Labour manifesto: Top secret Clause V meeting will be a pivotal moment in Sir Keir Starmer’s election campaign
It’s a meeting that’s so top secret that those attending – at a secret location – are ordered to surrender their mobile phone and any other electronic devices when they arrive.
They’re given numbered copies of the agenda, thick bundles which are then collected from them at the end of the meeting. Security is extremely tight. Nothing is left to chance.
No, this is not a meeting of spooks and generals to plot the nation’s secret strategy for going to war. At least not a real war. And those participating are not members of the government. Yet.
This is Labour’s “Clause V” meeting, attended by Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet, senior backbench MPs, top trade union leaders and members of the party’s national executive.
General Election latest: Top chef explains why he’s backing Labour
And it’s happening this Friday, with just one huge item on the agenda: agreeing the manifesto that Sir Keir is expected to present to the country on 13 June, three weeks before polling day.
The manifesto will be based on Sir Keir’s five “missions” launched last year – on the economy, the NHS, crime, climate change and education. Labour is declaring war – on the Tories.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky News to host leaders’ event
Friday’s meeting is a far cry from the smoke-filled rooms and beer and sandwiches of the Labour and trade union folklore of yesteryear. These days it’s strictly mineral water and even vaping is banned.
About 80 people in all will be attending, making the task of keeping the contents of the manifesto under wraps a nightmare. And security will be tighter than ever before after the 2017 manifesto leaked.
Do you want to be in the audience for Sky News’s leaders’ event?
Labour’s shadow cabinet members, totalling 31, are pretty well known these days and include established figures like Angela Rayner, Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper and Ed Miliband.
Then there are the rising stars like Wes Streeting, Bridget Phillipson, Peter Kyle and Shabana Mahmood and Blair/Brown-era veterans like Pat McFadden, Hilary Benn and John Healey.
Tap here to follow Politics at Jack at Sam’s wherever you get your podcasts
Other attendees on Friday will include the parliamentary Labour party chairman John Cryer, the general secretaries of the 11 unions affiliated to the party and the 40 or so members of the national executive, the NEC.
The NEC is dominated by the unions, which have 11 places. Local parties have nine, plus two councillors, and veteran ex-ministers Sir George Howarth, Dame Margaret Beckett and Dame Angela Eagle are also members.
All of which makes the Clause V meeting – called Clause V because it’s the section of the party rulebook that outlines the policy making process – pretty unwieldy, though it’s likely the manifesto has already been stitched up by Starmer allies before the meeting.
But it’s from the leaders of the big unions that Sir Keir is likely to face the toughest opposition on Friday. Unions are demanding no backtracking on workers’ rights and are fighting a proposed ban on North Sea oil and gas drilling.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Sir Keir’s union critics include the no-nonsense Sharon Graham of Unite and left-wingers Matt Wrack of the Fire Brigades Union, Mick Whelan of the train drivers’ union Aslef and Dave Ward of the Communication Workers Union.
Writing in The Guardian this week, Ms Graham declared: “I make no apology for holding Labour’s feet to the fire on workers’ rights – no matter how uncomfortable it might make some or what criticism is laid at my door.
“Of course I want a Labour government, but that doesn’t mean I will sit on the sidelines and applaud while it caves in to the business lobby and rows back on its commitments.
“The Labour leadership’s penchant for reneging on promises has been a theme of its time in opposition.”
And Mr Wrack, currently TUC president, said on Wednesday looking ahead to Friday’s meeting: “We will want to hold an incoming Labour government to account on what’s in that manifesto.”
And warning Sir Keir on workers’ rights, he said: “I don’t expect him to backtrack, it’s a vote winner and it will substantially improve the lives of millions of people.”
The Clause V meeting is expected to start at midday on Friday. It’s a pivotal moment in Labour’s election campaign. High noon, in fact.
A planned settlement between the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and crypto exchange KuCoin will likely be delayed after a policy shift at the CFTC to deprioritize cases against crypto companies under the Trump administration.
CFTC attorney John Murphy submitted a letter on April 21 to District Judge Valerie Caproni, asking for more time to secure approval for a deal negotiated under the Biden administration, reported Law360.
“It appears unlikely that such authorization will be granted in the near term,” he said, referencing a recent statement by acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham that the agency’s enforcement division was to deprioritize cases against crypto companies.
The CFTC charged KuCoin with “multiple violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations” in March 2024.
According to the Justice Department, which also filed charges against KuCoin and two founders for violating Anti-Money Laundering laws, the exchange received more than $5 billion and sent more than $4 billion in “suspicious and criminal funds.”
KuCoin, trading under Mek Global Limited, reached a $297 million settlement with the Department of Justice in January and agreed to exit the US market for at least two years.
In December, the CFTC and KuCoin informed the court that they reached an agreement in principle to settle the case, however terms and details of the proposed deal were not disclosed.
In March, KuCoin asked the judge for a 14-day stay to address further negotiations in line with President Trump’s executive order curtailing enforcement actions against the digital asset industry. However, this request was denied, with the judge pressing for negotiation status updates.
No majority at CFTC
When Pham announced in February that the Commission would wind down its practice of regulation by enforcement, she also noted that terminating active cases would be more difficult to deal with.
The CFTC needs a majority to dismiss a case or authorize its settlement, and there is currently no majority, with two members from each party sitting on its governing body.
This could change if the Senate confirms the appointment of Trump nominee Brian Quintenz to lead the financial regulator.
Both parties have requested an additional 60 days or until the Commission provides “definitive direction” on the matter.
Related: US regulators FDIC and CFTC ease crypto restrictions for banks, derivatives
On April 21, the CFTC’s Divisions of Market Oversight issued a request for comment to better inform them on the potential uses, benefits, and risks of perpetual contracts in derivatives markets.
“Innovation and new technology have created a renaissance in markets that presents new opportunities that are accessible to more people, as well as risks,” said Pham.
Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest
Politics
Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia’s ‘brutal war’ – as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.
The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.
A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.
“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.
Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.
“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.
The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.
It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.
Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”
When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”
The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From Saturday: Why Putin offered an Easter truce?
It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.
Read more from Sky News:
Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death
Who could be the next pope?
Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.
He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway