Emily Thornberry says she is standing for deputy Labour leader, with Gaza and support for wealth tax key part of her campaign
Emily Thornberry, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, has confirmed that she is standing to be Labour’s deputy leader.
In a statement on social media, she says:
I’m running for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
We fought hard for a Labour government. But we’ve made mistakes and must listen.
Welfare. Gaza. Wealth tax. Changes to come on SEND.
I will be a voice for the membership, unions, PLP, and our constituents – not just nod along.
Thornberry was in Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet, as shadow attorney general, but was surprised after the election not to get a government job. Starmer chose Lord Hermer KC, an old friend and legal colleague, for attorney general instead.
Thornberry’s announcement means there are now three confirmed candidates, representing three strands of party opinion. They are:
Loyalist/pro-government: Bridget Phillipson
Soft left: Emily Thornberry
Left: Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Updated at 10.48 CEST
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Q: What do you think of figures out today showing the number of days workers take off sick to be at the highest level for 15 years?
Badenoch said these figures were “extraordinary”. She claimed that some people had just “switched off work”. And the extension of remote health assessments had made it easier of people report sick.
Q: [From the Telegraph’s Daniel Martin] What do you think of the government’s plan to tighten the way the European convention on human rights (ECHR) is interpreted in the UK to deal with small boats?
Badenoch said she would announce her policy on the ECHR soon.
But she did not believe Labour on the ECHR, she added.
I remember when Shabana Mahmood [home secretary] was signing letters saying we shouldn’t deport foreign criminals. She actually signed those letters. They voted against all of the measures which we were trying to bring in to bring down immigration … So I’m not really convinced that their heart is in this.
Q: [From the Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey] You say you are serious, and can be trusted on the economy. But we have not heard economic policies from you. And when you were in office, you were anti-business, putting up taxes for business. What will you do on tax?
Badenoch said, as business secretary, she knew what business wanted. There were ‘“many mistakes’” the party made in government. She was not chancellor, she said.
As an example of a new policy, she mentioned her net zero speech last week.
Q: [From the Sun’s Ryan Sabey] Nigel Farage recently said that it was 50/50 that you would be gone by Christmas? Is this the start of the fightback, or make or break for you?
Badenoch said that Farage could say what he liked. At the weekend in interviews he could not say how he would deliver his policies. He was not serious, she said.
ShareBadenoch rules out getting rid of pension triple lock
Q: The cost of the pensions triple lock is going up. If Labour were to proposing getting rid of it, would you back them on that?
Badenoch replied:
No. The triple lock is Conservative policy, has been, and it continues to be.
She said her priority would be to cut spendinng on health and sickness benefits.
And she said, if the country were to achieve 3% growth, concerns about the cost of the triple lock would go away.
(This answer is firmer than Badenoch’s previous answers on the triple lock have been. In the past, while she has said support for the triple lock is current Conservative party policy, she has been reluctant to say that will still be the case at the time of the next election.)
Q: Do you still think you can cut welfare spending by £12bn?
Badenoch said that was a figure from the last election. She said it may be possible to find more savings. But she said she wanted to find “common ground” on this with Labour.
Q: [From Christopher Hope from GB News]At the PLP meeting last night Keir Starmer talked about the threat to Labour posed by Reform UK and the Greens. Are you worried you are becoming irrelevant?
Badenoch said that Starmer is facing a crisis. He is only focused on what the Labour party is thinking, she said. She said she was focusing on the issues affecting the country.
And she accused Reform UK of wanting higher welfare spending.
ShareBadenoch says Tories willing to support Labour on legislation to cut welfare spending
Kemi Badenoch has just delivered a speech offering to help Labour with legislationg for welfare cuts. I will post key points soon.
She is now taking questions.
Q: You have offered to help Keir Starmer cut welfare spending, but you voted against the welfare bill earlier this year. Do you regret that?
No, says Badenoch. She claims that bill would increase welfare spending.
(This is not accurate. The changes to the bill announced at the last minute mean that it is unlikely to save much money over the course of this parliament. But the Tories were committed to voting against the bill before that U-turn, when it would have saved money.)
The Labour MP Paula Barker, who represents Liverpool Wavertree, is thinking of standing for deputy leader, the BBC’s Claire Hamilton reports.
ShareWater companies could move to not-for-profit model, but not with government funding, minister tells MPs
Helena Horton
Helena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter.
Water minister Emma Hardy has told the Commons environment committee that English water companies could transition to a co-operative or not-for-profit model, similar to Welsh Water. But she said no government money would be used for such a transition.
She said there is a provision in the government-commissioned Cunliffe Review, which was set up to decide how the failed water system can be reformed so water companies proper invest in infrastructure, and end the scandal of sewage dumping as well as water shortages caused by a failure to build reservoirs.
Asked if the sector could move from a for-profit model to a not-for-profit structure, she said:
We were really clear on nationalisation as we didn’t want to mislead people by putting something into a report that we weren’t going to adopt.
But there is a recommendation, number 46 – we are looking at all recommendations, but 46 looks at a case by case basis whether it would be appropriate for water companies to transition to an alternate ownership model if they wish to do so, or after special administration.
So one of the recommendations is to say, on a case by case basis, would it be appropriate for that water company to transition into another model? So that is there. I do want to be clear that wouldn’t involve state funding, it wouldn’t involve money from government as we won’t be involved in state money going into companies.
ShareAndy Burnham says he’s worried north-west lost influence in reshuffle, as he talks up Lucy Powell for deputy Labour leader
Lucy Powell, who was sacked as leader of the Commons on Friday, is going to stand to be Labour’s deputy leader, Kevin Schofield from Huffpost UK reports.
Powell, MP for Manchester Central, is close to Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, and in an interview on Sky News this morning he suggested he would like to see her in the contest, saying she has “a strong voice from the north” and “always had a good degree of independence about what she does”.
Burnham said it was important to have “independent voices in [the deputy leadership contest], and particularly from the north”.
He also said that he was concerned that the north-west of England was losing influence in the reshuffle. He said:
I’m a bit worried about the number of ministers from the north-west, particularly that left the government.
Other north-west Labour figures who left the government in the reshuffle include: Justin Madders (MP for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough, former business minister), Jim McMahon (MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton, former local government minister), Maria Eage (MP for Liverpool Garston, former Home Office minister) and Lord Khan of Burnley (former housing minister).
Updated at 11.53 CEST
Starmer chairs first cabinet meeting since reshuffle
Keir Starmer is chairing the first cabinet meeting since last week’s reshuffle. Downing Street invited a pool photographer to take some pictures (Toby Melville) and, while politicians’ facial expressions aren’t always a reliable guide to what they think, Melville has filed some pictures that seem to reveal a great deal about the reshuffle drama.
Starmer is probably just relieved it has gone reasonably well. Darren Jones, the new chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and first secretary to the PM, has had a colossal promotion. And David Lammy has been promoted too, and is now deputy PM. Those two look pretty happy in this shot.
And Bridget Phillipson? Perhaps a bit nervous about how her bid for deputy Labour leader will go.
Left to right: Darren Jones, Keir Starmer, David Lammy and Bridget Phillipson at today’s cabinet. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
But Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is looking a bit glum. She was not directly affected by the reshuffle, but she will have read the articles at the weekend saying Jones is now lined up to replace her if her budget fails in the autumn. And Yvette Cooper, the new foreign secretary, does not seem very chuffed either. Normally minsters want to be foreign secretary, but Cooper will know that Starmer is the real foreign secretary and that she was moved from the Home Office because Starmer thought someone else could do the job better.
Jonathan Reynolds was moved from business secretary to chief whip. Generally that is seen as a demotion, and he does not seem to be smiling either.
Right to left: Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper, Wes Streeting and Jonathan Reynolds. Photograph: Toby Melville/PA
Cooper was replaced at the Home Office by Shabana Mahmood. That was a significant elevation, and in this picture she seems positively gleeful about her new role.
Shabana Mahmood at cabinet. Photograph: Toby Melville/PAShareEmily Thornberry says she is standing for deputy Labour leader, with Gaza and support for wealth tax key part of her campaign
Emily Thornberry, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, has confirmed that she is standing to be Labour’s deputy leader.
In a statement on social media, she says:
I’m running for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
We fought hard for a Labour government. But we’ve made mistakes and must listen.
Welfare. Gaza. Wealth tax. Changes to come on SEND.
I will be a voice for the membership, unions, PLP, and our constituents – not just nod along.
Thornberry was in Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet, as shadow attorney general, but was surprised after the election not to get a government job. Starmer chose Lord Hermer KC, an old friend and legal colleague, for attorney general instead.
Thornberry’s announcement means there are now three confirmed candidates, representing three strands of party opinion. They are:
Loyalist/pro-government: Bridget Phillipson
Soft left: Emily Thornberry
Left: Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Updated at 10.48 CEST
Bell Ribeiro-Addy says she is standing for deputy Labour leader because party needs debate on ‘what’s gone wrong’
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, said this morning she was standing for deputy Labour leader because the party needed a discuss on “what’s gone wrong”.
In an interview with the Today programme, she rejected the suggestion that it would be bad for the party if the deputy leadership contest opened up a debate about government policy. She said:
We do have to accept that we have to have a discussion about what members don’t like and what voters don’t like, and what’s gone wrong.
It’s very important to note that a load of Labour members and voters are unhappy about the handling of the situation in Gaza, the winter fuel allowance, the welfare cuts.
All of these things are things that we should be discussing and the idea that we should not have a debate because it may seem critical of the party, I think, is wrong.
She also said that Labour would carrying on “haemorrhaging votes” to other parties if it did not change course.
The Labour party is a broad church and, actually, when we are able to have debates, when we are able to bring forward different views, it actually makes us better. It makes us more appealing to the electorate and, more importantly, it’s what the Labour membership wants to see.
One homogenous view is not going to get us anywhere. It hasn’t got us anywhere at the moment. We are currently haemorrhaging votes to the Lib Dems, to the Greens, and ultimately all we seem to want to do at the moment is chase down Reform. We cannot do that.
The reality is, if we keep going down this direction, we are not going to be able to attract or even to retain voters.
Ribeiro-Addy also claimed that Labour’s decision to give MPs just three days to get the nominations they need to be on the ballot was “unfair”. She is on the left of the party, and leftwingers have claimed this timetable is designed to keep them out of the contest.
Ribeiro-Addy said:
We only have three days to consider who it is that’s going to be put forward to the membership to be deputy leader of the party, and that is not in the strong tradition of Labour party democracy, and it’s that tradition that makes our party strong. It is absolutely unfair and I don’t think it’s what the membership want.
Ultimately, it’s their deputy leader. It’s about them and they should have the right to choose from a range of people.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy speaking in the Commons. Photograph: Commons TVShareStreeting suggests Labour needs deputy leader from outside London to ‘broaden perspectives’
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, hasn’t just been on the Today programme this morning; he has been doing a media round, promoting the new NHS league tables for England, and in other interviews he has revealed more about why he is not committing to backing Bridget Phillipson for deputy leader at this point. (See 8.35am.)
In an interview with Times Radio, Streeting said he would “certainly prefer the next deputy leader to be a woman”.
Speaking to LBC, Streeting said that, although Phillipson would be a good choice, there were other “great” women candidates too.
[Phillipson] would definitely be a great deputy leader if she was chosen. There are other women in the race who I think would also be great deputy leaders. So I’m not endorsing anyone at this stage.
Streeting may have been thinking in particular of Alison McGovern, who is now housing minister and who is considering standing for deputy leader. Streeting and McGovern were involved with Progress (now called Progressive Britain), the “centrist” Labour group that kept Blairism in the party alive during the Corbyn years. McGovern was Progress chair.
In his interview with Times Radio, Streeting also had a mild dig at Emily Thornberry, who is actively canvassing support for a bid, saying that as a London MP he did not think she would be suitable. He said:
Without being disrespectful to some brilliant women in London who are standing, like Emily Thornberry [whom] I’ve got a lot of respect for, I can well understand why lots of my colleagues are saying we should have a deputy leader from outside London to broaden perspectives, broaden the base.
If Thornberry were to win the deputy leadership, Labour would have a leader, a deputy PM and a deputy leader who were all London MPs and lawyers.
ShareWes Streeting welcomes ‘brilliant’ Bridget Phillipson standing for deputy leader – but without confirming he will vote for her
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has welcomed Bridget Phillipson’s decison to stand for Labour deputy leader – but without confirming that he will actually vote for her.
In an interview on the Today programme, asked if he would be voting for Phillipson, Streeting replied:
I haven’t decided yet. I’m delighted Bridget Phillipson has thrown her hat into the ring. She is a brilliant education secretary. We come from very similar working class backgrounds, Bridget in the north-east of England, me in east London, and she has made a big contribution to the Labour party’s success getting elected into government, and she is part of the team that is now delivering change.
There are other candidates who I think also have that kind of background, that kind of campaigning record.
Like other Labour MPs, I’ll be listening intently as they set out their stores this week, and then deciding who I’ll cast my nomination for.
When it was put to him that Phillipson was clearly the leadership candidate, and that he would be expected to vote for her, Streeting disputed that, and said “we’re not afraid of debate”.
Asked to explain what the role of deputy leader meant, now that Keir Starmer has decoupled it from being deputy PM, Streeting replied:
Campaigner in chief is the job of the deputy leader, to ensure the electoral success of the Labour party at the ballot box, in order that we get permission to change communities, locally or the country in the case of general elections, or the Scottish and Welsh elections that are coming up.
That does mean helping Labour’s appeal. It does mean making sure that we are holding our coalition of voters together, and that is the fundamental job.
ShareBridget Phillipson becomes first minister to enter race to become deputy Labour leader
Good morning. Yesterday around a dozen Labour MPs were being named as potential candidates for the deputy leadership, but it is mathematically impossible for more than four of them to get the required number of nominations and quite possible that only two or three will manage it. And, with hustings scheduled for tomorrow, any serious candidates are going to have to declare today.
This morning Bridget Phillipson has announced that she is standing. As a woman, who is not from London (she is MP for Houghton and Sunderland South) and a loyalist (she is education secretary), she has all the qualities mentioned by Harriet Harman yesterday as ideal for the next deputy leader.
Here is the statement Phillipson has issued:
Today I am putting myself forward as a candidate for the deputy leadership of the Labour party, to unite our great party and deliver for working people.
I am a proud working-class woman from the north-east. I have come from a single parent family on a tough council street, all the way to the cabinet, determined to deliver better life chances for young people growing up in our country.
I’ve taken on powerful vested interests in the education sector – and even as they threw everything at me, I have never taken a backwards step. I will bring that same determination to every battle ahead of us.
Because make no mistake: we are in a fight. We all know the dangers Reform poses our country.
But not only am I ready for it: I’ve proven we can do it. I’ve shown we can beat Farage in the north-east, while staying true to the Labour party’s values of equality, fairness and social justice.
With me as deputy leader we will beat them right across the country and unite to deliver the opportunity that working people across this great country deserve.
The only other candidate to have formally declared so far is Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a leftwinger, who may struggle to get the 80 MPs nominations needed.
As a cabinet minister, Phillipson will be seen (fairly or not) as the leadership candidate. In the current climate, that is probably not an advantage in an election open to all Labour party members, but a lot will depend on who is on the final ballot. It is hard to imagine that Phillipson won’t get the 80 names. There is less clarity about who else might be there.
Phillipson has got an ideal platform today; she is speaking at the TUC conference in Brighton.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet.
10am: Tim Davie, director general of the BBC, gives evidence to the Commons culture committee.
11am: Kemi Badenoch gives a speech on welfare.
11.30am: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, takes questions in the Commons.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 12.30pm: MPs debate the Diego Garcia military base and British Indian Ocean Territory bill, that implements the treaty transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Afternoon: Phillipson speaks at the TUC conference in Brighton.
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Updated at 09.37 CEST