Labour to water down gig economy pledges in business vote bid: reports August 18, 2023 Labour have watered down protections for workers’ rights in a bid to woo big business, it has been reported Sir Keir Starmer has rolled back his plans to create a single category of ‘worker’ for all but those genuinely self-employed, which was intended to secure “rights and protections” for all. But at the party’s national [...]
Avoid ULEZ options but tackle air pollution, Starmer says August 14, 2023 Cities should look at other options for tackling air pollution instead of schemes like London’s ULEZ (ultra low emission zone), Sir Keir Starmer has suggested. The Labour leader said no-one in the UK should be “breathing dirty air” but added that proposals for reducing air pollution should not have a disproportionate impact on people’s pockets [...]
Don’t ‘clobber’ Londoners with ULEZ, Rachel Reeves says July 27, 2023 Now is not the right time to “clobber” Londoners with the ULEZ charge, Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. The shadow chancellor has weighed in on the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) expansion row engulfing City Hall and Labour politics in the wake of the Uxbridge by-election defeat. She told the Sun she was [...]
Relax some net zero measures, says Michael Gove July 23, 2023 Top Conservative minister Michael Gove has called for some net zero measures to be relaxed as he warned against green policies becoming a “religious crusade”. Gove’s intervention came in the wake of a Labour defeat in the Uxbridge by-election which saw the victorious Conservative MP Steve Tuckwell run a single-issue campaign opposing the ULEZ rollout. [...]
Sadiq Khan is open to tweaking ULEZ expansion – but won’t scrap it July 23, 2023 Sadiq Khan is prepared to review the expansion of the ULEZ policy, but remains committed to delivering it, City A.M. understands. The London mayor has faced criticism after opposition to his plans to roll out the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) across the capital played into the Uxbridge by-election defeat. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer [...]
Labour must ‘learn lesson’ of Tories using ULEZ by-election attack July 22, 2023 Sir Keir Starmer has warned Labour must “learn the lesson” of seeing the ULEZ policy used against it following a narrow defeat in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election. The Labour leader said there was “something very wrong” when a policy was on “each and every Tory leaflet” following attacks on London mayor Sadiq Khan’s [...]
Johnny Mercer will ‘soon be history’, says Keir Starmer July 22, 2023 Sir Keir Starmer has labelled Johnny Mercer a “silly sod” who will “soon be history”, after he compared Labour’s new 25-year-old MP to a character from comedy series The Inbetweeners. The minister for Veterans’ Affairs said Keir Mather had been “dropped into” the Selby and Ainsty constituency in North Yorkshire and “spouted identikit Keir Starmer [...]
You win some, ULEZ some: A mixed bag of by-election results but what does it all mean? July 21, 2023 Well, it was quite a night. Three by-elections, three very different constituencies, and – at face value at least – something for everyone. If you’re catching up now, the headlines are: Rishi Sunak dodges a triple defeat, as the Tory Party held onto Uxbridge, while Labour won big in Selby and the Lib Dems took [...]
Double loss for Tories in Selby and Somerton as Sunak gets kicking July 21, 2023 Rishi Sunak has suffered a double defeat, losing Selby and Ainsty to Labour in a historic victory as the Liberal Democrats took Somerton and Froome. The Conservatives held on the west London seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip – by fewer than 500 votes – but former prime minister Boris Johnson’s 7,210 majority was decimated. [...]
Uxbridge by-election: Tories hold Boris Johnson’s old seat as Labour blame Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion July 21, 2023 The Conservatives have held onto Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip as Labour blame Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion policy for the loss. Tory councillor and former postman Steve Tuckwell won the west London constituency with 13,965 votes – beating Labour’s Danny Beales, on 13,470. Sir Keir Starmer’s party had hoped to overturn [...]