Infighting continues in Labourland, as Diane Abbott wrote a scathing letter last night to her own party, claiming that she “will not get a fair hearing” in the racism investigation into her because… of racism. The Labour MP had the whip withdrawn over her notorious comments about Jewish people to the Observer. Rebuking the party’s investigation, she wrote:

“The internal Labour Party disciplinary against me is fraudulent…As a Black woman, and someone on the left of the Labour Party, I have unfortunately been forced to reach the conclusion that I will not get a fair hearing from this Labour leadership.”

Her close friend Jeremy Corbyn was quick to her defence, claiming that the “the latest stitch up” against Abbott a “disgrace“. Fellow Labour lefty MP Beth Winter joined in, calling the party’s candidate selection process “undemocratic and discriminatory” after she lost out to a front bench colleague. Government in waiting…

This morning Labour are talking tough on “smashing Channel migrant gangs” to stop the boats, vowing to treat traffickers like terrorists by freezing assets and restricting their movements. While Starmer appears in both The Sun and The Times to sell his migrant deal to voters, the Conservatives are already on the counterattack: not only does the deal junk the Rwanda plan, it opens the door to thousands of EU migrants in exchange for a new borders agreement with Brussels. Starmer is willing to accept a share of asylum seekers in return for the EU taking back migrants who arrive via small boats. Labour insist this is up for negotiation, which is code for ‘yes’…

Stamer told The Times this morning:

“We effectively exited the returns agreement we were in and have never replaced it. The first job is to secure the borders and make sure we are the ones determining who comes to this country.”

The Tories claim this would amount to around 100,000 EU asylum seekers a year, based on a Council of the EU document produced in June which says that distribution of migrants within a sharing agreement should be based “on the size of the population and the economy of the Member State”. The figure could go even higher if the migration crisis worsens. 100,000 more migrants a year, and 100,000 fewer homes built after Labour opposed the scrapping of the EU derived nutrient neutrality laws…

Labour seem to be beefing up their crackdown on scandal-ridden candidates, as the party has launched a safeguarding hiring spree. The party is advertising for a safeguarding manager and safeguarding officer – with both roles coming with responsibility over safeguarding investigations. The new hires will have quite a job on their hands…

There are currently a handful of Labour MPs who have lost the whip, pending investigation, and some of these have dragged on for well over a year. This is without mentioning John Bercow, whose Labour fate has hung in the balance for over 18 months. Looks like they can use all the help they can get.
Co-conspirators up for the challenge can find the details here.

The Electoral Commission has published the latest accounts for the UK’s main political parties in the year ending December 2022. Labour were far out ahead, raking in £47,171,000 compared to the Tories’ £30,682,000. The Tories made a near £2.3 million loss, spending £33,062,000. Admittedly Rishi never pledged to cut the deficit within the party…

Labour’s books are looking much healthier than the previous year – Sir Keir’s prawn cocktail offensive with big business must be paying off. In 2021 they made a £5 million loss, in large part thanks to plummeting membership numbers. For 2022 their outgoings were a whopping £44,450,000, though that still puts them roughly £2.7 million in the green for the year. The LibDems and the SNP also made losses, with the LibDems losing £753,788, and the Nationalists losing roughly £800,000. That’s a lot of motorhomes.

Tory peer Zac Goldsmith has told BBC HARDtalk he would be “very tempted” to back the Labour Party at the next election if they showed “a real commitment” to “protect[ing] the natural world” as part of their green agenda. While he still has “concerns” about Labour, Goldsmith laid out the conditions upon which he’d back Sir Keir anyway:

“The simple truth is there is no pathway to net zero and there’s no solution to climate change that does not involve nature, massive efforts to protect and restore the natural world.

“And at the moment, I’m not hearing any of that from the Labour Party if I do, if there’s a real commitment now the kind of commitment, frankly, that we saw when Boris Johnson was the leader, then I’d be very tempted to throw my weight behind that party and support them in any way I could.”

Goldsmith quit as Rishi’s climate Minister just two months ago, penning a scathing resignation letter which accused Rishi of being “simply uninterested” in green politics. Rishi claimed he’d actually demanded an apology out of Goldsmith for his attacks on the Kangaroo Court, and Goldsmith stood down when he refused. Either way, it looks like the rift between the pair hasn’t closed much since…

Labour’s 2024 business conference is set for next February, and top firms across the UK are already seeing invitations land in their inboxes. Given it’s one of the last opportunities for companies to hobnob with the Shadow Cabinet before the General Election, which could be just a few months later, Labour are charging through the nose for those who want top seats at the table. Rachel Reeves did promise “Labour is back in business”, after all…

‘Headline Partners’ – the deluxe, all singing all dancing package – costs £50,000 (plus VAT). There are three spots available for those with the cash to splash. Here’s what you’ll get if you fancy forking out the big bucks:

• Full branding on invitations sent out to over 2,000 potential attendees
• A full-page advert in the business conference magazine
• Full branding at the event Six complimentary tickets to the conference with reserved seating
• Opportunity for your CFO to introduce one of our keynote speakers
• Invitation for three guests to attend a pre-conference welcome dinner exclusive to partners

One of this year’s keynote speakers was then-Tesco Chairman John Allan, who later resigned in light of multiple harassment allegations – so results may vary. If £50,000 is too steep, the £35,000 Networking Drinks partnership is available for those looking for a more affordable champagne socialism experience…