Sanjeeta is an award-winning features writer for the Mirror, working across the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Mirror Online.
Who will be the first Labour MP to defect to Jeremy Corbyn’s fledgling Lefter-wing rival?
Names were doing the rounds before Westminster packed up for the summer. Denials too, it must be added. But the odds are one, two or disillusioned more will jump Keir Starmer’s ship as the Prime Minister sets a centrist course. Particularly if Downing Street keeps suspending rebellious crew members for disloyalty.
The radio chat is prominent Labour figures are waking to the danger of Corbyn’s vessel, HMS Revenge capable of torpedoing Labour at the election if it wins, say, as little as 10% of the votes. It comes after a polling expert says that Keir Starmer’s Labour won’t be able to ‘relax’ even if Jeremy Corbyn’s and Zarah Sultana’s the new party fails.
Starmer’s Parliamentary majority is as wide as an ocean and deep as a pond, always vulnerable on an historically low 34% of the votes cast. The split on the Right between the Tories and Reform put him into high office. And a division on the Left could throw the PM overboard.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage under pressure to distance himself from ‘racist’ Ant Middleton rant
Mocking “magic grandpa” Corbyn’s indecision, thrusting co-conspirator and fellow former Labour MP Zarah Sultana’s youthful enthusiasm and a messy, pre-launch start isn’t enough because the project is striking a chord with a section of the population feeling let down by Labour.
Starmer’s obsessed with Reform voters, viewing Nigel Farage rather than Kemi Badenoch as leader of the opposition. Fair enough. But polling found many Reform voters prefer Corbyn as a leader to Starmer. And Labour’s Left flank is under attack, not only the Right.
The debate ex-leader Neil Kinnock sparked within Labour over a wealth tax is expanding when advocates now include Anneliese Dodds, a rigidly conventional bean-counter in her days as Starmer’s first Shadow Chancellor before opponent Rachel Reeves.
The increasingly public discussion is also symptomatic of a more fundamental conversation about Labour’s boldness as a Government. Corbyn and Farage are why more of the same isn’t a viable option, no change in the Starmer brand of change inviting disaster.
Labour does, of course, urgently need to better communicate what did the Romans ever do for us but the captain either alters course, steering to the Left, or Farage wins because Starmer ignored reformer Corbyn’s challenge.
Official recognition that class matters
Creating 200 top civil service £430-a-week internships for bright kids from working class homes is official recognition that class matters.
Labourer’s son Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office Minister and Wolverhampton Labour MP behind this drive, rightly wants to open doors frequently locked to talented young men and women from ordinary homes.
Privately educated City spiv Nigel Farage’s kneejerk conservative opposition to diversity would keep out White working class sons as well as daughters and Black and gay Britons in a country dominated by people, well, exactly like him.
And Kemi Badenoch should be careful what she wishes for after her instinctive Conservative Party dismissal of McFadden’s plan. If the Tories selected the best person for the job then Kemikazi would be on the dole.
Nigel Farage defends former Reform MP and “monster” James McMurdock
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK defended one of the Hard Right party’s few MPs, James McMurdock, after the mother of a former girlfriend branded him a “monster” and court documents revealed he was jailed for repeatedly kicking the young woman until two security guards pulled him off.
McMurdock broke with Reform only after questions were subsequently asked about Covid loans totalling £70,000 he claimed so when Farage screams about “Lawless Britain” there are growing numbers thinking the wannabe PM should start closer to home.
Donald Trump’s British mini-me is apeing the “American carnage” rhetoric of his US hero in the hope he too will con his way into monarchical tyranny.
Don’t get me wrong, much is wrong with modern Britain yet hard statistics, most notably in an authoritative Crime Survey for England and Wales based on people’s real life experiences, records how overall crime is down on the 1990s.
That will be of absolutely no comfort to anybody mugged, attacked and burgled or to a fantasist Farage deliberately ignoring facts. Lawless Reform is a real danger.
Capitalism has always worked for the wealthy few – not the many
Supreme Court judge Robert Reed neatly summarised capitalism in the £45billion car finance victory for banks and dealers.
“No-one,” opined the legal eagle, “could reasonably think that any participant was doing anything other than considering its own interests.”
The Arthur Daleys and legalised loan sharks were fixing deals to profit themselves, not any customers taken for a ride. That is how capitalism works and is why many of us, including me, are confirmed democratic socialists.
Britain would be a far better country owned, controlled and operated by us for us rather than a wealthy establishment extracting every last buck out of us.
Going up
Talking about how aged 16 he was abused might be difficult for Chris Bryant but the Arts and Telecoms Mnister deserves huge credit when speaking publicly will help other teenagers preyed on by sexual predators.
Going down
When the UK Government owed £24milliion from a Covid VIP lane contract it’s difficult to understand, after introduction messages were released, why Cameron crony and Tory peer Peter Gummer aka Lord Chadlington is still in the House of Lords
Speaker’s corner
Nobody offered diabetes medicine for free. Pharmaceutical companies didin’t go, ‘wow, this is really important. People will really die without this. We’ll just give it away for free’.” Anti-Violence Minister Jess Phillips was spot on that helping girls and women attacked by men can’t be left to volunteers and needs to be treated like other big issues. She’s a breath of fresh air.
