Labour’s leader sets out a very limited stall. Meanwhile a lightning-fast, centralised selection process opens in Jeremy Corbyn’s seat and three east London Councillors quit Labour.

Common ownership, defending migrants’ rights, economic, social and climate justice – all great pledges from Keir Starmer. Unfortunately, they were made four years ago when he was running for the leadership of the Party. Those pledges, ten in all, have subsequently been abandoned – if not betrayed.

Keir Starmer’s latest pledges, now downgraded to “steps”, announced on May 16^th, this time number only six and they are a lot more modest. Deliberately echoing New Labour’s ‘pledge card’, the leader committed to focusing on economic stability, NHS waiting lists, tackling “criminal boat gangs”, green cheaper energy, an antisocial behaviour “crackdown” and 6,500 new teachers.

The announcement left many observers unimpressed. The commitment to recruit 6,500 new teachers, for example, looks particularly unambitious. That’s just about enough for each school in the UK to get 0.2 of a new teacher. It increases overall teacher numbers by just 0.3%, which, given the training shortfall of around16,000 last year, makes up for about a third of one year’s recruitment gap. 40,000 teachers leave the profession every year and a lot more will need to be done to retain them.

On energy, Starmer reiterated his commitment to a state-owned energy company. But the sum of money earmarked for Great British Energy falls far short of what the TUC and industry experts say is needed to make it work.

On health, the leader promised 40,000 new NHS appointments a week. Frankly, this will barely dent waiting lists of over 7 million and without new money and a commitment to get rid of the wasteful privatisation that parasitically drains the NHS of resources, it’s questionable how this pledge might be delivered.

The announcement on austerity was also underwhelming. A day earlier, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on the leader to scrap the two-child benefit cap, as it condemned children to live in poverty. But there was no movement in the leader’s speech to change his commitment to retain the policy.

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP warned: “Unless Labour announces it’s dropping the two-child limit to lift 250,000 children out of poverty it’ll be hung round the neck of Labour spokespersons when they go on air up to the election. Arguing children have to remain in poverty to secure economic stability doesn’t cut it.”

Instead, Starmer promised to hold to tough spending rules in order to deliver economic stability – reminiscent of Tony Blair’s commitment to stick to the outgoing Tory government’s spending commitments in 1997, despite a huge electoral mandate for change.

There was also more of Starmer’s hallmark authoritarianism. A new Border Security Command will be launched supposedly to stop gangs arranging small boat crossings. More neighbourhood police officers are planned to tackle antisocial behaviour, alongside  new penalties for offenders.

Perhaps recognising the timidity of the package, an unnamed Labour spokesman felt compelled to concede that the six steps were “not the sum total” of the Party’s election offer and insisted the Party also stood by its other policy commitments, such as housing and workers’ rights.

A Momentum spokesperson responded: “Britain has big problems, and they require big solutions. Sadly, these fixes fall desperately short of the bold policies needed to fix the Tories’ broken Britain, from mass building council housing to renationalising our public services. Worse still, Starmer is failing to break with the Conservatives’ disastrous austerity dogma.

“Faced with similarly huge challenges in 1945, the post-war Labour Government brought sweeping change and investment to a country on its knees. Britain needs a real Labour alternative today, too.”

Labour’s Former Executive Director of Policy and Research Andrew Fisher tweeted: “Starmer has set out his first steps, but in government he will discover that giant leaps are needed. Today was sticking-plaster politics, but Britain needs extensive surgery.”

Meanwhile in Islington…

The Party has opened the candidate selection process in former leader Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency of Islington North. To the outrage of many activists, Corbyn himself has been blocked from seeking renomination, despite having held the seat for over 40 years.

The process laid down by the Party is super-fast, putting it mildly, possibly to minimise the bad publicity that the unpopular stitch-up is likely to generate. It’s also super-centralised. The shortlisting of candidates will be carried out by the National Executive Committee, rather than by the local Party, and the hustings and vote will take place online only, presumably using Anonyvoter, which has been the subject of well-catalogued abuse in some recent selection contests.

John Mconnell MP tweeted: “The wishes of the Labour Party members of Islington North should be respected and they should be allowed to select the candidate of their voice and that includes Jeremy Corbyn, who has given his life to representing his community.”

A Momentum spokesperson said: “Islington North Labour members want Jeremy Corbyn to keep representing them as their MP. He has done so loyally for over 40 years and remains a Labour member. Local members should choose their own candidates, not Keir Starmer’s Westminster clique.”

Islington North CLP itself issued a statement, saying  “We support Kier Starmer’s statement that ‘Local Party members should select their candidates for every election.’ We ask that local democracy be respected  that we be able to choose our prospective parliamentary candidate from amongst any Labour Party member in good standing. An undemocratic selection process would harm the Labour Party’s efforts to defeat the Conservatives and to achieve the real change this country and our communities in Islington North desperately need.”

Beth Winter MP tweeted: “It is only right that Labour members in Islington North are allowed to select their candidate fairly. That should be at an open hustings and without use of the discredited Anonyvoter system. And above all that has to include the sitting MP and party member – Jeremy Corbyn.”

Mick Whitley MP said: “Members in Islington North have a right to choose who should represent them, and that should include Jeremy. The Labour Party is a broad enough church to accept Tory ERG members but not our former leader? Enough with these factional stitch-ups. Let members decide.”

And Zarah Sultana MP said: “Jeremy and Diane [Abbott], both of them have devoted their life to the labour movement, have represented the Labour Party for decades, worked day-in, day-out to improve the lives of ordinary working class people. When they are not allowed back into the Labour Party but others like Natalie Elphicke are, that message is incredibly concerning.”

And in Hackney…

Three Councillors have told the Mayor of Hackney they will no longer be part of the Labour Group in the Borough and will sit as Independent Socialists. All three Councillors – Fliss Premru, Claudia Turbet-Delof and Penny Wrout – are among a group who recently returned after a two-month suspension from the Party, following their votes at a November Council meeting to hear a debate on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The Councillors say they are deeply troubled by the lack of open discussion within Labour as members with views which challenge the leadership’s approach are silenced or disciplined. Nowhere is that more apparent than with the treatment of Hackney North MP Diane Abbott, who has been suspended now for over a year, leaving members in her constituency unsure about future representation and increasingly convinced a parliamentary candidate will be imposed upon them at the last minute. The Councillors believe Diane Abbott’s treatment, and their own suspensions, display an authoritarianism and disregard for natural justice which betrays Labour’s roots as a tolerant, broad church for socialists.

Cllr Fliss Premru said, “I cannot continue in a party which has enabled the genocide in Gaza, and now in spite of the carnage in Rafah refuses to tackle the arms flow to Israel. Locally we need Hackney to divest its pensions from Israeli arms firms and offer our solidarity to the camp outside the Town Hall and brave students protesting UK wide. I want to see a Labour government in power, but that government needs to commit to fully funding struggling council and public services and to sign up to a strategic plan and green new deal for the climate emergency.”

Hackney Council will now consist of Labour 46, Conservative 6, Independent Socialist 3, Green 2. The full statement of the new Independent Socialist group is here.

Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/190916320@N06/53240561562 Creator: Labour Party | Credit: Labour Party Copyright: Labour Party . Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic