His spokesperson told Byline Times that the Labour Leader has a “long-standing view against PR”
Labour Leader Keir Starmer actively opposes a move to proportional representation for the House of Commons – putting him at loggerheads with the party membership and trade unions, Byline Times can reveal.
On Wednesday, this newspaper reported that the 350,000-strong union USDAW had become the latest to call on Labour to back scrapping Westminster’s winner-takes-all voting system, First Past the Post.
Two-thirds of trade unions that support the Labour Party now back a major change to Westminster’s voting system amid a mounting campaign among the party and union grassroots.
But Starmer’s official spokesperson has now revealed that the Labour Leader has a “long-standing view against proportional representation”. When asked to clarify if the Labour leader was against PR he said “yes”.
“He isn’t looking to change the electoral system…It’s not something that’s a priority for him,” Starmer’s spokesperson added.
Labour delegates overwhelmingly backed PR at last year’s party conference – after mega-unions Unison and Unite supported the shift. But they do not control the manifesto – a process that is steered by the Labour Leader and his allies on the National Executive Committee.
JEREMY CORBYN led calls today [Wednesday] for the immediate release of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on World Press Freedom Day.
The former Labour leader highlighted how Mr Assange has spent four years in maximum security prison Belmarsh for exposing the truth.
He said: “We cannot stand by and let governments silence those who seek to expose the truth.
“Today, let’s defend free and democratic journalism everywhere.”
In 2010, Mr Assange published US government records on WikiLeaks that revealed its military committed war crimes against civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq, including the killing of two Reuters journalists.
STUDENTS and education unions slammed Labour’s “betrayal of millions of young people in desperate need of hope” today after the party’s increasingly right-wing leadership dropped a pledge to abolish cripplingly high university tuition fees.
Sir Keir Starmer’s latest U-turn on yet another left-wing pledge which got him elected leader in 2020 will help to condemn “millions of future students to a life of debt” and leaves Britain even further away from the publicly funded higher education system it needs, they stressed.
The move is likely to draw criticism from the party’s left, which has repeatedly warned that attempts to please the right-wing press while failing to offer a genuinely progressive alternative will only benefit Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
With Tory MPs branding Jeremy Corbyn’s successor “Sir Flip-Flop,” Mr Sunak attempted to capitalise on the situation in a fiery Prime Ministers Questions today saying Sir Keir has made a “series of broken promises.”
These include now abandoned pledges to renationalise public services, increase income tax for the highest earners and defend freedom of movement post-Brexit.
Three of the world’s most infamous supervillains – Darth Vader, Dr Evil and Thanos attend the deep sea mining summit in central London. The terrible trio are excited by the prospect of meeting like-minded people who they felt would share their passion for large-scale destructive machinery and wiping out entire ecosystems. Deep sea mining would strip bare vast areas of the deep ocean floor – one of the last untouched ecosystems on earth, causing irreversible damage to marine life.
London, Star Wars Day, 2023 – Three of the world’s most infamous supervillains – Darth Vader, Dr Evil and Thanos – convened today at a deep sea mining summit in central London.
The terrible trio were reportedly excited by the prospect of meeting like-minded people who they felt would share their passion for large-scale destructive machinery and wiping out entire ecosystems. Darth Vader had insisted the three attend the conference instead of ‘making a fuss’ over him for Star Wars Day.
Known for his strong track record of destroying whole planets with his death star, Darth Vader said of the conference: “Light doesn’t penetrate the bottom of the ocean so it’s the perfect place for the dark side to operate.”
Dr. Evil flew in directly from his volcano-lair to tell conference goers that he felt the ocean could undoubtedly be exploited for personal gain “in excess of one million dollars”. He urged those in attendance to join him in his quest for global domination, promising riches and power beyond their wildest dreams.
Thanos was quieter, possibly a little overwhelmed by the number of attendees, but sources say he was overheard asking delegates for the location of the “precious stones”.
Walking onstage with Dr Evil and Thanos to address conference attendees during a Q&A, Darth Vader said: “I’m delighted to be here and to learn more about deep sea mining because together, we can destroy the oceans!”
The three left the conference to the sound of The Imperial March from Star Wars, played on the kazoo, and laughter from the audience.
Andrew Tobert, Greenpeace UK Oceans campaigner, said: “Monetising the seabed might seem like a far-fetched, dastardly plan, but it’s worryingly real and the people trying to do it don’t wear obvious, villainous costumes. We have explored just 1% of the deep sea, on each visit discovering fascinating species found nowhere else on Earth – it’s one of our last untouched ecosystems. But it would be stripped bare by deep sea mining, causing irreversible damage to marine life. There’s no way it can be done sustainably.
“Companies from Samsung to Renault have called for a moratorium on deep sea mining. And governments from Europe to the Pacific are doing the same. It’s no surprise when the proposals read less like a business plan and more like a masterplan for ecological destruction. Deep sea mining poses untold threats to our already plundered oceans. It’s got to be stopped before it starts.”
The International Seabed Authority will meet in July where it faces commercial pressure to allow deep sea mining to start. From July any deep sea mining company can submit an application to start mining despite the absence of any rules or regulations to govern it and, thanks to the invocation of a controversial loophole, governments are legally obliged to “consider” it. The Metals Company, one of the most prominent and determined deep sea mining companies in the race, has stated it will put in an application this year.
Deep sea mining is a dangerous distraction from creating a truly green economy by profit-hungry companies wanting to make a quick buck. Vast areas of the deep ocean floor – one of the last untouched ecosystems on earth – would be stripped bare by deep sea mining, causing irreversible damage to marine life.
The UK government is currently supporting research into deep sea mining having approved exploratory deep sea mining licences 10 years ago to UK Seabed Resources (UKSR). The UK now sponsors some of the largest areas for deep sea mining exploration, covering 133,000km2 of the Pacific Ocean, through UKSR. That’s an area larger than the size of England.
Image of the Green Party’s Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.
Preliminary results are showing that the Green Party has made huge gains in UK local elections increasing their share of elected councillors by about 60%.
7.40am. I wrote the previous statement at about 6.25am. It’s early and there are only a few results in yet. The Tories (Conservatives) have lost 50% of their seats, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Independents are gaining 20%, the Green Party are gaining roughly 60%.
11.35am Greens have currently increased their number of elected councillors over 100%.
1.35pm. Only 37% of results have been announced so far. The Green Party has doubled their number of elected councillors from 43 to 86. Not many I know, but certainly the best result for any political party.
1.45pm. Tories (Conservatives) are losing roughly 33% of their seats, not 50% as reported above. The rest of my calculations / claims look correct ;)
3.30pm. Just over half the results are in. Tories (Conservatives) are losing about 30% of their seats, Labour gaining just under 25%, Liberal Democrats gaining 16/17% or so, Independents losing seats, Green Party still about 100% gain.
5.25pm. 77/78% of results are in. Green Party’s vote is currently increased by 119%, Labour 25% gain, Liberal Democrats 28% gain. ed: Just to be clear, I’m discussing elected councillors here.
12 midnight. I’ve been waiting for all the results to come in. We have results from 228 of 230 councils, elected councillors.
Labour 2,662 +25% (seats, swing), Conservative 2,288 -28.5%, Liberal Democrats 1,613 [8.30am 6/5/23 +33% not +43.5%], Independents 872 -8.5%, Green Party 479 +101%, Residents’ Association 88 -21%. Turnout appears to have been very low. There is a narrative promoted about Starmer’s Labour likely to win a general election.
