10 of Starmer’s frontbenchers resigned last night to vote in favour of a ceasefire in a symbolic vote organised by the SNP. The King’s Speech amendment calling for “all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire” was defeated by a majority of 168. Performative, pointless…
Labour’s front bench resignations were:
- Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding Jess Phillips.
- Shadow Minister for Crime Reduction Naz Shah.
- Shadow Minister for Devolution and the English Regions Paula Barker.
- Shadow Minister for Local Government and Faith Sarah Owen.
- Shadow Minister for Exports Afzal Khan.
- Shadow Minister for Veterans Rachel Hopkins.
- Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales Andy Slaughter.
- Shadow equalities minister Yasmin Qureshi.
- Shadow treasury PPS Dan Carden.
- PPS to Angela Rayner Mary Foy.
A total of 56 Labour MPs – over a quarter – rebelled. Starmer’s statement reiterated his support for Israel and added – “I regret that some colleagues felt unable to support the position tonight“. John Healey said this morning that Labour is “acting in these very difficult circumstances as if we were in government“. Oh dear…
Labour hypocrisy charges: you wait for one and two come along at once. After Guido reported yesterday that Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under investigation for donations, Guido now spots Jess Philips – also in the Shadow Cabinet – is now also under investigation. On two counts…
Katherine Stone’s quickly becoming one of the hardest working people in Westminster…
Once again we see a parade of left-wing and centrist MPs performatively moan about Boris’s language and claim it’s directly leading abuse on the streets. In the wake of the protestors shouting at Starmer last night we’ve seen the likes of David Lammy, Jess Philips and Angela Rayner queue up to slam the PM – none of whom have illustrious track records when it comes to extreme language:
- Angela Rayner endorsed Eleanor Laing’s tweet that “elected representatives must be able to go about their work without the fear of verbal or physical attacks”, after calling Tories “scum” at Labour conference.
- Liam Byrne said “now we see clearly the kind of behaviour Boris Johnson is prepared to incite” after previously accusing the PM of being guilty of treason
- Jess Phillips accused the PM of not being “a clown he’s a danger”, after famously saying she will “knife Corbyn in the front”.
- Ed Davey lectured the PM that his “words have real-world consequences”, having previously called for a remain alliance in Uxbridge to “decapitate” Boris.
- David Lammy, himself involved in the scuffle, said “Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy”. In 2019 he compared Leavers to Nazis, then doubled down saying the comparison “wasn’t strong enough”.
Read the full list of historic hypocrisies courtesy of Guido here.
It’s not just Labour MPs. Boris sparked similar outrage in 2019 when Labour MPs accused him of inciting violence against them, a claim he described from the dispatch box as “humbug”. Despite similar outrage from Labour MPs and the media, Tory MPs not only backed the PM, the likes of Julian Smith were perfectly happy to continue serving in his cabinet and then plaster Boris all over their leaflets in the 2019 election. Now they’ve been kicked out of the cabinet, they’re free to discover a new pious, retweet-seeking morality. Spare us the holier-than-thou act…
Yesterday, Labour MP for Yardley Jess Phillips provided Observer readers with a fun guide to her favourite places across Birmingham, with plenty of recommendations for the best places to eat, drink, and visit in the city she’s always called home. Unfortunately the Yardley MP made a serious oversight: none of her picks are in her constituency…
Despite recommending 12 of the best shops, clubs, museums, and nature spots in Birmingham, it seems the 100,000 people living in Yardley are out of luck: the closest spot Phillips reckons is worth their time – the Milan Sweet Centre, where Phillips buys “at least 40 samosas” a week – is in the neighbouring constituency of Hall Green. Phillips is also a big fan of Stirchley… which is in the Selly Oak constituency.
For co-conspirators spending time in the Yardley area, the Guido tour team has looked in her patch and can recommend a stop at the Blakesley Hall Museum – one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham, which attracts thousands of tourists every year – although apparently Jess Phillips isn’t one of them. Similarly, Google Maps recommends the Inflata Nation Inflatable Theme Park, with 742 customer reviews averaging 4.4 stars. Guido anticipates her oversight of the inflatable attraction won’t feed through to a bounce in the local polls any time soon…
With Sir Keir having already thrown Rosie Duffield under the bus by insisting this morning that she shouldn’t have said “adult human female”, Jess Phillips has now been caught up in the transphobia fray. Asked whether she stands with Duffield, Phillips said:
“I stand with her literally all the time!”
Which is not the same thing as “yes”…
Jess Phillips on Emma Raducanau’s victory…
“I tell you what, I wouldn’t want my teenager left with a cheque for 2.5 million dollars.”
