Saturday, August 28, 2021
Banquo at the feast
The Labour leader may be trying to distance his party from Jeremy Corbyn and the hard left, but he is rapidly discovering that such a task is harder than he hoped. The Independent reports that hopes Keir Starmer may have had of Labour’s autumn conference passing without an intervention by his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn have been dashed, after it was announced that the former leader will speak at the alternative The World Transformed festival alongside the Brighton gathering:
The annual conference is being billed as a chance for Starmer to relaunch his leadership and set out a clear picture of the direction he wants to take Labour, amid growing unease over his failure to establish a lead in the polls over Boris Johnson’s Conservatives.
But he is certain to face clashes with the left of the party, who are increasingly open in their dismay at what they see as his abandonment of key elements of the Corbyn programme and sidelining of figures such as Rebecca Long-Bailey, and he will be concerned that his predecessor’s presence will act as a lightning rod for protest against his leadership.
Events listed for activists at The World Transformed include “Do socialists need their own party?” and “How should the left engage with the Labour leadership?”.
The festival, supported by the Corbyn-backing Momentum movement, will also feature stalwarts of the party left including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and former shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon, as well as Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford and an array of union leaders and campaigners.
While his suspension from the Labour Party over his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission anti-semitism report has been lifted, Mr Corbyn has not been readmitted to the parliamentary party and it is unclear whether he will be attending the Brighton Centre between 25-28 September for Starmer’s first in-person conference since becoming leader last year.
TWT was held virtually last year as Labour’s conference went online-only.
Amid disgruntlement on the Labour left over Starmer’s perceived failure to live up to 10 leadership election pledges to retain policies developed by his predecessor, organisers said they hope to use this year’s event to “discuss and plan the future of the post-Corbyn left” and “channel the energy that emerged under Corbyn’s leadership”.
Time for a Starmer 'Claues Four moment', I suppose though he is no Tony Blair.
The annual conference is being billed as a chance for Starmer to relaunch his leadership and set out a clear picture of the direction he wants to take Labour, amid growing unease over his failure to establish a lead in the polls over Boris Johnson’s Conservatives.
But he is certain to face clashes with the left of the party, who are increasingly open in their dismay at what they see as his abandonment of key elements of the Corbyn programme and sidelining of figures such as Rebecca Long-Bailey, and he will be concerned that his predecessor’s presence will act as a lightning rod for protest against his leadership.
Events listed for activists at The World Transformed include “Do socialists need their own party?” and “How should the left engage with the Labour leadership?”.
The festival, supported by the Corbyn-backing Momentum movement, will also feature stalwarts of the party left including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and former shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon, as well as Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford and an array of union leaders and campaigners.
While his suspension from the Labour Party over his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission anti-semitism report has been lifted, Mr Corbyn has not been readmitted to the parliamentary party and it is unclear whether he will be attending the Brighton Centre between 25-28 September for Starmer’s first in-person conference since becoming leader last year.
TWT was held virtually last year as Labour’s conference went online-only.
Amid disgruntlement on the Labour left over Starmer’s perceived failure to live up to 10 leadership election pledges to retain policies developed by his predecessor, organisers said they hope to use this year’s event to “discuss and plan the future of the post-Corbyn left” and “channel the energy that emerged under Corbyn’s leadership”.
Time for a Starmer 'Claues Four moment', I suppose though he is no Tony Blair.
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> Time for a Starmer 'Clause Four moment'
Are you suggesting that Starmer shoots Corbyn's fox by restoring Clause Four? :-)
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Are you suggesting that Starmer shoots Corbyn's fox by restoring Clause Four? :-)
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