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| Labour leadership: Richard Burgon confirms he's standing for deputy leader - as it happened | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen | Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen |
| Jeremy Corbyn has faced fierce criticism from current and former Labour MPs after releasing a new year message that made no direct reference to his crushing election defeat while insisting the party had a role as “the resistance to Boris Johnson”. (See 9.20am, 10.59am, 11.04am, 11.43am, 11.54am, 12.18pm and 4.20pm.) Some of them suggested it confirmed fears that Corbyn was a politician more comfortable with protest than he was with obtaining and exercising power. Neil Coyle MP said Labour would be better able to resist Johnson if Corbyn had not led it to its worst result since 1935. The former MP Phil Wilson said that, far from resisting Johnson, Corbyn had enabled him to continue as PM. And the former minister Dame Anne McGuire said Corbyn was “delusional”. | Jeremy Corbyn has faced fierce criticism from current and former Labour MPs after releasing a new year message that made no direct reference to his crushing election defeat while insisting the party had a role as “the resistance to Boris Johnson”. (See 9.20am, 10.59am, 11.04am, 11.43am, 11.54am, 12.18pm and 4.20pm.) Some of them suggested it confirmed fears that Corbyn was a politician more comfortable with protest than he was with obtaining and exercising power. Neil Coyle MP said Labour would be better able to resist Johnson if Corbyn had not led it to its worst result since 1935. The former MP Phil Wilson said that, far from resisting Johnson, Corbyn had enabled him to continue as PM. And the former minister Dame Anne McGuire said Corbyn was “delusional”. |
| Richard Burgon, the shadow justice minister, has announced that he is standing for the Labour deputy leadership. (See 2.33pm.) | Richard Burgon, the shadow justice minister, has announced that he is standing for the Labour deputy leadership. (See 2.33pm.) |
| The former Conservative chancellor George Osborne has said that Tories want Rebecca Long Bailey to be the next Labour leader. (See 2.22pm.) | The former Conservative chancellor George Osborne has said that Tories want Rebecca Long Bailey to be the next Labour leader. (See 2.22pm.) |
| A survey of Conservative party members suggests they want Boris Johnson to go ahead with a £9bn tax cut that would mostly benefit the richest 10%. (See 12.51pm.) | A survey of Conservative party members suggests they want Boris Johnson to go ahead with a £9bn tax cut that would mostly benefit the richest 10%. (See 12.51pm.) |
| That’s all from me for 2019. | That’s all from me for 2019. |
| Happy new year. | Happy new year. |
| Earlier I quoted the Labour MP Neil Coyle criticising Jeremy Corbyn’s new year message. (See 9.20am.) Since then he has beefed up his attack in a longer quote for PoliticsHome. This is from PoliticsHome’s Kevin Schofield. | Earlier I quoted the Labour MP Neil Coyle criticising Jeremy Corbyn’s new year message. (See 9.20am.) Since then he has beefed up his attack in a longer quote for PoliticsHome. This is from PoliticsHome’s Kevin Schofield. |
| Since this is the last blog of 2019, I would like to wish you all a very happy new year and to thank you all for reading the blog and other Guardian journalism. And I would particularly like to thank you if you contribute comments below the line. It has been an extraordinarily intense and busy and dramatic year for the blog and for many readers the fact that there is always stimulating, intelligent comment BTL is a big bonus. In October I was told we had accumulated 2.6m comments on this blog alone over the course of the year. God knows what the figure is now, but you are one of our most important commenting communities at the Guardian and we treasure you hugely. | Since this is the last blog of 2019, I would like to wish you all a very happy new year and to thank you all for reading the blog and other Guardian journalism. And I would particularly like to thank you if you contribute comments below the line. It has been an extraordinarily intense and busy and dramatic year for the blog and for many readers the fact that there is always stimulating, intelligent comment BTL is a big bonus. In October I was told we had accumulated 2.6m comments on this blog alone over the course of the year. God knows what the figure is now, but you are one of our most important commenting communities at the Guardian and we treasure you hugely. |
| I’ve also become more and more convinced, the longer I’ve been doing this job, that my reporting is sharper, more accurate, more informed and more fair-minded because of the feedback I get from you BTL. Thanks. | I’ve also become more and more convinced, the longer I’ve been doing this job, that my reporting is sharper, more accurate, more informed and more fair-minded because of the feedback I get from you BTL. Thanks. |
| And if you contribute to the Guardian, through a subscription or through membership, thank you even more. During the general election both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn seemed to have discovered the magic money tree. But we haven’t found it at the Guardian, and so we are dependent on revenue from readers and advertisers to keep the lights turned on and the computer screens flickering. | And if you contribute to the Guardian, through a subscription or through membership, thank you even more. During the general election both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn seemed to have discovered the magic money tree. But we haven’t found it at the Guardian, and so we are dependent on revenue from readers and advertisers to keep the lights turned on and the computer screens flickering. |
| I’ll be wrapping up the blog fairly soon, but I hope to be back on Thursday. | I’ll be wrapping up the blog fairly soon, but I hope to be back on Thursday. |
| In a New Year’s message to supporters Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, and Richard Tice, its chairman, say they are still deciding what will happen to the party in 2020. Earlier this month Farage said he would rename it the Reform party after Brexit, but he is not confirming that today. He and Tice say: | In a New Year’s message to supporters Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, and Richard Tice, its chairman, say they are still deciding what will happen to the party in 2020. Earlier this month Farage said he would rename it the Reform party after Brexit, but he is not confirming that today. He and Tice say: |
| In their message Farage and Tice also claim that, if they had not set up the Brexit party, Boris Johnson would not have become prime minister. | In their message Farage and Tice also claim that, if they had not set up the Brexit party, Boris Johnson would not have become prime minister. |
| As I have said before, according to May at 10, the recent Seldon/Newell book about Theresa May’s premiership, Johnson himself also thinks Farage was crucial to his becoming PM. | As I have said before, according to May at 10, the recent Seldon/Newell book about Theresa May’s premiership, Johnson himself also thinks Farage was crucial to his becoming PM. |
| In an article for the Jewish Chronicle Ruth Smeeth, who was a Labour MP until she lost her seat in the election, claims that no serving member of the shadow cabinet deserves to be elected as the next leader because none of them did enough to support people like her when they were complaining about the party’s handling of antisemitism. She says: | In an article for the Jewish Chronicle Ruth Smeeth, who was a Labour MP until she lost her seat in the election, claims that no serving member of the shadow cabinet deserves to be elected as the next leader because none of them did enough to support people like her when they were complaining about the party’s handling of antisemitism. She says: |
| Richard Burgon’s Tribune article offers one of the fuller versions available of what has become the standard Corbynite analysis of Labour’s election defeat; that Brexit was the main problem for the party, and that Corbyn’s leadership could not have been the main problem because he was also leading the party when it did much better in 2017. Burgon writes: | Richard Burgon’s Tribune article offers one of the fuller versions available of what has become the standard Corbynite analysis of Labour’s election defeat; that Brexit was the main problem for the party, and that Corbyn’s leadership could not have been the main problem because he was also leading the party when it did much better in 2017. Burgon writes: |
| Burgon does not set out a detailed plan for what the party should do next, but he says that it would be a mistake to abandon Corbyn’s transformational policies, that the party should set up a special commission to look into why it lost in leave seats and that in future its campaigning should focus on promoting 10 key manifesto policies. | Burgon does not set out a detailed plan for what the party should do next, but he says that it would be a mistake to abandon Corbyn’s transformational policies, that the party should set up a special commission to look into why it lost in leave seats and that in future its campaigning should focus on promoting 10 key manifesto policies. |
| Richard Burgon, the shadow justice secretary, has announced that he is standing for the Labour deputy leadership. | Richard Burgon, the shadow justice secretary, has announced that he is standing for the Labour deputy leadership. |
| As Burgon said before Christmas when he revealed that he was considering standing, part of his pitch will be that he is a total Jeremy Corbyn loyalist who nominated Corbyn for the leadership in 2015 (when he was thought to have no chance of winning). This differentiates him from Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, who is seen as the favourite for the deputy leadership post, even though she has not declared her candidature yet. | As Burgon said before Christmas when he revealed that he was considering standing, part of his pitch will be that he is a total Jeremy Corbyn loyalist who nominated Corbyn for the leadership in 2015 (when he was thought to have no chance of winning). This differentiates him from Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, who is seen as the favourite for the deputy leadership post, even though she has not declared her candidature yet. |
| Two other candidates who are definitely standing are Dawn Butler, the shadow minister for women and equalities, and Khalid Mahmood, a shadow Europe minister. | Two other candidates who are definitely standing are Dawn Butler, the shadow minister for women and equalities, and Khalid Mahmood, a shadow Europe minister. |
| According to the former Tory chancellor George Osborne, Conservatives want Rebecca Long Bailey to be the next leader of the Labour party. | According to the former Tory chancellor George Osborne, Conservatives want Rebecca Long Bailey to be the next leader of the Labour party. |
| Supporters of Long Bailey, who is seen as the candidate most favoured by Corbynites at the top of the party, would argue that it does not make sense for politicians to give strategic advice to their opponents and that, if Osborne is saying this in public, that must be because he sees Long Bailey as a threat. Perhaps. But there is no evidence that Long Bailey would be more of a threat to the Tories than, say, Sir Keir Starmer, and a recent BMG poll found that people say they would prefer Starmer, Jess Phillips or Yvette Cooper to replace Jeremy Corbyn than Long Bailey, who was on just 2%. Sometimes it is just best to assume politicians are telling the truth. | Supporters of Long Bailey, who is seen as the candidate most favoured by Corbynites at the top of the party, would argue that it does not make sense for politicians to give strategic advice to their opponents and that, if Osborne is saying this in public, that must be because he sees Long Bailey as a threat. Perhaps. But there is no evidence that Long Bailey would be more of a threat to the Tories than, say, Sir Keir Starmer, and a recent BMG poll found that people say they would prefer Starmer, Jess Phillips or Yvette Cooper to replace Jeremy Corbyn than Long Bailey, who was on just 2%. Sometimes it is just best to assume politicians are telling the truth. |
| At this stage polling about the Labour leadership candidates is not necessarily very helpful because voters don’t know much about some of the candidates. The same BMG poll suggests 61% of people say they have never heard of Long Bailey. | At this stage polling about the Labour leadership candidates is not necessarily very helpful because voters don’t know much about some of the candidates. The same BMG poll suggests 61% of people say they have never heard of Long Bailey. |
| But it is assumed that Long Bailey would be more likely than some of her rivals to continue the broad thrust of Corbynism – which presumably explains why Osborne does not see her as a threat. | But it is assumed that Long Bailey would be more likely than some of her rivals to continue the broad thrust of Corbynism – which presumably explains why Osborne does not see her as a threat. |
| According to a YouGov index, Long Bailey is the 54th most popular Labour politician in the UK (out of 98). That puts her ahead of Lisa Nandy (55th), but behind Keith Vaz (51st). | According to a YouGov index, Long Bailey is the 54th most popular Labour politician in the UK (out of 98). That puts her ahead of Lisa Nandy (55th), but behind Keith Vaz (51st). |
| But this is not a particularly useful measure. The YouGov index is based on an average of rolling poll findings from May 2018, and so it is not up to date. And politicians are ranked according to their positive opinion score. Long Bailey has a positive opinion of just 6% (only 6% of people say they rate her positively), but her negative score (people with a negative view of her) is just 8%, making a net score of -2. Jeremy Corbyn comes fifth in this list because his positive rating is 21%. But his negative rating is 61%. | But this is not a particularly useful measure. The YouGov index is based on an average of rolling poll findings from May 2018, and so it is not up to date. And politicians are ranked according to their positive opinion score. Long Bailey has a positive opinion of just 6% (only 6% of people say they rate her positively), but her negative score (people with a negative view of her) is just 8%, making a net score of -2. Jeremy Corbyn comes fifth in this list because his positive rating is 21%. But his negative rating is 61%. |
| The Labour politician at the top of the list is Ed Balls. | The Labour politician at the top of the list is Ed Balls. |
| Since the general election Boris Johnson has been claiming that the Conservatives are now a “totally different party” because of the success he had at winning over working-class voters and voters in the north (not always the same people, of course). There is some evidence to back up what he is saying; the party is now more popular with working-class voters than it is with middle-class voters. | Since the general election Boris Johnson has been claiming that the Conservatives are now a “totally different party” because of the success he had at winning over working-class voters and voters in the north (not always the same people, of course). There is some evidence to back up what he is saying; the party is now more popular with working-class voters than it is with middle-class voters. |
| But the character of a party is not just determined by who votes for it. What is even more important is who its MPs are, and who its members are, and a ConservativeHome survey of party members today suggests that the membership has yet to embrace Johnson’s new-found proletarianism. During the Conservative leadership contest Johnson proposed raising the threshold for the higher rate of income tax from £50,000 to £80,000. This would do nothing for those on low or average earnings, and most of the benefit would go to the richest 10% of households, who would each gain about £2,500 a year. According to an Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis (pdf), this would also cost £9bn. | But the character of a party is not just determined by who votes for it. What is even more important is who its MPs are, and who its members are, and a ConservativeHome survey of party members today suggests that the membership has yet to embrace Johnson’s new-found proletarianism. During the Conservative leadership contest Johnson proposed raising the threshold for the higher rate of income tax from £50,000 to £80,000. This would do nothing for those on low or average earnings, and most of the benefit would go to the richest 10% of households, who would each gain about £2,500 a year. According to an Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis (pdf), this would also cost £9bn. |
| A genuine one nation party would not go near a policy like this. But when ConservativeHome asked members if Johnson should stick with this proposal, or drop it, about two-thirds of them said he should honour the promise. | A genuine one nation party would not go near a policy like this. But when ConservativeHome asked members if Johnson should stick with this proposal, or drop it, about two-thirds of them said he should honour the promise. |
| Johnson appears to be in a strong position. But these findings suggest that reconciling the demands of his party’s longstanding members with the interests of its new, non-traditional supporters won’t be straightforward. | Johnson appears to be in a strong position. But these findings suggest that reconciling the demands of his party’s longstanding members with the interests of its new, non-traditional supporters won’t be straightforward. |
| The Daily Mirror’s Kevin Maguire, one of the most high-profile Labour-supporting commentators in the media, thinks Jeremy Corbyn sounded “clueless” in his New Year’s message. | The Daily Mirror’s Kevin Maguire, one of the most high-profile Labour-supporting commentators in the media, thinks Jeremy Corbyn sounded “clueless” in his New Year’s message. |
| Tom Blenkinsop, a Labour MP from 2010 to 2017 and a longstanding critic of Corbyn’s, has an even harsher take on the new year message. | Tom Blenkinsop, a Labour MP from 2010 to 2017 and a longstanding critic of Corbyn’s, has an even harsher take on the new year message. |
| Sir Vince Cable, the former Lib Dem leader, has told the Daily Mail in an interview that the party’s decision to go into the election promising to revoke Brexit was a “mistake”. He explained: | Sir Vince Cable, the former Lib Dem leader, has told the Daily Mail in an interview that the party’s decision to go into the election promising to revoke Brexit was a “mistake”. He explained: |
| At the start of the election campaign the Lib Dems confirmed that their policy was to revoke Brexit. But as it became clear that this was unpopular with voters, because it sounded undemocratic, the party increasingly focused on its support for a second referendum (a more likely outcome, because it was an option backed by Labour and the Lib Dems). | At the start of the election campaign the Lib Dems confirmed that their policy was to revoke Brexit. But as it became clear that this was unpopular with voters, because it sounded undemocratic, the party increasingly focused on its support for a second referendum (a more likely outcome, because it was an option backed by Labour and the Lib Dems). |
| But Cable said, even though the prospect of the Lib Dems obtaining the majority that would allow them to revoke Brexit was most improbable, that did not stop people getting angry about the idea. “Commentators could sustain derision about the likelihood of this outcome, but also outrage about the implications,” he said. | But Cable said, even though the prospect of the Lib Dems obtaining the majority that would allow them to revoke Brexit was most improbable, that did not stop people getting angry about the idea. “Commentators could sustain derision about the likelihood of this outcome, but also outrage about the implications,” he said. |
| Phil Wilson, who was Labour MP for Sedgefield until he lost his seat at the election, says that, far from being part of the resistance to Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn has been one of Johnson’s “enablers” – helping him to stay PM. | Phil Wilson, who was Labour MP for Sedgefield until he lost his seat at the election, says that, far from being part of the resistance to Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn has been one of Johnson’s “enablers” – helping him to stay PM. |