Sir Keir Starmer needs to win big at the local elections to keep up Labour’s momentum
Politicians are often criticised for empty rhetoric, but Sir Keir Starmer was right when he told activists in Swindon on Thursday, “these [local] elections matter”.
That’s because the May poll will be both the first big ballot box test for Rishi Sunak, and will give a sense of whether the momentum Sir Keir is showing in national polling translates into actual votes.
Politics live: Starmer brands Sunak ‘Mr 1%’ at local election launch
There’s a lot at stake for both sides. As Sir Keir Starmer says on a walkabout in Swindon: “I’m measuring this on the road to the next general election and I want to see the Labour Party making real progress.”
And it is a key staging post for Starmer’s Labour: the party will need to show it is the main beneficiary of lost Tory votes and that means big wins.
If the Conservatives lose 500 of the more than 3,300 seats they are defending across England to Labour, it would be the first time in over two decades that the Tories were not the biggest local party in England – a huge symbolic blow.
But Labour needs to do a lot more than that to prove they are on course for a general election victory.
A net gain of 700 seats would mean Starmer’s Labour is still underperforming in current polling. That sort of win would equate to a national equivalent vote share of around 37%.
To put that into context, in the 1995 locals ahead of the 1997 Labour landslide, Tony Blair achieved 47%.
Arguably, a net gain of more than a thousand seats in these elections would be significant for Labour – a big success.
Sir Keir refuses to put a number on what success would look like, but does say he “wants to get as many of those 1,000 seats as [he] can”, adding: “These local elections are very, very important to us.”
And part of that pathway for Sir Keir is trying to prove to the public that Labour has changed under his leadership.
‘I’m prepared to be ruthless’
His clearest signal of this, beyond the patriotic speeches in front of Union Jacks, was Labour’s decision last week to bar Jeremy Corbyn standing as an MP in the next general election.
Three years ago, Sir Keir described Mr Corbyn as a “friend” – now he’s expelled him as an MP.
“I’m prepared to be ruthless to ensure we have a Labour government,” he tells me, unapologetic over a decision which Mr Corbyn has described as a “shameful attack on democracy”.
“There’s one person that’s responsible for the fact that Jeremy Corbyn will not be a candidate at the next general election and that’s Jeremy Corbyn,” said Sir Keir.
“I have been ruthless in the change in the Labour Party. I do not apologise for that because what matters most to me is that the change that millions of people desperately need across our country comes about.”
But like voters I’ve spoken to in the past few weeks in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, Pendle in Lancashire and now Swindon, the jury is still out on Sir Keir, with voters unsure about what he stands for.
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Sky News asked Jeremy Corbyn whether he’s thinking of standing as an independent MP
Labour may be way out ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, propelled by the own goals of the Johnson and Truss administrations, but what the party lacks is something crucial which Tony Blair had – a sense of excitement and a leader with huge personal appeal.
When I put that to Sir Keir, his only answer is that elections like these give him the opportunity to get around the country to make the case.
That Sir Keir hasn’t nailed it with voters is one of the Conservatives’ biggest hopes in turning around their fortunes in a general election.
If voters are unsure about the Labour leader, and his rival Mr Sunak can show competence and economic improvement as the country goes to the polls in a general election, might they stick with Sunak?
If that’s the Conservative hope, the reality for May’s local elections is that Labour will give the government a bloody nose.
Back at base in Downing Street there are expectations that the results will hurt.
“It’s not going to be good,” one senior figure told Sky News.
‘Big win needed’
There is some consolation that the King’s coronation on 6 May will mean the painful post-election coverage will at least be short-lived.
But even if attention quickly shifts away from the results, these local elections will set the tenor for a political year that already feels like the beginning of the long campaign to what could prove a seismic general election for the country should power pass from the Conservatives to Labour.
Labour wins in Swindon, in parts of the Tees Valley, such as Middlesbrough or in Hartlepool, will be important, as will progress in the Midlands – Dudley, Walsall – and North East Derbyshire, where councils and constituencies have been surrendered to the Tories in recent years.
Will 2024 turn out to be Labour’s 1997 of 1992, the landslide or the narrow defeat?
To keep momentum for the former, Sir Keir needs to win big in May.
One of the alleged gunmen in the killing of 15 people on Bondi Beach has been charged.
Naveed Akram, 24, faces 59 counts, including 15 of murder and a terror charge.
The other alleged attacker, his 50-year-old father Sajid, died at the scene in Sydney.
The charges came as people gathered for funerals three days after Sunday’s terror attack shocked Australia and intensified concerns about rising antisemitism.
Some 22 victims remain in hospital following the shooting, carried out at an event marking the start of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.
People look at flowers laid out for the victims. Pic: Reuters
At the first of the funerals, relatives mourned the death of British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a 41-year-old father of five, who organised the Chanukah by the Sea event.
Often speaking through tears, his father-in-law, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, expressed his “biggest regret” that he “could have done more” to tell him “how much we love him”.
“I hope he knew that. I’m sure he knew it,” he added. “But I think it should’ve been said more often.”
Relatives of Rabbi Eli Schlanger next to his coffin during his funeral. Pic: Reuters
The father of 10-year-old victim Matilda, whose surname has been withheld at her family’s request, spoke at a vigil on Tuesday night.
Local media reported him as saying: “We came here from Ukraine… and I thought that Matilda is the most Australian name that can ever exist.
“So just remember the name, remember her.”
A photo of Matilda. Pic: Reuters
Read more: Who were the suspected gunmen?
Police have said the two alleged gunmen – who were shot by officers – were motivated by Islamic State ideology.
A recent trip to the Philippines is under investigation. The older Akram used an Indian passport to travel, while his son used an Australian one.
The Akrams stayed at the GV Hotel in Davao from 1 November to 28 November, according to a source, who said police had visited on Wednesday.
The pair are said to have only left their rooms for meals and no one was seen visiting them.
Davao is in an area associated with Islamic extremism but a spokesman for the president of the Philippines said he rejected the claim the country is an “ISIS training hotspot”.
New South Wales to debate gun reforms
The Australian government and intelligence services have come under pressure because the alleged attackers were legally able to acquire the high-powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to toughen the country’s gun laws after its deadliest mass shooting in three decades, and the state parliament in New South Wales will reconvene next week to discuss reforms.
They include capping the number of guns allowed by a single person and making some shotguns harder to access.
State premier Chris Minns told a news conference: “We’ve got a monumental task in front of us. It’s huge.
“It’s a huge responsibility to pull the community together.
“We need a summer of calm and togetherness, not division.”
Mr Albanese has vowed to work with the Jewish community to “stamp out and eradicate antisemitism”. The prime minister has been accused of not doing enough to prevent its spread since the war in Gaza began two years ago.
Fellow world leaders have expressed their shock and anguish since the attack, including British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who hosted a Hanukkah event at Downing Street on Tuesday.
And speaking at the White House last night, US President Donald Trump said: “We join in mourning all of those who were killed, and we’re praying for the swift recovery of the wounded.”
A South African man, with eyes darkened by sleepless nights, tells us his older brother was lured into fighting for Russia on the frontline in Ukraine’s raging Donbas region.
“To them, it’s a suicide mission because they have never been trained for the military. They don’t have military training – they don’t have military experience,” says Bongani, whose name we have changed for his safety.
In the hidden back garden of a modest hotel in KwaZulu-Natal province, he continues: “They don’t have experience of any war. They are just bodyguards who want to get a job and provide for their families. That’s all.”
Bongani says his brother travelled to Russia on a flight via Dubai after being told he would be receiving bodyguard training along with at least 16 other South African men. After signing a contract in Russian, their fate was sealed.
Bongani, not his real name, tells Yousra his brother was on a ‘suicide mission’
“The problems started when they were moved from Russia to Ukraine, and they asked them: ‘Guys – where are we going now because we are here for training?’
“And then the Russians said: ‘Training for what? We don’t know anything about training – what we know is that you’ve signed the contract. You are under our command now – under the Russian army.'”
How is this happening?
Sky News has seen harrowing SOS video messages from South African men who describe entrapment and deployment to the frontline in Ukraine.
In one video, a man in military fatigues details the moment they signed their contracts. He claims Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, encouraged them to sign away their lives.
“We refused to sign the contract forms because it was written in Russia, which we didn’t understand. We asked them for a translator – someone who can translate the language. They said there was no network,” he says in fluent English.
“That is when Duduzile came with a guy by the name of Khosa. She said we must sign the contract because it is the same thing they did. Duduzile said she is doing the same course we are doing, the same training, and that unfortunately she won’t be with us because she is training somewhere else.”
“Yes, we agreed. We did sign the forms because we trust the lady, Duduzile.”
South African men claim they were trafficked by Duduzile Zuma, daughter of the country’s former president – allegations she denies
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is accused of trafficking South African men – including eight of her own relatives – for mercenary recruitment by her half-sister Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube, who has filed police charges against her.
She denies the allegations and says she was a victim of deception, misrepresentation, and manipulation.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) say they are currently investigating the charges. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has resigned as a member of parliament and has not responded to our request for comment.
Former president Jacob Zuma with his daughter Duduzile Zuma, wearing “I Stand With Russia” T-Shirt in 2023. Pic: @DZumaSambudla/X
Five hours away in Johannesburg’s Gauteng province, we watched as another case of suspected mercenary recruitment played out in a South African magistrate’s court.
Five suspects were ushered out into a crowded courtroom in Kempton Park after being arrested on their way out of Johannesburg’s Oliver R Tambo airport following a tip-off to the police that they were allegedly travelling to Russia via the United Arab Emirates.
Five people suspected of attempting to join Russia’s war effort in Ukraine appear in a Johannesburg court
Among the five suspects is Patricia Mantuala, 39, suspected of recruiting the men
The line-up is sullen as the three young men on one end of the stand look down at their hands. The youngest is only 21 years old.
At the other end of the stand is a 39-year-old woman called Patricia Mantuala, who stands accused of recruiting them. The five suspects were eventually granted bail by the court after a postponed hearing.
Read more from Sky News:
G20 overshadowed by Ukraine
Alleged mercenary arrested in London
Is time running out for Ukraine?
Colonel Katlego Mogale, a spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the HAWKS, told Sky News and other journalists in a news conference that they are not ruling out the possibility that more suspects will be arrested.
South Africa’s specialised police unit is investigating a growing recruitment drive
Amid signs of a growing recruitment drive, the families of those who say they are trapped fighting for Russia in Ukraine are advocating for their loved ones to return home – against all odds.
“You are dealing with people who are well known in South Africa and in South Africa nobody’s safe and we may never know what’s going to happen next to us,” says Bongani.
“What’s going to happen to our family?”
World
Imran Khan’s sons ‘fear they may never see him again’ as former Pakistan PM ‘held in death cell’
The sons of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan have said they fear they might never see their father again as he is being “psychologically tortured” in a “death cell”.
Speaking to Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim, Kasim and Sulaiman Khan said they had not spoken to their father, who has been in prison since August 2023, for months.
Imran Khan’s sons being interviewed by Yalda Hakim
Kasim described the conditions the former Pakistani leader has been kept, saying: “He’s been in a solitary confinement cell for over two years where he’s had filthy water, he is around inmates who are dying of hepatitis, the conditions are disgusting and also he is completely isolated from any human contact.”
He continued: “It’s getting harder to see a route out at this point. We’re trying to have faith. But at the same time, right now, the conditions are getting worse.
“It’s very hard to see a way out… We’re now worried we might never see him again.”
Kasim said his father was being subjected to “psychological torture tactics” as even the prison guards weren’t allowed to communicate with the former Pakistani leader, who led the country between 2018 and 2022.
Imran Khan, pictured in March 2023 before his arrest on corruption charges. File pic: Reuters
Sulaiman said his father’s cell, where he allegedly spends 23 hours a day, has been described as a “death cell”.
He said an army spokesperson announced on Friday that Imran Khan, who has in the past been shot three times, was now officially in full isolation.
He added that Imran Khan was being kept in “completely substandard conditions that don’t meet international law for any sort of prisoner”.
The brothers’ words echo what one of Khan’s sisters reported after being allowed to meet the former cricketer in prison at the start of the month.
Uzma Khanum said at the time that Khan was facing isolation and psychological strain in prison following weeks in which his family said access had been blocked.
The former leader was jailed after being convicted in a string of cases that he says were politically driven following his ousting in a 2022 parliamentary vote.
Before launching his political career, Imran Khan was best known as a star of international cricket and for leading Pakistan to Cricket World Cup victory in 1992.
Kasim said his father would “never take a deal and leave all of his other party members in jail to die and fester in these jails…
“Instead he stays in those conditions, happy to rot and it means that he can move towards his goal of ridding Pakistan of corruption, a goal that he has stated to us a million times.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani government spokesperson, will be speaking to Yalda Hakim tonight on Sky News from 9pm.
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