Open letter: BAME councillor deselection

This is an open letter to the Labour party’s national executive committee in response to the deselection of Cllr Samantha Jury-Dada.  We are writing to you to raise our concerns about recent incidents in the party and especially in local parties, around representation and diversity. Last night in Faraday ward in Southwark, a young LGBT woman of colour, was deselected in favour of a white man who doesn’t live in the ward. This is only one of many incidents in […]

PMQs: Thornberry in full flight as she hammers Green on Brexit deal or no deal

By Emma Bean

“Are ministers just making it up as they go along, or is it still the government’s clear policy that no deal is an option?” Emily Thornberry was deputising for Jeremy Corbyn today at prime minister’s questions, and she well and truly brought her A game to the chamber. She was sharp, and she resolutely pushed those issues she wanted to push. Instead of a comfort blanket list of fully planned questions, she was responsive and witty — but without letting […]

It’s unacceptable that four weeks after Grenfell we don’t know how many blocks are unsafe, says Healey ahead of debate

By Emma Bean

A month after the Grenfell fire, the government has yet to confirm how many other tower blocks across the country are safe, shadow housing minister John Healey said today. There is a debate on the Grenfell tower inquiry later today in parliament, after prime minister’s questions. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn will be using their usual deputies, David Lidington and Emily Thornberry, as May is meeting the Spanish king. “The government has been off the pace at every stage in […]

Lucy Powell: We can’t afford not to tackle Britain’s social mobility problem

By Lucy Powell

Social mobility — and the lack thereof for the many — is the defining issue of our time, creating a divided Britain, which is bad for our economy and our future. Whether it’s inter-generational inequality and the lack of opportunity for today’s young people to progress, as the recent election brought to the fore; or the huge disparity in regional inequality and many communities left behind, which we saw expressed in the Brexit vote; or the growing divide between rich […]

Clare Moody: Leaving Euratom risks so much – why is May even considering it?

By Clare Moody

The election result finally allowed questions to be asked about Theresa May’s judgement. The list of questions is long. For Tory MPs it includes ‘Why did she call an unnecessary election?’, although this isn’t a question that concerns us Labour supporters too much. From a different perspective ‘Why did she trigger Article 50 when she wasn’t ready to start negotiations?’ is another serious question that should be asked of her judgement. These are only two of the very long list […]