LabourList is sad to report this morning that Labour MP Alan Keen has passed away. He was 73. He is survived by his wife Ann (a former MP). Lewisham-born Keen was the Labour MP for Feltham and Heston from 1992 onwards. The thoughts of everyone at LabourList are with Ann and the Keen family. We’ll bring you the reaction and tributes as they come in.
Something is different at the heart of our democracy. It’s something we’ve not seen in governments before, at least not in this country. It’s bold, to say the least. It’s unbelievably brave. It shows a willingness to face criticism, to have a discussion, to listen. It’s new! It is, perhaps, the epitome of the “New Politics”. It is the essence of what was forged in that rose garden two years ago. A portrait of a Government, working together to get [...]
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So, the bunting’s up, our little flags are ready, and with a double bank holiday, we should all be bulging to the brim with Jubilee fever. However, for many comrades the celebration of the monarch is still taboo. I know, I know, the Labour Party should never be the party of inherited wealth, hereditary power or undemocratic principles, all running deep against our party’s soul. However, only 13% of the population want a republic, more people believe their local kebab [...]
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The skip tax may not have affected as many people as the granny tax or the pasty tax. It may not have had as much attention as the caravan tax or the charities tax. But for sheer incompetence it takes the biscuit. Chloe Smith, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury has written to MPs to “clarify” the situation regarding the skip tax. This follows uproar among skip hire firms, evidence of a sudden increase in flytipping and claims of skips [...]
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“George Osborne has only ever been a part-time Chancellor. Talk to any City firm or institution that has met him for lunch and they will tell you he is fine talking about what it is like being in the Cabinet, what goes on in the Commons’ corridors and general political gossip. But get him on the economy and he isn’t interested. He never has been. He changes the subject and gets his Treasury flunkies to answer the technical questions. He [...]
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When she became her party’s leader, Arsenal were champions of England, the portable CD player was a must-have and a little known Spaniard shot to fame with a ballad called ‘Hero’. Since then, she has won every election she has fought, endured long enough to be a major player under Helmut Kohl and to see the rise and fall of Gordon Brown. She is also, very possibly, the most important woman in the history of the world. Angela Merkel has [...]
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