tom Tugendhat is not serving in Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet, it has been revealed – as the new Tory leader continued her appointments today.
Former Home Office minister Chris Philp has been awarded the job of shadow home secretary, the last of the key posts to be announced.
A Conservative source told Sky News Mr Tugendhat was offered a job and turned it down.
Unveiling a host of appointments today, Ms Badenoch, who was elected leader of the Conservative Party last weekend, confirmed that Ed Argar would be the shadow health secretary, while James Cartlidge will take on the role of shadow defence secretary.
Former business minister Kevin Hollinrake will shadow Angela Rayner on the housing brief, while Victoria Atkins will take on the role of shadow environment secretary.
Claire Coutinho, who was the energy secretary under Rishi Sunak, will continue in the opposition version of the role.
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Helen Whately has been appointed shadow work and pensions secretary and Andrew Griffith, the former economic secretary to the Treasury, is the new shadow business and trade secretary.
Ms Badenoch, who became Conservative leader on Saturday, started officially appointing her shadow cabinet on Sunday evening.
Former shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, who ran in the Tory leadership race and is considered more of a moderate than Ms Badenoch, was also made shadow chancellor.
The move has been interpreted as Ms Badenoch making an effort to unite the party following its bruising election defeat, which saw it reduced to just 121 seats.
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Badenoch: ‘It is time to renew’
Robert Jenrick, who lost out to Ms Badenoch in the Tory leadership race, is the new shadow justice secretary, while Laura Trott, who previously served as chief secretary to the Treasury, was appointed shadow education secretary.
Now the Conservatives are in opposition, the shadow cabinet’s role is to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government and offer alternative policies.
Other roles that have been confirmed today include Stuart Andrew as shadow culture secretary, Gareth Bacon as shadow transport secretary, Andrew Bowie as shadow Scotland secretary, Alex Burghart as shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Mims Davies as shadow Wales secretary and shadow minister for women.
Former transport minister Jesse Norman has been appointed as shadow leader of the Commons while Richard Fuller is the new shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and Alan Mak is the new shadow science secretary.
During the Conservative Party leadership race, Ms Badenoch suggested that all six MPs who ran against her for the top job – Mr Jenrick, Mr Tugendhat, Mr Stride, Ms Patel and James Cleverly – would be offered a job in her shadow cabinet.
Mr Cleverly, who came third in the leadership race, said on Friday he would not be joining Ms Badenoch’s top team.
It is understood Ms Badenoch will appoint the remainder of the team later in the week and on a rolling basis.
There will also be a rise in maximum maintenance loans to increase in line with inflation, giving an increase of £414 a year to help students with living costs.
However, the education secretary did not say if the rise would continue after that.
“We’re going to look at this and the maintenance support and the sector overall as part of the reform that we intend to set out in the months to come,” she said.
“So no decision, no decision has been taken on what happens beyond this.”
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She said the government will be looking at “what is required… to get our universities on a more sustainable footing… but also to deliver a better deal for students as a part of that”.
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University tuition fees to increase
The minister said she also “intends to look at” uprating the threshold at which students need to start paying tuition fees back in line with inflation.
Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said the tuition fee rise was “economically and morally wrong”.
She said: “Taking more money from debt-ridden students and handing it to overpaid underperforming vice-chancellors is ill conceived and won’t come close to addressing the sector’s core issues.”
The National Union of Students (NUS) said students were being asked to “foot the bill” to keep the lights and heating on in their universities and to prevent their courses from closing down amid the “crisis”.
Alex Stanley, vice president for higher education of the NUS, said: “This is, and can only ever be, a sticking plaster.
“Universities cannot continue to be funded by an ever-increasing burden of debt on students.”
Universities have been making up for fees being frozen since 2017/18 by taking in international students who pay more.
However, student visa numbers have fallen after the previous government made it more difficult for them to come to the UK recently, so universities can no longer rely on the fees.