‘Today’s Council of Nations and Regions summit sends an important message – but does it risk pleasing no-one?’
Today Keir Starmer will chair the first meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions (CNR). It’s an…
John Denham
‘The locals underlined the weaknesses of the mayoral model. But Labour can fix it’
Eight weeks ago, I warned of “huge embarrassment” if the party did not sweep the mayoral board. Richard Parker’s…
‘The mayoral model holds political risks. Labour must empower local councils’
When Keir Starmer joined Sadiq Khan to launch the London mayoral election campaign, Labour seemed curiously downbeat about…
‘If Labour can’t spend more, here’s how we spend better to fix council budgets’
On Monday, Angela Rayner described the government’s announcement of £600m of new emergency local authority funding as a…
‘Labour must reject assumptions about Englishness and promote its inclusivity’
An enduring myth about national identity in England – not least on the left – is that Britishness…
‘To tackle hate and division, Labour must reflect on what multiculturalism means’
The former Home Secretary’s divisive rhetoric will rightly get much of the blame for drawing far right activists…
‘Taking SNP seats alone won’t fix unease over the union – in Scotland or England’
Labour’s stunning victory in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election opens the door to many more Scottish Labour…
‘Ministers like control, but Labour must offer radical, irreversible devolution’
Labour has promised a ‘Take Back Control Bill’ in the first King’s Speech. Aimed at England, it must…
St George’s Day: Labour can’t ‘take back control’ without devolving English government
On another St George’s Day, England’s government is creeping onto the agenda. It is not English identity that…
I resigned over Iraq. Labour needs to work harder to learn its lessons
Twenty years on, Labour’s discussion of the Iraq War is curious and worrying in equal measure. The disaster…
