The dam has burst over allegations against now-independent MP Geraint Davies. After losing the whip this morning following multiple harassment allegations published in Politico, both a Labour MP and a peer have accused Davies of bringing sex workers into Parliament to “show them off” on the Terrace. Apparently, it was a “well-known” habit of his…
A Labour MP has told Sky News Davies was “always standing too close and being weird“, and often “boasted” about taking prostitutes into Strangers’ Bar:
“It’s a well-known secret in Westminster about who to avoid and the parties need to act on these rumours before the perpetrators drag everyone down with them… He would openly boast about bringing escorts and prostitutes onto the terrace and show them off.”
The Labour whips’ office reportedly knew about this months ago, yet did nothing in the absence of a formal complaint. Now they’ve been bounced into suspending him based on the press coverage. Meanwhile the likes of Stephen Kinnock are also admitting they heard “rumours” about people like Davies yet said nothing. The exact sort of behaviour he criticised the Tories for after the Pincher saga…
Neil Coyle has had the Labour whip restored this afternoon over a year after losing it for a drunken sinophobic rant in Strangers’ Bar. He has since undergone unconscious bias training and claims to have been sober for over a year. Now he’s back in the Labour camp, despite having two allegations of bullying and harassment upheld against him by the Independent Expert Panel…
A new Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll conducted after the local elections has Labour on 41%, a drop of five points since the last survey. The Tories have gained one point to reach 29%. The 12-point gap is the lowest since Rishi walked into Number 10 last October…
The party with the most to cheer will be the LibDems: their support has surged by 4 points to 16% of the vote. Their highest numbers since the 2019 general election.
While Rishi might take comfort in the narrowing national poll lead after the bruising local election results on Friday, his personal approval rating has dropped by 2 points since last week, now sitting at -7. Starmer’s, meanwhile, is +10. Starmer is now also leading across all leadership characteristics, including on trust with the economy…
Keir Starmer insists Labour has finally developed a “very clear position” on women’s rights ahead of the next election, having spent the better part of two years prevaricating on what is a woman and claiming he’s committed to “introduc[ing] self declaration for trans people”. Now, having watched Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP implode over the same topic, Starmer has seemingly been reprogrammed into a gender-critical feminist. He tells the Express today:
“What we learned from Scotland is that you don’t make changes that you can’t bring the public along with, which is why in Scotland they should reset the situation. I think there are lessons from Scotland and the primary lesson is that changes which don’t carry public confidence are almost certainly not the right changes… I do feel very strongly about this, which is we have made real and significant progress when it comes to women’s rights and we must not roll back or retreat from any of that, and one of them is safe spaces… we cannot roll back on that.”
So having promised to make it easier for people to switch gender just two years ago – in a similar mould to Sturgeon this year – Sir Keir has U-turned now the prevailing winds blow in a different direction. Who’d have thought? He’s also in front of the cameras later today to set out Labour’s plan to tackle crime… on the same day it’s revealed violent offenders carried out more crimes in Britain after he campaigned for them to stay.
Rupa Huq has regained the Labour Party whip just five months after Guido published audio of her describing Kwasi Kwarteng as “superficially black“. Apparently she’s learnt her lesson – thanks to bias training – and the party is now happy to welcome her back:
“During my suspension I have reflected on the offence caused by my remarks at last year’s Labour Party Conference and I want to offer, once again, my sincere apologies to everyone affected. As I promised at the time, I have undertaken and completed anti-racism and bias training. I want to make clear that I accept fully the conclusion of the party’s inquiry and the sanction it has imposed.”
So far, Sir Keir himself has remained noticeably quiet about Huq’s comeback. As a reminder, here’s what he told Nick Ferrari on the day she lost the whip:
“What she said, in my view, was racist, it was wrong and she’s been suspended from the whip in the party and that was done very, very quickly.”
Asked if he wanted to see her back in the Party, he added:
“I think that comment was racist. And I’m very glad the Labour Party acted as swiftly as it did.”
Which isn’t exactly a “yes“. Just two weeks ago, following the announcement that the ECHR would end its monitoring of Labour, Starmer claimed “under my leadership there will zero tolerance of antisemitism, of racism, of discrimination of any kind.” Zero tolerance – unless you go on a quick training course…
Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark has announced an effective takeover of all financial, governance and recruitment powers of the Labour-run Liverpool City Council, after a new report revealed yet more “serious shortcomings” in the council’s money management and leadership. The Council’s already been under special measures since March 2021, when Robert Jenrick appointed four commissioners to control regeneration, highways, and housing. The hope was they’d stick around for three years to rebuild the council after its “breakdown“. It turns out the situation is so bad they now need a fifth commissioner to handle finances…
Clark also revealed in a letter to local councillors that Steve Rotheram, Liverpool’s Metro Mayor, will chair an “advisory panel” to “plan for Liverpool’s revival“:
“I am determined to help do everything I can to help Liverpool come out of the current intervention stronger and able to achieve its ambitions. The commissioners’ report shows that there are still serious shortcomings that need to be sorted out, especially in financial management […] So following talks I had in person in Liverpool with Mayor Joanne Anderson and Mayor Steve Rotheram in recent weeks, I am appointing a new panel, chaired by that same Mayor Rotheram and supported by some of the wisest, and most experienced people in city leadership, to lead this transition from current interventions to a successful future.”
The biggest Whitehall takeover of local government in history…
