Labour: Reported £20bn hole in spending plans is “inaccurate”

Labour MP Geraint Davies has been administratively suspended from the party, LabourList understands, pending an investigation into “incredibly serious allegations of completely unacceptable behaviour”, and has also had the party whip removed. The accusations of sexually inappropriate behaviour against women working in politics were made in a report published by Politico this morning. A Labour Party spokesperson encouraged anyone with a complaint to “come forward”. But Davies – the MP for Swansea West – told Politico he did not “recognise” the allegations, and he did not believe formal complaints had been made.

In other news, Labour has pushed back on analysis by the i that concluded that the party’s policy pledges so far would require an additional £20bn of funding every year beyond that already promised through planned tax increases such as scrapping the non-dom tax status – equivalent to raising the basic rate of income tax by more than 3p, the news outlet said. The i particularly highlighted comments by Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson about guaranteeing childcare to all children aged 11 and under, estimating that the net cost of the policy would be around £13.6bn. But officials told Politico that there is not yet an agreed or costed plan for childcare and it is not likely for months. Sticking to their guns on the party’s commitment to fiscal discipline, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Tories have crashed the economy and have no plan for growth, which does mean tough choices. But only Labour has the costed, forward-looking policies that will change the country for the better.” Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Pay McFadden also called the i’s reporting an “inaccurate story”.

Meanwhile, applications to be Labour’s next candidate in four seats close at midday today: Bolton West, Crewe and Nantwich, Redcar and Shrewsbury and Atcham. This follows the national executive committee (NEC) meeting last week, during which members discussed the process for selecting candidates in non-priority seats (initially defined as seats with a Tory majority of more than 40%, according to NEC member Luke Akehurst). But what critics saw as a bid to reduce Constituency Labour Party (CLP) influence on how these selections work appears to have been thwarted. According to NEC member Ann Black’s report – published in full on the LabourList site – initially a “streamlined procedure was presented whereby an NEC representative, usually a member of the regional executive committee (REC), would oversee the process” and two REC members plus one CLP representative would undertake shortlisting.

Black argued that this would give local parties “even less of a voice than the full procedure” – but said it was subsequently decided that shortlisting would be undertaken by three CLP members. Momentum argued that the move was an attempt to “further disenfranchise” local members, and had been “successfully resisted”. The Labour Party was approached for comment.