Labour HQ Returns to Southwark

Westminster insiders will be interested to learn that Labour is set to move out of their Southside Victoria Street offices, above House of Fraser, and move to a new HQ. While Labour hasn’t announced the new location, Guido understands the party is moving south of the river to Southwark for the first time since Neil Kinnock was leader. PAds still haven’t been told the location, with one saying the party’s claiming the new HQ landlord doesn’t want it to be released yet. “Near the station” is the most one Labour source has been told. Guido will be keeping an eye out for the tax situation of the landlord…

The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar is also reporting the departure of Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Sam White. Policy and communications will be moving into Party HQ, reporting to General Secretary David Evans rather than to LOTO. Liz’s conference speech insult about the North London anti-growth coalition clearly spooked Labour into moving south of the river…

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Starmer’s Month of the Long Knives

Keir Starmer wasn’t lying when he told Piers Morgan he’d been “listening” to Tony Blair’s leadership advice. Over the past few weeks, Sir Keir’s been pulling every lever within reach to fulfill the promise of a “total deconstruction and reconstruction” of the Labour Party. A “reconstruction” which, coincidentally, means appointing a load of Blairites…

Almost every organ of the party – from the Leader’s Office, to the frontbench, to the PLP, and to the National Executive Committee – has seen a wave of changes over the last few weeks. It hasn’t happened overnight, though now the purpose is quite clear: a doubling down on “New New Labour”.

In the Leader’s Office, Blairite Sam White was recently enlisted as Chief of Staff replacing Morgan McSweeney, joining new strategist Deborah Mattinson (Blair/Brown adviser), and interim director of communications Matthew Doyle (Blair adviser) replaces Ben Nunn. This, of course, follows Carolyn Harris’s resignation as Starmer’s parliamentary private secretary in May, along with Jenny Chapman’s unceremonious shafting as his director of politics a month later. Deconstruction and reconstruction, piece by piece.

Over in the PLP, Ben Folley (a relic of the Corbyn golden years) has announced today he’s leaving his role as General Secretary of the Parliamentary Labour Party, which follows Starmer’s ruthless purge of thousands of far-left loons at the National Executive Committee meeting last week. And of course, this is before you even get to the botched reshuffle of the frontbench…

UPDATE 28 July: Keir Starmer’s speechwriter and close aide Chris Ward has told colleagues he is quitting according to the Guardian. Which begs the question, who will be his new speechwriter? If he is recycling Blairites, he could bring back Phil Collins, the recently sacked Times columnist now with time on his hands. After all he did write some of the most memorable speeches for Tony Blair…

UPDATE 29 July: Tom Hughes, who worked on Starmer’s leadership campaign before joining the leader’s office as press officer and spokesperson, is leaving.

mdi-timer 26 July 2021 @ 16:00 26 Jul 2021 @ 16:00 mdi-twitter mdi-facebook mdi-whatsapp mdi-telegram mdi-linkedin mdi-email mdi-comment View Comments