Category Archives: keir starmer

Keir Starmer: Stop The War Coalition Are Siding With Russia Over Ukraine

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Keir Starmer has accused the Stop The War coalition of siding with Russia as fears grow that it is about to invade Ukraine.

The Labour leader accused the organisation – which has his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn as its vice-president – of consistently supporting the west’s enemies.

His comments, in an article for The Guardian, came as Corbyn addressed a Stop The War rally in London titled “No war in Ukraine – Stop NATO expansion.”

Starmer wrote: “Nobody wants war. At first glance, some on the left may be sympathetic to those siren voices who condemn NATO. But to condemn NATO is to condemn the guarantee of democracy and security it brings, and which our allies in eastern and central Europe are relying on, as the sabre-rattling from Moscow grows ever louder.

“That’s why the likes of the Stop the War coalition are not benign voices for peace. At best they are naive; at worst they actively give succour to authoritarian leaders who directly threaten democracies.

“There is nothing progressive in showing solidarity with the aggressor when our allies need our solidarity and – crucially – our practical assistance, now more than ever. The kneejerk reflex, “Britain, Canada, the United States, France – wrong; their enemies – right”, is unthinking conservatism at its worst.

“To truly stop war, you need to show you are serious about standing up for peace, that you are serious about keeping your promises to your friends, and that you will always stand up to those who threaten.”

The Labour leader added: “Moscow’s hard-line leadership won’t see a rally on the streets of Britain as a reason to pull its tanks from Ukraine’s borders. All it will see is naivety and weakness – virtue signallers in the west providing a smokescreen so it can go on beating up and jailing those brave individuals who dare to stand up to its despotism on the streets of Russia.”

Starmer said that under his leadership, “Labour’s commitment to Nato is unshakable”.

However, in an interview with the BBC during a visit to NATO HQ in Brussels, he was repeatedly asked why he sat on Corbyn’s frontbench as shadow Brexit secretary when he knew the then leader held strong anti-NATO views.

Starmer said: “Jeremy Corbyn and I disagreed on many things. I was leading for our party on the Brexit negotiations, the difficult votes we had in Parliament, and it was very important that we had that lead at the time, that were very difficult, seems a long time ago.

“Very difficult discussions and decisions at the time, but does it mean I agree with Jeremy Corbyn on everything? Of course it doesn’t. He was leader of the party and I was leading on the Brexit negotiations.”

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Boris Johnson Blamed For Fuelling Mob Ambush Of Keir Starmer

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Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile smear of Keir Starmer has been blamed for a mob ambushing the Labour leader near the houses of parliament – prompting a wave of Tory MPs to criticise their leader.

Police had to bundle the opposition leader into a car as the group, some protesting about Covid restrictions and shouting “traitor”, followed him and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy from outside Scotland Yard.

There were angry clashes with police after Starmer was escorted into a police car on the Victoria Embankment shortly after 5pm on Monday. Starmer faced baseless allegations of “protecting paedophiles” and chants about the sex offender from protesters before being bundled into a police car for protection.

After some Conservative MPs said Johnson last week accusing Starmer of having “used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” while director of public prosecutions for stoking the abuse, the PM condemned the “completely unacceptable” incident. Notably he did not apologise.

Footage posted to social media showed Piers Corbyn, the Covid-19 conspiracy theorist brother of former Labour leader Jeremy, addressing the crowd before the incident and later leading chants of “resist, defy, do not comply”.

Video showed Starmer, surrounded by police, being followed down the street while being targeted with shouts of “why aren’t you opposing?” and “traitor”.

“Why did you go after Julian Assange, why did you go after journalists?,” one man shouted.

It was understood Starmer was not harmed during the incident and was soon back at his desk.

After he was taken to safety, an officer was called a “pathetic little thug” during angry exchanges.

Protesters were seen displaying signs opposing mandatory vaccination and the use of restrictions to prevent Covid-19 deaths.

After footage of the confrontation spread on social media, MPs from across the political spectrum hit out at the prime minister’s slur against Starmer.

The PM on Monday referenced Starmer’s former job as director of public prosecutions, suggesting his opponent was responsible for failing to prosecute serial sex offender Savile – even though fact-checkers have since proven the Labour leader was not.

The prime minister clarified his comments on Thursday and claimed he had not been talking about Starmer’s “personal record”, but notably did not apologise for the slur.

After the attack, Tory MP Julian Smith linked the incident to Johnson’s Savile smear in the Commons last week.

He tweeted: “What happened to Keir Starmer tonight outside parliament is appalling. It is really important for our democracy & for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full.”

Another Conservative MP, Robert Largan, added: “I agree with Julian. Words matter. What we say and how we say it echoes out far beyond parliament. It can have serious real world consequences. Elected representatives have a responsibility to lower the temperature of debate, not add fuel to the fire.”

Deputy speaker of the house of commons, Eleanor Laing, said the attack was “unacceptable. Period.”

She tweeted: “Elected representatives must be able to go about their work without the fear of verbal or physical attacks.”

“It doesn’t matter which political party you support we all must stand up for freedom of speech and the rule of law.”

Another Tory MP, Aaron Bell, said: “Physical intimidation has no part in our democracy, and we all have a responsibility to debate in a measured and accurate way.”

After he was heckled alongside Starmer, Lammy tweeted alongside a video clip of the incident: “No surprise the conspiracy theorist thugs who harassed Keir Starmer and I repeated slurs we heard from Boris Johnson last week at the despatch box.

“Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy.

“And they won’t ever stop me doing my job.”

He added: “My thanks to the Met Police who helped get me safely back to parliament.”

Labour MP Chris Bryant tweeted: “This is appalling. People were shouting all sorts at Keir, including ‘Jimmy Savile’. This is what happens when a prime minister descends into the gutter and recycles lies from hard-right conspiracy theorists. Political poison has an effect. Johnson has no moral compass.”

A Labour source told HuffPost UK: “Boris Johnson and his cabinet chose to lie down with the dogs – and now the whole lot of them are covered in fleas.”

Johnson later tweeted: “The behaviour directed at the leader of the opposition tonight is absolutely disgraceful. All forms of harassment of our elected representatives are completely unacceptable.

“I thank the police for responding swiftly.”

Scotland Yard said two arrests were made after the clashes.

A Metropolitan Police statement said: “Shortly after 5.10pm on Monday, February 7, a man who had been surrounded by a group of protesters near to New Scotland Yard, was taken away from the scene by a police car.

“A man and a woman were arrested at the scene for assault of an emergency worker after a traffic cone was thrown at a police officer.

“They have been taken into custody.”

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Kwasi Kwarteng Says Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile Smear Was ‘Entirely Legitimate’

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Boris Johnson’s attempt to smear Keir Starmer over the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile was “entirely legitimate”, according to Kwasi Kwarteng.

The Business Secretary’s support for the prime minister over the row puts him at odds with Cabinet colleagues Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, both of whom have distanced themselves from the PM.

Johnson sparked fury last Monday, during a debate on Sue Gray’s report into partygate, when he made the untrue claim about Starmer’s involvement in Savile escaping justice.

Referring to the Labour leader’s past role as Director of Public Prosecutions, the PM claimed he had “spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile”.

Johnson eventually “clarified” his remarks by insisting he did not believe Starmer was personally responsible for the decision not to prosecute the notorious sex offender.

But that was too late to prevent the resignation of No. 10 policy chief Munira Mirza. In a devastating resignation letter, she said: “I believe it was wrong for you to imply this week that Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice.

Several Conservative MPs have also identified the smear as one of the reasons why they have submitted letters of no confidence in the PM.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak openly criticised Johnson by saying he “wouldn’t have said” what he did, while Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Starmer deserved “respect” for the job he did as DPP.

But appearing on Trevor Phillips on Sunday on Sky News, Kwasi Kwarteng said it had been “entirely legitimate” for the prime minister to attack Starmer in the way he did.

He added: “It was perfectly reasonable to mention the fact Sir Keir apologised on behalf of the organisation he led about the fact they failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile. So the fact he apologised suggests he does at some level bear some responsibility.”

Kwarteng added: “I’m not saying he had personal blame, he didn’t, and we’ve been very clear about that, the PM clarified that position as well. But I think in the cut and thrust of debate… bringing up something Sir Keir himself apologised for seems reasonable.”

His comments came as Johnson tried to regain the political initiative by announcing a shake-up of his Downing Street operation.

Former BBC journalist Guto Harri – who worked for the PM when he was London mayor – has been appointed the new No. 10 director of communications, while Tory MP Steve Barclay is the new Downing Street chief of staff.

The moves follow the resignation of Munira Mirza and four other No. 10 advisers in the space of 24 hours at the end of last week.

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Boris Johnson Does Not Deny ‘Boozy Party’ Held In Downing Street In Lockdown

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Boris Johnson has not denied allegations that Christmas parties were held in Downing Street during lockdown last year.

The prime minister faced a grilling after the Mirror reported claims that he and aides attended gatherings in No10, despite imposing new restrictions on the country at the time.

During prime minister’s questions, Keir Starmer asked whether a “boozy party” was held at No10 in run-up to Christmas 2020.

Johnson did not deny it, simply saying that “all guidance was followed completely at No10”.

The report accused the prime minister of attending a leaving do for an aide on November 27 last year while the second lockdown was in force.

His staff are then alleged to have held their own festive party in Downing Street on December 18, which Johnson did not attend.

Starmer asked: “As millions of people were locked down last year, was a Christmas party thrown in Downing Street for dozens of people on December 18?”

Johnson replied: “All guidance was followed completely.”

Starmer pressed him again: “The defence seems to be ‘no rules were broken’. Well, I’ve got the rules that were in place at the time, prime minister, of this party, they are very clear: you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party.

“Does the prime minister really expect the country to believe that whilst people were banned from seeing their loved ones at Christmas this year it was fine for him and his friends to thrown a boozy party in Downing Street?”

The PM replied: “I have said what I said about Number 10 and the events of 12 months ago.”

The Labour leader added: “The prime minister does not deny there was a Downing Street Christmas party last year. He says no rules were broken.

“Both of those things can’t be true, Prime Minister. He is taking the British public for fools”.

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Angela Rayner Says She Doesn’t Know What’s Going On Amid Starmer Reshuffle

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A fresh row between Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner erupted after the Labour leader launched a reshuffle while his deputy was making a major speech on Tory corruption.

The deputy leader told an audience at an Institute for Government (IfG) event that she did not “know the details” of the shadow cabinet reshuffle that was taking place because she was “concentrating on the job at hand”.

Speculation that the reshuffle was underway began on social media after the Times reported that key figures such as shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, shadow education secretary Kate Green and shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens all faced the sack.

Instead of taking questions on the Labour party’s attempts to clean up politics, Rayner fielded multiple questions on whether she was consulted about the reshuffle and whether she thought it was the right time.

She replied: “I don’t know the details of any reshuffle, I’ve been concentrating on the job at hand.”

In an interview with Times Radio after the event, she said she had not been consulted on the reshuffle and that there was no “focus on that at the moment”.

Asked whether she would have expected to hear about it first, she replied: “I reckon that Keir would tell me first, yeah.”

However, it is understood Rayner met with Starmer after her media round in the morning and before she went to the IfG event.

In response, Rayner’s spokesperson said: “My understanding is that Keir and Angela had a short conversation in between her media round and her speech.

“She was not aware of the details of the reshuffle and she was not consulted on the reshuffle as she said herself.”

The timing and handling of the reshuffle risks reigniting the fury that erupted in the fallout of the Hartlepool by-election, in which Starmer sacked Rayner as party chair before reinstating her to other posts.

While Rayner was still speaking at the IfG event, a tit-for-tat broke out between the leadership’s two teams.

Sources close to Rayner expressed anger at Starmer’s team for its tactics and timing, with one calling it “plain offensive”.

One ally told HuffPost UK: “The incompetence is shocking. Why do this while she’s on her speech giving a planned intervention on a key Labour attack line? It makes absolutely no sense.”

A friend of Rayner said: “Trying to sack Angela and make her the scapegoat for Hartlepool was stupid. But doing a reshuffle when she’s literally on her feet giving a speech attacking the Tories for being corrupt is just plain offensive.”

And a spokesman for Rayner added: “Angela is focusing on attacking the Tories for being corrupt and setting out how she will stamp out corruption. That is her priority.”

But a source close to Starmer said it was “interesting that the wording from this friend of Angela and her spokesman is virtually identical”.

Another Labour source further questioned Rayner’s assertion that she wasn’t consulted on the reshuffle, claiming: “She’s been pushing it for months. She’s desperately trying to confect a row.”

Rayner’s spokesperson said it was was “categorically untrue that Angela was pushing for a reshuffle. She has just given a speech setting out her plans to tackle Tory corruption.”

Labour figures that are tipped for a promotion include Yvette Cooper, chair of the home affairs select committee, Wes Streeting, the shadow secretary of state for child poverty, and shadow schools minister Peter Kyle.

Liz Kendall, shadow minister for social care, and Alison McGoven, shadow minister for cultural industries and sports, may also get a spot on the frontbench.

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Keir Starmer Forced To Withdraw ‘Coward’ Insult At Boris Johnson During Testy PMQs

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Labour leader Keir Starmer has been forced to withdraw comments in which he called Boris Johnson a “coward not a leader” following a rebuke from the Speaker.

During a fiery and ill-tempered session of prime minister’s questions, Starmer called on Johnson to apologise for his handling of the Owen Paterson scandal, in which the government sought to overturn punishment for the former Cabinet minister and paid lobbyist.

The Labour leader pointed out that while the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, and the leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg, had both apologised for their role in the affair, Johnson was yet to do the same.

“Across the country and belatedly across this house, there is now agreement that Owen Paterson broke the rules and that the government should not have tried to let him off the hook,” Starmer said.

“Many members opposite have apologised. The business secretary has apologised for his part. The leader of the House has apologised for his part, but they were following the prime minister’s lead.

“So will he do the decent thing and just say sorry for trying to give the green light to corruption?”

Johnson replied that it was “certainly a mistake” to conflate reform of the standards system with Paterson’s case before moving on to challenge Starmer’s former paid work at the law firm Mishcon de Reya.

Starmer hit back: “That’s not an apology. Everybody else has apologised for him, but he won’t apologise for himself.”

He continued: “A coward not a leader. Weeks defending corruption. Yesterday a screeching last-minute U-turn to avoid defeat on Labour’s plan to ban MPs from dodgy second contracts.

“But waving one white flag won’t be enough to restore trust.”

Starmer’s uncharacteristically strong language was seized on by Tory MP Michael Fabricant, who used a point of order to urge the Labour leader to withdraw his comment.

Speaker Lindsay Hoyle noted: “Coward is not what is used in this House.”

Starmer replied: “I withdraw it, but he’s no leader.”

During the session the Speaker repeatedly made clear his anger at the mood and rough language used in the House, especially in the aftermath of the death of Tory MP David Amess and the conversation it sparked about language in politics.

Hoyle also clashed with Johnson over his attempts to question Starmer’s links to Mishcon de Reya. Starmer turned down a second job with the law firm in the summer of 2017 following accusations it conflicted with his role as shadow Brexit secretary.

Hoyle told the PM: “I don’t want to fall out about it, I’ve made it very clear – it is prime minister’s questions, it’s not for the Opposition to answer your questions.

“Whether we like it or not those are the rules of the game that we’re all into and we play by the rules, don’t we? And we respect this House, so let’s respect the House.”

Despite the reprimand, Johnson attempted to ask again about the issue in a later exchange, to which the Speaker said: “Prime minister, sit down!

“I’m not going to be challenged, you may be the prime minister of this country but in this House I’m in charge.”

Johnson later accused Starmer of “Mish-conduct”, a play on words that prompted outcry from the Labour benches.

At the end of the session, Hoyle lamented the conduct of MPs and said the House had not done “any good” today.

“I’ll be quite honest, I think it’s been ill-tempered, I think it shows the public that this House has not learnt from the other week, I need this House to gain respect but it starts by individuals showing respect for each other,” he said.

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Confused, Contradictory, Chaotic: The ‘3 Cs’ Of Boris Johnson’s Covid Policy

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It’s been a few weeks since Boris Johnson jibed Keir Starmer with his alliterative soundbite of choice: “we vaccinate, they vacillate!” And given the past week of wibbly-wobbly, hokey-cokey pronouncements from him and his government, it’s perhaps fitting that the PM has laid off that particular attack line. 

In a dizzying few days of dithering, Johnson exempted himself from isolation rules then isolated himself, his ministers contradicted him on the need to obey Covid ‘pings’ and key policy on critical workers changed by the hour. 

The National Insurance rise to pay for social care was on and then off. The NHS pay rise was off and then on. Compulsory Covid passports were revived from the dead, just weeks after being quietly euthanised by Michael Gove. 

At times, the PM looked like Gromit desperately trying to lay new track in front of his train of state as it sped towards the parliamentary recess. But although getting over the line of the summer break may stop backbenchers from gathering in grumbly groups in the Commons tea room, ministers know there are gruelling weeks ahead. 

At the heart of the problem lies a fundamental confusion in Johnson’s pandemic strategy. He (backed by Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance, to be fair) has decided England will become the first country in the world to open up a country from lockdown precisely at the point when cases are soaring.

But instead of honestly admitting that his objective is a form of herd immunity  – ie “hybrid immunity” stemming from infections and vaccinations – the PM is telling the public to be cautious and “slowly” take full advantage of all the freedoms he has now granted.

There’s an easy answer to the “if not now, when?” question about full unlocking: mid-September, when all of the adult population has been offered a second jab. The PM counters that keeping restrictions in place until then would simply delay the covid wave, not suppress it. And a wave in summer is easier for the NHS to cope with than a wave in winter, he adds. 

Yet on that logic, being cautious and not “tearing the pants out of it” simply delays the wave too. Isolating after “ping” from the App delays the wave. Wearing masks delays the wave. Meeting outdoors delays the wave. But the PM says he doesn’t want to delay it. It’s hard to think of a more confused and chaotic public health policy, especially during a pandemic.

It would be more honest if Johnson admitted he wants the maximum number of infections this summer, just short of tipping the NHS into a serious crisis. And helpful if the department of health told us just what level of infections it thinks the NHS can cope with before lurching into that meltdown.

The other objective for opening up fully is to help ease the pain of businesses and all those who work in them. But if you’re then effectively telling the public not to use those businesses, because they should be “careful”, what is the point? That’s why, whenever Johnson was asked to define what tearing the pants out of it meant, he struggled with specifics.

It’s possible that the real, unstated reason for Freedom Day was not just “hybrid immunity”, but because ministers can see that young people simply aren’t going to be double jabbed in big numbers by mid-September anyway. Take-up rates are worryingly lower than older age groups, so if government waits for the magic 80% double-jabbed figure, it could be waiting indefinitely.

I suspect that’s what really lies behind Johnson’s drive for compulsory Covid passports. They will drive up jab rates, while giving attendees of nightclubs, football matches, music gigs (and cinema and theatre goers, and maybe indoor pub goers?) the security that they will be mixing with similarly protected people. Compulsion will also drive demand for booster jabs over the winter.

The big issue however over coming weeks will be just when restrictions are reintroduced. Johnson has already tried to soften up opinion this week by saying he merely “hoped” his roadmap would be “irreversible”. 

Would it make sense to have a roadmap back into lockdown, just as he had one out of lockdown? I used to think so, as it would allow individuals and businesses to plan their next steps.

But the problem may fundamentally be that the virus doesn’t respond to graduated steps. If you really want to flatten (not delay) a sombrero of cases, a hard and fast lockdown may be the only answer. Just reimposing masks and working from home may not cut it.

Yet given how confused and contradictory the current policy is, it wouldn’t be surprising if the policy that replaces it is similarly incoherent. Learning to “live with Covid” is obviously where we need to end up, but that requires maximum vaccinations for genuine herd immunity. It also requires more honesty from government about what its real strategy is.

The latest data on Friday suggests the third wave may, just, be peaking. But I’ve genuinely no idea if that’s what No.10 wants, or if it wants to ride the wave for a few more weeks.

Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam this week repeated his advice to avoid places with the ‘3 Cs’ overlapping: closed settings, with crowds and close contacts. Unfortunately, the real ‘3 Cs’ that have defined Johnson’s policy are chaos, confusion and contradiction.

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Can Boris Johnson Win His Game Of Covid Chicken Over Vaccine Passports?

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UK ParliamentPA

Boris Johnson

“Do you want me to have another go?” Boris Johnson’s plaintive plea in PMQs was directed at the Speaker, as a Zoom glitch cramped his usually combative style. David Cameron famously once said his Christianity was like “Magic FM in the Chilterns, it comes and goes”, and the PM’s volubility suffered similarly from his remote access to the Commons.

The erratic nature of Johnson’s contributions turned out to be uncannily apt as it matched yet another chaotic day for the government. Keir Starmer was relentless about ministerial mixed messaging on use of the NHS app. He also ridiculed No.10’s failure to define which “critical workers” (clearly the PM wasn’t one of them) would be exempt from being pinged into isolation.

Johnson tried to hit back by stressing that his own forced quarantine in Buckinghamshire just proved how important it was to comply with requests to stay at home, even if not everyone has use of a country home.

But while the PM was playing Chequers, Starmer was playing chess. His attack on Johnson’s WhatsApp messages (joking about leaving the over-80s to die from Covid) prompted the PM to let slip that “we were thinking in those ways” last year – damning admission that is sure to haunt him in any public inquiry.

Starmer also put the opportunist into Opposition, seizing on Tory backbench unease about Johnson’s U-turn over Covid “passports” by ridiculing his previous vow to eat any ID card he was forced to carry. Later, Labour announced it would not support compulsory use of double-jabbed certificates for entry to nightclubs, creating the prospect of a government defeat on any such legislation.

It was perhaps that realisation that prompted the PM to later tell the backbench 1922 Committee that basically his threat on nightclubs was all about jolting the young into getting vaccinated. If enough came forward, he wasn’t ruling out ditching the plan. Playing a game of chicken with the under-30s seems to be where his pandemic policy is right now.

What Johnson didn’t do was read the riot act to those MPs, like Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, who opted not to wear face masks in PMQs. At one point I counted only a quarter of Tory MPs following the Speaker’s clear guidance, and at most just under half. With his backbenches restive over other Covid curbs, that suggested who is really calling the shots right now.

With more non-mask wearers on trains and buses this week despite government “encouragement”, the sight of senior MPs doing the same is yet another corrosive bit of message indiscipline. The bare-faced cheek of both is the public health equivalent of tailgating on the Tube, when fare dodgers ride the slipstream of those who do the right thing. The division and resentment it can breed can only get worse.

The Speaker is likely to be even more unhappy about the farcical way in which the 3% NHS pay rise was non-announced to parliament, before being announced finally in the form of a press release. Labour’s Rosena Allin-Khan, who is a part time A&E doctor, could hardly contain her anger as health minister Helen Whately said the pay rise was merely “considering” the rise.

Perhaps taking to heart the PM’s request to have “another go” at things, the department of health took just three hours to reveal the 3% was indeed happening after all. I understand the reason for the delay was not an admin error or anything to do with the fact that Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak are themselves isolating. It feels like there was serious tension over where and when the funding might come from.

With non-NHS staff like police and teachers being told their pay was frozen (a tactic perhaps designed to make nurses think their deal was a king’s ransom in comparison), the overall impression was not one of end-of-term good news for key workers who were once clapped for their public service in the pandemic.

And it’s that U-turn, the U-turn in sentiment towards those who helped everyone else over the past year, and the suspicion that a pay rise has been dragged out of him for the NHS and is non-existent for others, that could cause the government serious trouble. The Tories are still ahead in the polls but there’s a sense that the ‘vaccine bounce’ may be coming to its natural end.

The upside of the vaccine programme is it touched nearly everyone. The downside of the ‘pingdemic’ is that it too appears to be touching nearly everyone. Calmer heads in government think the sense of disruption, confusion and chaos can’t last much longer. But as MPs head for the metaphorical beaches this summer, some Tories worry that the PM’s flip flops may linger in the public memory.

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Labour Will Oppose Boris Johnson Plan for Compulsory Covid Passports For Nightclubs

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Boris Johnson’s plans to force nightclubs to make Covid ‘passports’ a condition of entry are hanging in the balance after Labour came out against the idea.

The PM’s proposal, which would from the end of September restrict entry to people who have been double-jabbed, has met with a backlash from club owners.

It is already opposed by a number of Tory MPs, who fear it would open the way for similar curbs on pubs, and Labour’s opposition now means that the government cannot be sure of getting it passed by parliament.

Even though the PM has a majority of more than 80, more than 40 Tory MPs have come out against the idea of compulsory ‘Covid passports’ at a time when most other restrictions have been lifted.

Keir Starmer prefers a rival plan to immediately mandate clubbers to get a negative Covid test before entry, believing it would offer better health protection at a time when the Delta variant of the virus is ripping through younger age groups.

Labour believes that proof double-jabbing is no guarantee that people don’t carry the virus, as the forced isolation of health secretary Sajid Javid underlined last weekend.

“We oppose the use of Covid vaccination status for everyday access to venues and services. It’s costly, open to fraud and is impractical,” a spokesperson for Starmer said.

“Being double-jabbed doesn’t prove you aren’t carrying the virus. Testing for access to venues would be more efficient, and would give people and businesses more certainty.”

Under surprise plans announced by the PM on Monday, the day when most restrictions were lifted in England, nightclubs have until the end of September to comply with a new scheme to restrict entry to the double-jabbed.

So far, some 42 Tory MPs have signed a cross-party declaration by the Big Brother Watch lobby group, which states they are against “Covid status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs”.

Several Conservatives are furious because ministers ruled out the idea of compulsory ‘Covid passports’ after a review by Michael Gove’s Cabinet Office.

But this week, neither the PM nor No.10 ruled out introducing mandatory passports for other crowded indoor venues such as pubs – even though Johnson said he was ”keen” to avoid the need to provide “papers for a pint”.

Labour believes that waiting until the end of September means the risk of clubs acting as ‘super spreader’ venues is too high and it wants immediate testing as a condition of entry.

The issue surfaced in prime minister’s question time, when Starmer pointed out that the PM had once promised to “eat an ID card if he ever had to produce one”.

“When it comes to creating confusion, the Prime Minister is a super spreader. Why is it okay to go to a nightclub for the next six weeks without proof of a vaccine or a test, and then from September it will only be okay to get into a nightclub if you’ve’ got a vaccine ID card?”

Johnson hit back: “Everybody can see that we have to wait until the end of September, by which time, it is only fair to the younger generation when they will all have been offered two jabs before we consider something like asking people to be double jabbed before they go into a nightclub.

“That is blindingly obvious to everybody. It is common sense, and I think most people in this country understand it. Most people in this country want to see younger people being encouraged to get vaccinations.”

Shadow domestic violence minister Jess Phillips told TimesRadio: “I just don’t think it will work. I just don’t think that businesses – like your local nightclub or local pub – would be able to police it, and I don’t think it’s fair on them.”

Downing Street confirmed that legislation would be needed to make the passports compulsory.

In a clue to government nervousness over the forthcoming vote on the plans, PoliticsHome reported that cabinet minister Simon Hart had on Wednesday pleaded with rebels to back the PM.

“As far as a rebellion is concerned, if I was in a position to talk to colleagues who are uncomfortable about these proposals [I’d say] that absolutely none of these things are ever done with any degree of enthusiasm or glee,” the Welsh Secretary said.

“It’s always done with the heaviest of hearts and on the basis of what we think is really compelling advice and evidence. I very much hope that if we get to a vote on this that we can take as many colleagues with us as possible.”

Starmer was himself forced to enter self-isolation after one of his children tested positive for coronavirus around the time he was in the Commons for Prime Minister’s Questions.

The Labour leader tested negative on Wednesday morning ahead of his appearance in parliament where he grilled Johnson over his isolation policy.

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Keir Starmer Expels Far-Left Corbyn Supporters From Labour

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Jonathan Brady – PA Images via Getty Images

Hundreds of far Left supporters of Jeremy Corbyn will be expelled from Labour within days after its ruling body agreed to ban four groups accused of promoting a “toxic culture” within the party.

The ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) decided on Tuesday to proscribe ‘Resist’ and ‘Labour Against the Witchhunt’, factions which both claim anti-Semitism allegations have been politically motivated.

‘Labour In Exile’, which actively welcomes expelled or suspended members, was banned. Another group, ‘Socialist Appeal’, which describes itself as Marxist, was also proscribed.

HuffPost UK understands that letters of “auto-exclusion”, informing members they have effectively expelled themselves by being members of any of the groups, will be sent by the end of this week.

The NEC approved the proscription with a big majority, insiders said.

Many of the members of the four factions were strong supporters of former leader Corbyn, who remains suspended from the party whip following his reaction to an equalities watchdog finding of institutional anti-Semitism.

The NEC also agreed to set up a new panel which would look assess whether other fringe groups operating within the party should also be proscribed.

The panel will be drawn from the Organisation Sub-Committee of the NEC, but insiders said that it would not operate as a “Star Chamber” because once it ruled which groups should be banned, expulsion was automatic.

In one concession to critics, it was agreed that the full NEC would have to ratify any decisions by the “Org Sub” committee.

As the lengthy NEC meeting took place, members of the far-Left groups and others – including Corbyn’s brother Piers – demonstrated outside Labour’s HQ in London.

Grassroots group Momentum and Unite the union had both warned that the attempt to “purge” the groups was an act of “machismo” that was unnecessary.

And former shadow chancellor John McDonnell had tweeted that it was a “standard Blairite” tactic to try and show how strong a leader Starmer was.

Corbyn too had expressed strong opposition to the plan.

But one member of the NEC told HuffPost UK that the move was “morally important” because members of the groups had supported those who had been expelled for anti-Semitism.

‘Socialist Appeal’ has also been described as an “entryist” group and some MPs believe its expulsion had echos of the booting out of Militant under Neil Kinnock in the 1980s.

The margins of the proscription votes on the NEC underlined the strength of support Starmer now has on the ruling body, with two-to-one majorities for most of them.

The narrowest vote was to ban ‘Socialist Appeal’, by a margin of 20 votes to 12.

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