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The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
How Jeremy Corbyn's new party plans to take on Starmer's Labour
It may have been a rather turbulent launch, but the potential for Jeremy Corbyn's new party to shake up the UK's fractured political landscape has certainly not gone unnoticed in Westminster. The MP for Islington North has promised to "build a democratic movement that can take on the rich and powerful' in the form of a 'new kind of political party'. But as the as-yet-unnamed party looks to the future – and the next general election – it could well contain more familiar faces than you might expect. The former Labour leader's new party hopes to tempt a number of his former comrades-in-arms to join as it attempts to seize on Labour's struggles in the polls and position itself in part as the party on the left of British politics that can take on Nigel Farage 's Reform, according to insiders. The pitch to current Labour MPs will, among other things, suggest that they can stick with Sir Keir Starmer and a stumbling Labour party – and lose their seat – or join Corbyn's new group and save it. While insiders would not be drawn on specific targets, a number of sitting MPs and constituencies are thought to have already been identified. Among those rumoured to be under consideration are MPs in the Socialist Campaign Group, which includes former shadow minister Ian Lavery and Ian Byrne, and those disillusioned by the recent row over Labour's welfare cuts. More than 120 Labour MPs, including MPs like Kim Johnson from Liverpool, a pocket of the country where the new Corbyn party has in recent days thought to have attracted strong support, backed a bid to block the government's planned welfare changes, before ministers eventually backed down. Meanwhile senior ministers, including health secretary Wes Streeting and justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, saw their majorities slashed last year in the face of challenges from pro-Gaza candidates, and could be targeted by Corbyn's new party as it seeks a major scalp at its first general election. There is potential for a party that offers disaffected voters disillusioned with Starmer and Labour something new. A recent Find Out Now poll suggested that the new party would be equal third to Labour in support, on 15 per cent each, with Reform on 34 per cent and the Tories on 17 per cent. Luke Tryl, from the pollsters More in Common, said the prospect of a new Corbyn-led party polled very well and 'took 10 per cent of the vote, taking votes from Labour and the Greens". Leading pollster Sir John Curtice told The Independent that 'Labour are vulnerable to the left', adding that the Greens 'were taking votes off them in that direction' at the last election. But he added a note of caution, saying: 'At the moment, I'm waiting to see whether Corbyn manages to get his act together and manages to create a political party that has some thoughts and organisation behind it.' While far from enough to win an election, the early polling does suggest the group could cause real problems for Labour. And, despite the belief inside the party that they are the ones who can beat Reform in many seats, another ex-Labour leader, Neil Kinnock, has attacked the group, saying the only people they will help are Mr Farage and the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. The public has certainly taken notice too – a call out on social media has seen 600,000 people register as supporters, according to Mr Corbyn, with heavy concentrations in areas insiders believe to be very open to the new party's message. The party is planning to hold a founding conference later this year, but before that, there will be a series of meetings in different parts of the country, after places like Liverpool and other northern cities saw a huge number of people sign up. But with popularity comes danger. Insiders are worried about the possibility of 'entryism' into the new group – including from the right. Ironically, this is what Corbyn supporters were accused of, albeit from the other side of the political spectrum, when he became Labour leader in 2015 after Ed Miliband allowed the public to take part for a £3 fee. The group is aware that it cannot be hijacked by left-wing activist groups either, such as the Socialist Workers, as that could limit its potential to appeal to a wider group of voters keen for something new and different in their politics. And while the party wants to convert as many people as possible into full members, there is a wariness over pitching the cost of membership too low and potentially encouraging right-wingers keen to sabotage the party by disrupting its internal democracy, including potentially trying to build momentum behind a stupid name. The party created a flurry of headlines and jokes when it was unveiled after Mr Corbyn sent supporters to a website called Your Party, only for Zarah Sultana, a potential co-leader, to take to social media to insist that was not the new outfit's name. That, along with many other things, will be decided at the conference – part of Mr Corbyn's long-standing commitment to internal democracy in political parties. Some within the party, including Ms Sultana, are pushing for the party to be called 'The Left'. Others back the idea of 'the People's Party', although that is also the name of a conservative political party in Spain and in 2011, David Cameron famously took the Tories out of a European centre-right alliance called the 'European People's Party'. Whatever it is called, the party's performance at the next election could be helped or hindered by how many Labour MPs Mr Corbyn manages to persuade to join him and Ms Sultana.
Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
Weigh in on Sydney Sweeney or run the world? Trump, for better or worse, attempts it all
Aug 9 (Reuters) - From firing people to promoting jeans, calling for peace deals or the renaming of a sports team, President Donald Trump keeps a lot on his proverbial to-do list. Much of it is unrelated to running the country. More than six months into his second term as U.S. commander-in-chief, Trump, a former New York businessman and reality television host, has applied a hands-on management style and producer-like attitude toward governing, relying largely on his own instincts for decisions large and small. Using the tools of social media and a propensity for bullying, Trump personally wades into issues inside and outside the federal government to get his way. He harangues company executives to invest in America and uses trade deals as leverage over foreign leaders to end conflicts. Last week he fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics over unproven allegations she falsified figures that he didn't like. This week he called for the head of Intel to step down over ties with China, and the company's stock fell. In recent months he has pressed the Washington Commanders football team to change its name back to the Redskins, forced universities to pay huge amounts to the federal government, boosted retailer American Eagle Outfitters' shares with a compliment about a controversial jeans commercial featuring actor Sydney Sweeney and attempted to shore up Republican power by pushing for political redistricting in Texas. Trump's style, which can confound both his friends and his foes, is dramatically different from his more traditional predecessors. It has earned him condemnation for being caustic and praise for being effective at getting what he wants. "While he delves into topics that are certainly distractions relative to the big business of leading the world's greatest nation, it can also be said that past presidents have excessively deferred to the bureaucracy and failed to deliver the change their voters expected," said Carlos Curbelo, a Republican former congressman from Florida. "Trump views himself more as the CEO of the U.S.A. than as president," Curbelo added. "It's good for decision making and challenging for the constitutional order which made our country the world's greatest economic and military force." Trump has taken on academia, the legal world, media companies, athletics, the federal bureaucracy and more, all while retooling the world economy with tariffs, cracking down on immigration flows, upending relations with allies and putting his stamp on American culture. Though he has a team of advisers, the president frequently follows his own counsel, making policy decisions and then announcing them himself, ramifications aside. "I think what a lot of people miss about Trump is he's the marketer-in-chief," said Ford O'Connell, a Republican strategist with ties to the White House. "Not only is he his own best press secretary, he's also his own best chief-of-staff." Critics question why Trump gets bogged down in issues that are secondary to his goals of strengthening the U.S. economy, for example, or achieving a peace deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "He's commenting one moment on ... Putin and tariffs and all that's happening in the world and the next moment he's talking about, oh, Sydney Sweeney, and all these other issues that are completely unrelated to being president of the United States," said Charlie Dent, a Republican former congressman from Pennsylvania. "He simply can't focus." The White House said Trump is using his skills to deliver on policy priorities. 'President Trump's leadership style can be summed up plainly as decisive and commanding," said White House spokesman Harrison Fields. Trump also employs a talent to distract when facing difficulty. Though that super power has largely eluded him with the controversy over sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Department of Justice's refusal to release files related to the disgraced financier's case, Trump's broad ability to change the subject and dominate the news cycle has stupefied his opponents for years. "His leadership style is much closer to that of an executive producer, and the executive producer who has a really big picture understanding of the audience," said Republican strategist Kevin Madden, a senior adviser to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. "I think he trusts his instincts about the audience over anybody else, and that's why you see him oftentimes, you know, managing his own policy portfolio." Trump, though not a stickler for detail on all things policy-related, does get into the weeds on things he cares about, both cultural and political, including redecorating the Oval Office with gold, paving over the Rose Garden and building a new ballroom on the White House grounds. On Tuesday, reporters bantered with the president while he walked on the roof of the White House press room, surveying the grounds for what he said were more ways to spend his money. The White House said Trump and other donors plan to pay for the $200 million ballroom project, which is slated to be finished before his second term concludes. "I think narcissists do get bogged down in details because they think that everything is a reflection of them," said Republican strategist Rina Shah. "When he decides to focus on the minutia, he's forgetting about the bigger picture. And that's kind of a disservice to the office." Where critics see such disservice, the White House sees results. On the eve of presiding over a U.S.-brokered peace framework between Azerbaijan and Armenia this week, Trump took to social media to tout his involvement: 'Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to 'TRUMP.'"
BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ukraine will not give up land, Zelensky says as Trump plans to meet Putin
Putin talks not the first time Alaska has hosted big diplomatic momentpublished at 00:55 British Summer Time 9 August 00:55 BST 9 August Image source, Getty Images Trump's scheduled meeting with Putin is not the first time the US has held a highly anticipated meeting with another nation in Alaska. In 2021, Biden administration officials had their first face-to-face encounter with Chinese counterparts in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska and home to about 300,000 people. A US and Chinese delegation met for two days at Captain Cook, a modest four-star hotel in downtown Anchorage. Most of the discussions took place behind closed doors. The meeting got off to a tense start, with the US saying they had "deep concerns" about some of China's overseas activity, while Chinese officials accused the US delegation of being "condescending". The White House is yet to confirm exactly where the Putin meeting will be held.
