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The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Blue Labour's ‘scrap DEI' call could shatter the party
Blue Labour's suggestion to scrap diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is immoral and fails to recognise the importance of this to other parts of the centre-left coalition that makes up the Labour party (Blue Labour group urges ministers to 'root out DEI' to win over Reform voters, 2 June). The more that Blue Labour promotes Reform-friendly policies, the less likely the others will remain supporters. In 2024 Keir Starmer achieved a very narrow coalition that won well in enough constituencies with fewer votes than Labour achieved in 2019 (then described as the party's worst result since 1935). There are some exceptional Labour MPs, like Simon Opher, who understand the importance of solidifying the centre-left coalition and fighting Reform UK by retaining its values. But many are surrendering them by adopting the extremism of Reform. Starmer's weak coalition of 2024 has fractured beyond measure, and for those on the left, the choices in England are a shift towards either the Greens and Liberal Democrats, or a new party of the left. The latter could be a real danger to Labour, as it could be as successful as the Social Democratic party was in the 1980s in dividing Labour and securing victory for a rightwing party. For many, particularly those in non-Labour seats, there is no point in waiting. Now is the time to find a new political home. The choice is not easy and will often depend on the local strength of the other centre-left parties. Chas Townley Brockworth, Gloucestershire About half a century ago, I wrote a report for the National Union of Journalists called Black and White: Race Reporting in Britain, pointing out that expressions like 'a coloured man' were common in BBC news bulletins and in broadsheets. It asked why most media outlets employed no non‑white journalists. I now realise that, according to one of today's Nigel Farage cults that is apparently supported by Blue Labour, I believed in diversity, equity and inclusion – three words not only to be expunged from Labour's lexicon but made into a law of political purity. It seems I was guilty of the crime of 'woke'. I can add it retrospectively to my many other Denis MacShaneMP for Rotherham, 1994-2012 Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
Labour faction calls on Keir Starmer to 'root out DEI'
Blue Labour, a small pressure group within the Labour Party, also demanded the UK Government 'drastically reduce immigration' which it claimed was a 'a cause of social fragmentation'. In an article on its website, the group said: 'We are proud of our multiracial democracy and we utterly reject divisive identity politics, which undermines the bonds of solidarity between those of different sexes, races and nationalities. 'We should legislate to root out DEI in hiring practices, sentencing decisions and wherever else we find it in our public bodies.' DEI, short for 'diversity, equality and inclusion', is a key target of Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. Hiring practices have long been informed by DEI principles, with employers hoping to combat racism and other forms of bigotry by actively seeking to include, hire and promote people from ethnic minority backgrounds as well as other minorities. (Image:) But it is at the centre of a transatlantic political storm, with US president Donald Trump (above) pressuring American businesses to drop DEI hiring practices. In March, Trump banned the Foreign Service from basing employment decisions 'on an individual's race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin'. Blue Labour describes itself as seeking to uphold a tradition of 'conservative socialism' and was founded in 2009 by the academic Maurice Glasman, now a Labour peer. READ MORE: Nigel Farage and Keir Starmer in Scotland ahead of key by-election It includes MPs Dan Carden, Jonathan Brash, Jonathan Hinder and David Smith. While the group's ideas appear to be gaining some traction in No 10, official government policy remains at odds with its recent call to ditch DEI. Equalities Minister Seema Malhotra (below) is guiding plans through parliament to have firms which employ more than 250 people to publish data on ethnicity and disability pay gaps, similar to the requirement to reveal gender pay gaps. Elsewhere in the article, Blue Labour also demands lower levels of immigration, saying: 'Immigration is not a distraction or a culture war issue; it is the most fundamental of political questions, a cause of social fragmentation, and the basis of our broken political economy. 'We should drastically reduce immigration, reducing low-skill immigration by significantly raising salary thresholds; closing the corrupt student visa mill system; and ending the exploitation of the asylum system, if necessary prioritising domestic democratic politics over the rule of international lawyers.' Starmer was recently accused of echoing the virulently anti-immigration MP Enoch Powell when he spoke of Britain becoming a 'land of strangers' because of high levels of immigration.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Blue Labour group urges ministers to ‘root out DEI' to win over Reform voters
The Labour faction influencing Downing Street's pitch to Reform UK voters has urged ministers to 'root out DEI'. An article from the Blue Labour campaign group, titled What is to be Done, calls for the government to legislate against diversity, equity and inclusion, echoing the rightwing backlash from Donald Trump and Nigel Farage. Describing itself as part of a tradition of 'conservative socialism', the caucus was founded in 2009 by the academic Maurice Glasman, now a Labour peer. It includes the MPs Dan Carden, Jonathan Brash, Jonathan Hinder and David Smith, who represent seats in the north of England. Keir Starmer's turn to the right and framing of Labour as 'the party of patriotism' mirror Blue Labour thinking. Urging the party to renew its 'covenant with the British people', Blue Labour's article said: 'We are proud of our multiracial democracy and we utterly reject divisive identity politics, which undermines the bonds of solidarity between those of different sexes, races and nationalities. 'We should legislate to root out DEI in hiring practices, sentencing decisions and wherever else we find it in our public bodies.' Earlier this week, the Guardian reported how organisations are rebranding inclusion initiatives to avoid unwanted political attention, reflecting a divergence between trade bodies and employers who believe policies designed to ensure a level playing field are good for business and society, and reactionary politicians. In February, the equalities minister, Seema Malhotra, said the government was 'absolutely committed' to diversity and inclusion, with new legislation that would compel employers with more than 250 staff to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps progressing though parliament. Launching the consultation on the equality (race and disability) bill, which closes on 10 June, the disability minister, Stephen Timms, and Malhotra said the 'commitment to create a more equal society in which people can thrive whatever their background' was an 'essential element' of Labour's project. They added: 'The reality is far from that goal. For example, currently most ethnic minority groups earn on average less than their white British peers. Similarly, while there has been growth in employment rates for disabled people in recent years, disabled people have, on average, lower incomes than non-disabled people. While previous Labour governments introduced landmark … equality-related legislation, more still remains to be done.' However, since this year's local elections, when Reform gained a foothold in local government after seizing scores of seats from Labour, the prime minister has appeared to be trying to counter the threat from Farage by moving further to the cultural right, despite the risk of losing support from minority ethnic voters, who were more likely than white voters to support Labour in the last general election, and left-leaning voters in general. In mid-May, ministers were forced to strongly deny allegations that Starmer sounded like Enoch Powell in a speech that said Britain risked becoming an 'island of strangers', and that 'uncontrolled' migration had done 'incalculable damage', as he launched plans to curb net migration. Blue Labour calls for lower migration in the same article in which it takes aim at DEI, saying: 'Immigration is not a distraction or a culture war issue; it is the most fundamental of political questions, a cause of social fragmentation, and the basis of our broken political economy. 'We should drastically reduce immigration, reducing low-skill immigration by significantly raising salary thresholds; closing the corrupt student visa mill system; and ending the exploitation of the asylum system, if necessary prioritising domestic democratic politics over the rule of international lawyers.' In May, it emerged that net migration almost halved in 2024.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Lord Hermer is 'doing Reform's work' by ignoring voters' immigration fears, Labour politicians warn
Attorney General Lord Hermer came under fire from senior Labour politicians last night who accused him of 'doing Reform's work' by ignoring voters' concerns over immigration. He faced criticism for comparing calls to pull the UK out of international courts to the early days of Nazi Germany. Last night, Labour MP and ex-minister Graham Stringer openly accused Lord Hermer of aiding the rise of Nigel Farage 's Reform UK. Mr Stringer told The Mail on Sunday: 'He's convincing Labour voters [that the party] does not understand their legitimate concerns about immigration. 'It is not far-Right and Nazi to raise genuine concerns about the scale of immigration and the cost of housing migrants. He's doing Reform's work for them.' And Labour peer Lord Glasman, founder of the influential Blue Labour movement, added that the Attorney General's remarks made him 'unfit for government office'. In a speech last week, Lord Hermer invoked 1930s' Germany to criticise Tory and Reform MPs who have called for the UK to quit institutions such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)to better deal with illegal migration. He said: 'This is not a new song. The claim that international law is fine as far as it goes, but can be put aside when conditions change, is a claim… made in the early 1930s by 'realist' jurists in Germany – most notably Carl Schmitt, whose central thesis was… that state power is all that counts, not law.' Schmitt was a leading Nazi ideologist who backed Hitler's moves to override the German constitution and rule by decree in 1933. Lord Hermer apologised for his 'clumsy' choice of words and his Nazi Germany reference, but stuck by the theme of his speech 'defending international law which underpins our security'. However, his words sparked anger across the political divide, with even Labour Cabinet ministers understood to be livid at his reference. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, whose own policy is to 'disengage' from the ECHR, called on Sir Keir Starmer, a long-term friend of Lord Hermer, to dismiss him for his 'embarrassing, dangerous' remarks and repeated criticisms of the Attorney General over the surrender of the strategically important Chagos Islands. And Mr Stringer added: 'Lord Hermer should never have been appointed in the first place. It's his ridiculous advice… that has led us to spend £30 billion to keep a military base we already had.' Last night, No 10 said that the Attorney General still had the PM's full confidence.
New European
27-05-2025
- Business
- New European
If universities sink, then so will Starmer
Universities, left to find new ways to pay the bills, aggressively recruited foreign students, who pay much higher fees – meaning most universities now rely on overseas students to stay afloat, a business model created with the full knowledge of successive governments. The UK's universities have had a tough few decades, in both political and financial terms. The Conservative-led coalition transformed their funding model by tripling tuition fees, destroying the Liberal Democrats' credibility for a generation in the process. But the toxicity of that decision, combined with the choice not to have tuition fees increase with inflation, meant the government went nowhere near increasing fees for more than a decade, while education was not immune to austerity cuts and belt-tightening across government. Despite that, unis have been relentlessly attacked by MPs and ministers for that model, with some suggesting foreign students are 'taking places' that would otherwise be filled by Brits (in practice they are subsidising places for UK students), or else that they are serving as a gateway for unwanted immigrants to enter the country, contributing to that 'crisis'. Fold in universities' place at the centre of the culture wars – as if either left wing academics or student activism were anything new – and by the time Labour re-entered government last year, British universities were exhausted, demoralised, and several were on the verge of financial collapse. No one thought Labour would enter government and scrap tuition fees while lavishly funding universities, but academics and university bosses alike hoped for some improvement – at least an end to universities being endlessly dragged into the culture wars, caught in the middle of battles between the Home Office and Treasury on immigration, or told to find 'efficiency savings' as if it's a new idea, rather than something that has been demanded of them every year for a decade. Needless to say, they have been disappointed. Skills minister Jacqui Smith ruffled feathers in the sector when she accused universities, in the pages of the Telegraph, of having 'lost sight' of their responsibility to spend public money wisely, launching into attacks on vice chancellors' salaries and demanding they cut 'wasteful spending'. But Blue Labour MPs have gone much further. Dan Carden, who was head boy at one of the North West's most prestigious grammar schools, St Edward's College, before studying at the LSE, said in the Daily Mail that he 'would close half our universities and turn them into vocational colleges' because 'we need to renew the skills required for production, not produce an endless stream of graduates for email jobs and human resources'. Carden's Blue Labour colleague Jonathan Hinder – who also attended one of the North West's most prestigious grammar schools, before going on to study history and politics at Oxford – expressed similar sentiments, saying 'I don't think we should have anywhere near as many universities and university places'. He added he would be 'not that disappointed' if several universities collapsed as overseas student numbers fell. To say such comments are testing the patience of academics would be the understatement of the century. Backbenchers could be easily ignored were it not for the fact that No 10 seems highly attuned to the concerns of Blue Labour, hyper-focused on Reform, and blind to what they see as a simple fact – that if universities started failing, Labour's prospects of re-election would collapse with them. 'None of that sentiment would survive contact with the reality of even one university going bankrupt,' says Professor Rob Ford of the University of Manchester. 'Because the fallout from that in the place where it happened would be catastrophic, and the MPs that represent that place would experience it like a meteorite hitting in terms of the local economy.' The impacts would be direct and indirect, he explains. 'Universities don't just employ lecturers, they employ thousands of people at all sorts of levels. They have huge estates, lots of buildings. People have to maintain those buildings. They have lots of administrative staff. Even at a modestly sized university, you are talking about thousands of people, at every rung of the career ladder.' Beyond that, though, universities support thousands more jobs in their local areas – some through contractors, such as caterers or student housing, but many more in the wider local economy. The nightlife in university towns, many of the private rentals, town centre shops, cafes and more rely on students. The majority of UK students still study away from home, and so are bringing money into an area. An overseas student is essentially bringing money into the country with every penny they spend – it is not just their fees, but their rent, food, and everything else that is essentially a UK export. This is backed up by data: research for Public First has found universities are among the top three exporters in more than 100 constituencies – something which isn't true for any other sector of the economy. Of those 100 seats, Labour holds 85. One of the study's authors put it starkly: 'In a lot of towns, your university is your car plant, it is your steel mill'. University WhatsApp groups swirl with rumours about which institutions are on the brink, and which university might fail first. Some look to what happened with local councils, where for years there were warnings councils would go bankrupt that never quite materialised – as no one wanted to be first. But at least nine councils have declared bankruptcy since 2020, and dozens more are at risk. If universities start to fail, it will be disastrous for Labour MPs and their constituents. It would be the modern equivalent of the factory closure, or the end of the pit. And despite how some Labour MPs seem to imagine their voters, it would be Labour's core supporters who were most affected. Some Labour MPs still seem to imagine the party's voters are the kind of mass manual working class that largely hasn't existed in this country for decades. The data is very different. A large-scale post-election survey by YouGov found that Labour won university graduates by more than two to one, securing 42% of them versus the Tories' 18%. But even in an election where the Conservatives resoundingly lost, among people with GCSE education or lower, Labour lost out to the Tories by 28% versus 31% (Reform got 23% of these voters). Blue Labour isn't trying to appeal to Labour's actual voting base – it is arguing that the party should give up on these voters in a bid to secure a new core. This was not seen as a credible argument when the hard left made it, and should not be seen as one now. That the tactic to appeal to this imagined new voting base relies on degrading a sector vital to the UK's economic fortunes, and to the future of the towns many Labour MPs represent, is gross recklessness. Universities have certainly made mistakes – so many years of education being seen as such a good thing means they have got out of the habit of making the economic case for their existence, some vice chancellor salaries are obviously ridiculous, and the sector has cried wolf too many times. But the numbers on the account books are clear: this time the crisis is real. Some senior university leaders still think the government has more sense than to allow a university to collapse – probably. Professor Sally Wheeler is the vice chancellor of Birkbeck, University of London, an institution founded to provide part-time evening education for the working classes. She thinks if it came to the crunch, the government would step in – at least for some. 'I question: would Labour let a uni go bust? Well, they might within the M25 – that's what everybody says, where there are an awful lot of them. Would they in a red wall seat? I doubt it,' she says. She doesn't expect transformational new money from Labour – people in her job are having to be ever more creative to keep the lights on, she says, from making commercial partnerships to looking at campuses overseas. But she expresses frustration that a lack of insight creates problems no minister would likely ever intend. These range from the mundane, such as small universities like hers facing as much compliance cost as those five or 10 times larger, to the ridiculous. She highlights an issue with hybrid teaching, in which some students learn in person and some dial in remotely. The tech is there, the students love it, and for an institution like Birkbeck designed to help people with other commitments to study, it's ideal – but overseas students aren't allowed to use the tech. They can't even install it. This is because of restrictions to crack down on dubious visas. The sector is beset by issues like this, she explains. Ultimately, universities don't expect miracles from Labour. After a dubious first year in government, they don't expect much. On a pragmatic level, senior figures hope that ministers will engage with the practical issues that could be fixed with little cost, which might make a hard job slightly easier. But the big hope is a philosophical one – that Labour won't get so preoccupied in a battle with Reform over the souls of a largely imagined working class that it ignores, or even cheers on, a potential economic calamity in its new political heartlands. Higher education might have been bad at making the arguments, but its campuses are the new factories, or even the new mines, supporting thousands or tens of thousands of jobs. Closures could devastate communities for a generation. Surely, they hope, Keir Starmer won't let himself be sleepwalked into being the 21st-century Thatcher?
