Labour denies Sir Keir Starmer promised peerages for MPs to step down to make space for his candidates

Published

4 months ago

June 3, 2024

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Labour has denied claims it is offering peerages to former Labour MPs so they stand down to make space for Sir Keir Starmer’s chosen candidates.

A number of left-wing Labour candidates, who were MPs until the election was called, told The Times they were told they would be elevated to the House of Lords if they gave up their seats.

But Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “No party can do that, it’s not the way the system works.”

She added that there is a “whole process” for an independent committee to vet nominations to the Lords so it is not possible for Sir Keir, or any party leader, to promise anybody a seat there.

The allegation came after Sir Keir was accused of trying to get rid of candidates to the left of the party.

Veteran MP Diane Abbott accused him of “culling” Labour left-wingers after two potential candidates, Faiza Shaheen and Lloyd Russell-Moyle, were blocked from standing.

Former leader Jeremy Corbyn told Sky News Sir Keir is “clearly intervening” in a “purge” of left-wing candidates.

But Sir Keir has denied that, saying he wants “the highest quality candidates”.

Whether Ms Abbott, the first female black MP, would be allowed to stand or not for the Labour Party has taken over the headlines in the first week of the election campaign.

Asked by Trevor Phillips if she expects Ms Abbott to be the Labour candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Ms Cooper said: “I assume so, yes.

“I’m very glad it’s been resolved for Diane. She continues to be a very important figure in the Labour Party.”

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Ms Abbott was given the Labour whip back at the beginning of the week after a year-long investigation over a letter she wrote suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face racism.

Confusion reigned when she claimed she had been barred from standing for Labour in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, the seat she has held for 37 years.

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Sir Keir said no decision had yet been taken and it was not up to him, but the party’s national executive committee.

Then on Friday, he said: “She is free to go forward as a Labour candidate.”

Ms Abbott said she would not be making a comment until she is officially endorsed by the party’s ruling National Executive Committee next week.

But she told Sky News that “the narrative does look positive”.

Labour sources said she will be the Labour candidate in her east London constituency and is expected to ratify the decision when it meets on Tuesday.

Bank of Canada just says no to retail CBDC in reshuffling of priorities

Published

10 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Bank of Canada just says no to retail CBDC in reshuffling of priorities

Regulating and speeding up payments without a CBDC are more important to the Canadian central bank.

SEC approves options for BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF

Published

11 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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<div>SEC approves options for BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF</div>

The SEC notice seemed to be an industry first after the commission approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on US exchanges in January.

Farage: It’s possible I could become PM

Published

11 hours ago

September 20, 2024

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Nigel Farage has spoken about his aspirations as Reform UK party leader and insists he could become prime minister.

He told Sky’s political correspondent Darren McCaffrey the prospect of taking over at Number 10 at some point “may not be probable, but it’s certainly possible”.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Reform UK annual conference in Birmingham, he also described his intention to change the party and make it more democratic.

“I don’t want it to be a one man party. Look, this is not a presidential system. If it was, I might think differently about it. But no, it’s not. We have to be far more broadly based,” he said.

He also accepted there were issues with how the party was perceived by some during the general election.

“We had a problem,” he admitted. “Those that wished us harm use the racist word. And we had candidates who genuinely were.”

Earlier the party leader and Clacton MP gave his keynote speech at the conference, explaining how they intend to win even more seats at the next general election.

He also called out the prime minister for accepting free gifts and mocked the candidates in the Tory leadership race.

But he turned to more serious points, too – promising that Reform UK will “be vetting candidates rigorously at all levels” in future.

Addressing crowds in Birmingham, Mr Farage said the party has not got “time” or “room” for “a few extremists to wreck the work of a party that now has 80,000 members”.

Farage says Reform UK needs to ‘grow up’

By Darren McCaffrey, political correspondent in Birmingham

Reform and Nigel Farage can hardly believe their success.

Perhaps unsurprising, given they received over four million votes and now have five MPs.

But today this is a party that claims it has bigger ambitions – that it’s fighting for power.

Having taken millions of votes from the Conservatives, the party thinks it can do so with Labour voters too.

Reform finished second in 98 constituencies, 89 of them are Labour seats.

But it is a big ask, not least of all because it is a party still dominated by its controversial leader and primarily by one majority issue – migration.

Nigel Farage says the party needs to grow up and professionalise if it has a chance of further success.

This is undoubtedly true but if Reform is going to carry on celebrating, they know it also has to broaden its policy appeal beyond the overwhelming concern of its members.

“The infant that Reform UK was has been growing up,” he said in his speech and pointed towards the success of the Liberal Democrats at the general election.

He told delegates his party has to “model ourselves on the Liberal Democrats” which secured 72 seats on a smaller popular vote share than Reform UK.

He said: “The Liberal Democrats put literature and leaflets through doors repeatedly in their target areas, and despite the fact they haven’t got any policies at all. In fact, the whole thing’s really rather vacuous, isn’t it? But they manage with a vote much lower than ours to win 72 seats in parliament.”

Reform won more than four million votes in July, and 14% of the vote share – more than the Lib Dems.