Labour must not let the Brexiters turn the EU referendum into a right-wing coup

07 Jun 2016

New Statesman The clear and unequivocal view of the Labour Party is that, whatever its shortcomings, we must vote to Remain in the European Union. No major UK party is as united on the issue as ours. Ninety four per cent of the Parliamentary Party support Remain, and we have…

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Let’s stamp out the idea that Labour is anti-business

16 May 2016

LabourList Last week, London was Boris Johnson’s London. This week, London is a changed city, a Labour London – Sadiq Khan’s London. There is much we can and should learn from Sadiq’s fantastic campaign, not least that a campaign of hope and unity will always triumph over one of cynicism…

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Market Economy Status For China

12 May 2016

The European Parliament, thanks to the leadership of Labour MEPs and their colleagues across the pan-European Socialist Group, today voted overwhelmingly against granting Market Economy Status (MES) to China. Commenting on the vote, Stephen Kinnock said: “Granting MES to China would all but strip the EU of its ability to impose tariffs…

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Brexit and Churchill’s Three ‘Majestic Circles’

11 May 2016

Demos Before becoming the part-time Mayor of London, Boris Johnson fancied himself as something of a historian. In his biography of Winston Churchill, he observed that, “To some extent, all politicians are gamblers with events. They try to anticipate what will happen, to put themselves on the right side of…

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Owning The Future

03 May 2016

Progress Online In their far-sighted article for Juncture on the coming decade and the future of the left, Gavin Kelly and Nick Pearce offer a comprehensive and compelling analysis of the underlying forces that will shape British politics for the remainder of this decade, and beyond. At the heart of their piece…

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Ken Livingstone

28 Apr 2016

As someone who is passionately committed to the Palestinian cause, I am deeply disappointed by Ken Livingstone’s remarks today Ken Livingstone’s invocation of Hitler today, combined with the proposition that he only became a problem after 1932, when he went “mad”, was truly astonishing. I was very pleased to see…

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Brexit Would Be A Betrayal Of The Moral, Political And Economic Principles That Have Underpinned Our Post-War Journey From Imperial Power To Global Partner

22 Apr 2016

Prospect Nation states have been grappling with the forces of globalisation for thousands of years, and the United Kingdom is no exception. Ever since the Romans landed on our shores we have been an integral part of the international community, buffeted by the winds of commerce, military conflict and geo-politics.…

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The Steel Crisis Is Not A Political Football But A National Emergency

14 Apr 2016

Progress The parliamentary Labour party has raised the steel crisis in parliament 208 times since the general election. From urgent questions to opposition day debates to ministerial questions to PMQs and Westminster Hall, we have deployed every tool in the parliamentary toolbox to hold the government to account. But our…

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Boris Johnson: Man of steel

07 Apr 2016

The Times Just over a month ago Boris Johnson discovered that he’s a Brexiteer. And only a few weeks later he’s come out as a Man of Steel. Two damascene conversions in one month. Could it be a record? Building on his well-established track record as a passionate defender of…

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Boris is playing politics with steel workers’ lives, says Port Talbot MP

05 Apr 2016

The Sun Tory bungler Boris Johnson has suddenly discovered he cares about British steel. Just as last month he suddenly discovered he was in favour of leaving the EU. This man’s opportunism knows no bounds. Boris was in Wales today, but he didn’t come to Port Talbot – I’d guess…

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The fate of the British steel industry is in the Prime Minister’s hands

04 Apr 2016

From the Sun on Sunday  THE fate of the British steel industry is in the Prime Minister’s hands. His words and deeds over the next few days will determine the future of our manufacturing base — and of our national security. Our focus for the crunch Tata board meeting last…

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The Government’s Response To The Steel Crisis Has Been A Mixture Of Incompetence And Indifference

04 Apr 2016

From The Sunday Mirror With the steel crisis of this week we have seen the Tory government at its incompetent and indifferent worst, and it is my constituents and thousands like them all over the UK who are paying the price. That Tata would announce that they planned to sell…

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Steel’s not a sunset industry – it’s the lynchpin of our economy

01 Apr 2016

New Statesman The British government has been in a state of denial about the steel crisis, ever since David Cameron moved into Downing Street. They have time and time again failed to act. The steelworks at Port Talbot is the beating heart of my constituency, and in my year in Parliament…

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As MP for Port Talbot, I believe Brexit would be disastrous for British steel

31 Mar 2016

Guardian On Tuesday Tata Steel announced its intention to sell the entire Strip Products division of its UK steel business, including the Port Talbot works in my Aberavon constituency. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Tata Steel announcement, on both local and national levels. Locally, the Port…

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Steeling ourselves for the future – the Government must now act to save Port Talbot

30 Mar 2016

LabourList Tata Steel’s decision to seek a buyer for the entire strip products division of its UK operation will have a direct impact on up to 40,000 jobs across the length and breadth of the country. As such it is without doubt amongst the most important business decisions that post-War…

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Steel 2020

15 Mar 2016

Labour List As we opened our papers this morning or scrolled though the news on our phones we will have been greeted with the latest updates on the civil war taking place within the Conservative Party, made a little more juicy thanks to a certain someone who is most notable…

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Three reasons why the government will struggle to secure a good exit deal if Britain votes to leave the EU

09 Mar 2016

City AM The path from now until referendum day on 23 June will be dominated by what is the most important debate our country has faced in a generation. There will undoubtedly be a fair amount of emotive rhetoric, and quite rightly so. But it is equally important that the…

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Britain in Europe, Europe in Britain: the new patriotism in action

31 Jan 2016

Labour Movement For Europe Labour must not allow the EU referendum to be about deciding whether or not Polish plumbers or Latvian taxi drivers are allowed to claim tax credits. Rather, we must ensure that we make this a referendum about what sort of country we want to live in,…

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David Cameron Urged To Press Ahead With Swansea Tidal Lagoon And Told To Build It With Port Talbot steel

25 Jan 2016

Western Mail A Welsh MP has called on the UK Government to “show some leadership” by giving a full commitment to using British steel for the Swansea Tidal Lagoon project. Following the announcement that Tata Steel will cut over 1,000 jobs in the face of a growing industry crisis, Labour’s…

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A Disgrace That David Cameron Is Not Helping Our Steel Works

22 Jan 2016

The Mirror I am calling on the Government to guarantee they will buy British steel for these ships. These contracts are worth hundreds of jobs British steelworkers will feel incredibly let down if the steel for the Global Combat Ships is bought from foreign firms. We produce the best steel…

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Cheap Chinese Steel The Greatest Issue For Industry, Says MP

22 Jan 2016

BBC Wales Online Dumping of Chinese steel is the greatest issue that the British steel industry faces, Aberavon Labour MP Stephen Kinnock has said. It follows Monday’s announcement of more than 1,000 job losses at steel giant Tata, 750 in Port Talbot. He said: “The European Union sets the rules…

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