Just 24 hours into Labour conference and already Brexit is back on the menu, with Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy insisting this morning that Keir Starmer will somehow deliver a “much better” deal with Europe:
With Labour there will be no return to the single market or the customs union. But Keir Starmer is committed to improving our relations with Europe, delivering Britain a much better deal than we have got and seeking a new security pact to keep our country safe…”
A deal that presumably involves playing by Brussels’ rulebook…
Wes Streeting has become the latest Labour frontbencher to blast Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion, just hours after the High Court ruled the policy was lawful and Khan vowed to press ahead next month. Sir Keir himself has already advised Khan should “reflect” on the move, and Rachel Reeves yesterday said it wasn’t the time to “clobber” families with the £12.50 charge. Now Streeting has also said in no uncertain terms it’s the wrong move. They all need to sit down together and clear the air…
He told Times Radio:
“My anxiety throughout, which I’ve always voiced privately with Sadiq and his team, rather than criticise him publicly, has been, look, I appreciate what you’re doing, I support the goal of the policy, but the cost is a problem. And if you look at who pays ULEZ it tends to be poorer families. And smaller businesses… I’m afraid that the hard truth is that £12 a day fee cost Labour that by-election. And I think it tells you how up against it people are at the moment in terms of their household finances. And if people can’t afford it, they won’t vote for it.”
That’s three of Labour’s most prominent front benchers all telling their party’s own mayor to U-turn, which admittedly is their solution to everything. In the meantime, the well-remunerated David Lammy was on LBC this afternoon, trying to convince one furious caller – who’s struggling to support his family already – that the ULEZ is somehow necessary to stop his kids “get[ting] ill“. According to the caller, the expansion will cost his family around £200 a month…
As news broke of a fast-moving coup attempt in Russia over the weekend, as is customary, the Shadow Foreign Secretary was offered an intelligence briefing with the latest updates on Privy Council terms as a courtesy from the government. David Lammy even thanked James Cleverly at the despatch box yesterday for offering “His Majesty’s Official Opposition” this intelligence. Guido couldn’t help noticing the ambiguity of that language. He didn’t say “thanks for providing me with that intelligence”…
There’s good reason for that: Lammy didn’t attend the briefing at all. Despite thanking Cleverly for briefing potentially the next government on crucial foreign policy matters, the Shadow Foreign Secretary himself wasn’t even there. He was, however, on his Sunday radio show for LBC, putting in the hard graft for the second job which has netted him over £60,000 since March 2022. David was on-air for three whole hours. At one point he even claims “there is nothing you can put between myself and James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, in relation to how we want to support Ukraine”. Nothing, apart from a cushty radio phone-in show…
Guido approached Labour for comment. They refused to be drawn on who attended the briefing, and pointed towards his ambiguous Commons statement. Guido hears Lammy wasn’t even in London at the time and had to speak to Cleverly over the phone – which would mean that any briefing would be in general terms only for obvious security reasons. It’s not clear which country Lammy was in, or what he was doing there. His radio show was done remotely…
The Leader of the Opposition will have noted the absence of his would-be Foreign Secretary from the briefing, because he went to it. Something for Keir to reflect on as he considers his forthcoming reshuffle…
As it happens, Guido notes that when the government hosted the Ukraine Recovery Conference last week, His Majesty’s Opposition’s most senior foreign policy voice was also missing in action. Despite receiving an invite, Lammy was busy in Glasgow, prioritising collecting an honorary degree.
