In recent months, Labour figures have become increasingly concerned by the electoral threat posed by the Greens. The growth of the party, which has polled as high as 8 per cent in some polls and has increased its membership by 45 per cent this year to 26,000, is in danger of creating a split on the left to match that on the right.
Alongside their traditional environmentalist platform, the Greens are promoting policies with strong appeal to Labour voters such as a £10 minimum wage by 2020, a wealth tax on the top 1 per cent and the renationalisation of the railways, branding themselves as "the only anti-austerity party". In close contests with the Tories and the Lib Dems, most notably in London, the level of the Green vote could make the difference between winning and losing.
In response, I can reveal that Labour's election strategy chair Douglas Alexander has appointed shadow justice secretary and shadow London minister Sadiq Khan to lead a unit on addressing the threat. Khan, a leading figure on the left of the party (he ran Ed Miliband's leadership campaign) and a former chair of Liberty, is regarded by party sources as a figure well placed to reach out to a group of voters who lie to the left of most of the public and who were alienated during the New Labour years.
That the party has taken the step of creating this role shows just how seriously it is taking the Green challenge (avoiding the complacency that some Tories demonstrated towards Ukip). After being excluded from the broadcasters' TV debates proposal, party leader Natalie Bennett and her colleagues will cite this as further evidence that they deserve a platform alongside Ukip. The Tories, as I noted yesterday, will certainly hope they are successful.
Monday 24 November 2014
sadiq khan
Britain is one of the most centralised countries in the developed world. Too much power is focused in the hands of Whitehall officials and too little in Britain's nations, regions and cities. Local leaders with expert knowledge of the economy and characteristics of their area have too little control over the public services that serve their communities. In London for example, the Mayor and Boroughs control only 7% of the taxes raised from Londoners, compared to nearly 50% in New York and 70% in Tokyo.
Londoners face huge challenges, like the growing gap between the rich and the poor and the desperate housing crisis. But London's Government simply doesn't have the levers it needs to get to grips with these problems. We need real change. That's why Labour is committed to devolving significant power over public services and funding to local areas - including London.
Devolution can lead to higher growth, more jobs, better public services and more efficient Government. In London, it will give us the tools we need to begin tackling the growing gap between rich and poor and build the homes we need.
The devolution debate in the UK is often portrayed as 'London versus the rest of the UK'. In reality, devolving more power and responsibility to London's Government is not just good for Londoners, it's good for the rest of the UK too.
The London Finance Commission's call for devolution to London was strongly supported by city leaders in Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Sheffield and elsewhere. They understand that the real debate isn't between London and their cities, but between local government (including London) and national Government. Nobody is talking about giving London a bigger slice of the pie, but about giving London more control over the slice it already receives.
The devolution debate can be complicated. It is focused on intricate funding streams and formulas that are incomprehensible to most people. As a result, the public hasn't always been properly engaged with the issue. But when the benefits are explained simply and clearly, devolution is overwhelmingly popular. Four out of five Londoners support giving more powers to London, and when I've spoken on the topic, either in public meetings or on television debates, our ideas have been met with almost unanimous support.
Last week I launched a new campaign - 'Let Londoners Run London'. Because we shouldn't just impose devolution settlements on local people. Instead, we must engage local leaders and communities in a proper conversation about the future of their area, and actively build support for giving more power to local people.
The conditions in London are right for real change. It's time we kept more of the benefits of our growth, so we can tackle inequality and fix the housing crisis.
Londoners face huge challenges, like the growing gap between the rich and the poor and the desperate housing crisis. But London's Government simply doesn't have the levers it needs to get to grips with these problems. We need real change. That's why Labour is committed to devolving significant power over public services and funding to local areas - including London.
Devolution can lead to higher growth, more jobs, better public services and more efficient Government. In London, it will give us the tools we need to begin tackling the growing gap between rich and poor and build the homes we need.
The devolution debate in the UK is often portrayed as 'London versus the rest of the UK'. In reality, devolving more power and responsibility to London's Government is not just good for Londoners, it's good for the rest of the UK too.
The London Finance Commission's call for devolution to London was strongly supported by city leaders in Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Sheffield and elsewhere. They understand that the real debate isn't between London and their cities, but between local government (including London) and national Government. Nobody is talking about giving London a bigger slice of the pie, but about giving London more control over the slice it already receives.
The devolution debate can be complicated. It is focused on intricate funding streams and formulas that are incomprehensible to most people. As a result, the public hasn't always been properly engaged with the issue. But when the benefits are explained simply and clearly, devolution is overwhelmingly popular. Four out of five Londoners support giving more powers to London, and when I've spoken on the topic, either in public meetings or on television debates, our ideas have been met with almost unanimous support.
Last week I launched a new campaign - 'Let Londoners Run London'. Because we shouldn't just impose devolution settlements on local people. Instead, we must engage local leaders and communities in a proper conversation about the future of their area, and actively build support for giving more power to local people.
The conditions in London are right for real change. It's time we kept more of the benefits of our growth, so we can tackle inequality and fix the housing crisis.
Sunday 16 November 2014
The Squeaky Bum
Labour is going through “squeaky bum time” and some of its MPs need to get on the pitch to start helping win the election instead of complaining from the sidelines, Sadiq Khan, a shadow cabinet minister, has said.
Khan, who is a close ally of Ed Miliband, issued the call to his colleagues after anonymous briefing against the Labour leader from some within his own party.
A ComRes poll shows Labour has recovered a four-point lead over the Conservatives, suggesting Miliband and his team have managed to reverse the narrowing polls after a difficult few weeks.
There was speculation some Labour MPs would like to see the back of Miliband amid his low personal ratings and frustration at a disappointing party conference speech. However, talk of rebellion appears to have quietened down since former home secretary Alan Johnson ruled himself out of any leadership race and Miliband gave a well-received speech attacking what he called a “zero-zero Britain” where some of the wealthy were allowed to get away with avoiding tax while others were forced to work on unfair employment contracts.
Khan said some of his colleagues had failed to “understand the rhythm of opposition” in a fixed-term parliament whereby the leadership was working backwards from May with a plan to win the election.
Acknowledging the threat of division to Labour’s chances of winning the election, he appealed for calm to make sure the party did not “wake up on 8 May saying ‘if only we’d been more united, if only we’d been more disciplined’”.
Asked whether he had seen evidence of unrest in Labour, Khan, a Liverpool fan, used a football phrase to explain how he saw Labour’s current situation: “There’s a great Alex Ferguson saying …where in a season when Man United and Newcastle were neck-and-neck, he said it’s squeaky bum time. And I think it’s squeaky bum time for Labour.
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“History tells us that whenever Labour loses a general election, we spend aeons out of office,” he told the Guardian. “We fight among ourselves and often spilt … What we’re trying to do is something not done since 1974 – that’s to be a one-term opposition and bounce back from the second worst result in our history. Some of my colleagues need to recognise there’s no rule of politics that means you bounce back like a pendulum. You’ve got to have the humility to learn the right lessons, be proud of the things you got right and earn it.
“We lost really badly and people forget that. But we’re competitive again, and we’ve great set of candidates and policies. Politics is a team sport. It’s really easy to blame the leader. We’ve all got a role to play … Rather than people complaining on the sidelines, they should get on the pitch and help us win the election.”
He also said people should not be surprised that Miliband, who he said had stood up to the Murdoch press and the Daily Mail editor, Paul Dacre, should be on the receiving end of harsh criticism in the same way as his predecessors as Labour leader Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had been.
“Labour leaders on the verge of winning a general election are given a hard time,” he said. “So when people are critical it is worth them asking whose agenda they are following and who it helps, this infighting. United parties win, divided parties lose.”
Polls-of-polls and more detailed analysis of marginal seats still suggest Labour is on course to win a majority at the next election in May. The latest ComRes study for the Independent on Sunday and Mirror puts Labour on 34%, with the Conservatives down one point on 30%.
However, the proportion of those who said they could picture Miliband as prime minister has fallen to 20%, a five-point fall on a year ago, with just 50% of Labour supporters saying they could imagine him leading the country
Tuesday 4 November 2014
Phone Claims
Sadiq Khan to 'co-operate' with any probe into phone claims
Sadiq Khan: "I will be fully cooperating with any
investigation"
Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan
has said he will co-operate with any investigation over claims he used his
mobile phone while driving.
Conservative MP Justin Tomlinson has written to the Metropolitan Police after the publication of a photo online by the Guido Fawkes website.
Mr Tomlinson told the BBC that road safety was an important issue and the matter should be investigated.
Mr Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, is a former transport minister.
The MP, who is thought likely to seek the Labour nomination for London mayor in 2016, was given a national award by road safety charity Brake this year.
Mr Khan told the BBC: "Allegations have been made that I glanced at my phone whilst in my car.
"I understand that a Conservative MP has now reported this matter to the Metropolitan police. Of course I will be fully cooperating with any investigation."
Mr Tomlinson has written to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe about the alleged incident, reported to have taken place on Monday.
"I would be very grateful if you could investigate this further - road safety is a serious issue and those who make the laws should certainly not be above them," he wrote.
The Met confirmed it had received Mr Tomlinson's complaint.
A spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that today we have received a letter. We are currently assessing its content."
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