Something more significant than the move against Andrew Fisher happened on the right of the Labour Party last week. It was Tuesday morning, in fact, and the occasion was Liam Byrne’s speech to the Policy Network. Of course, MPs, particularly former ministers, give speeches to think tanks all the time and most float under the […]
Posts Tagged ‘Liam Byrne’
Welcome to a constructive critique of Corbynomics from Liam Byrne
Nov 9th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.
What on earth is happening in the Labour party?
Oct 15th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.You might have thought from the Tory tabloid screams at Ed’s conference speech plus the sidelining of the three older Blairites in the reshuffle that the Labour Party was taking a sharp turn to the left. Nothing could be further from the truth: plus ca change, plus la meme chose. The Left has been dropped […]
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Labour’s despicable secret deal
Mar 25th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.It now emerges that Labour did a secret deal with the DWP that the latter would set up an independent inquiry into the use of sanctions against job-seekers in return for Labour supporting emergency legislation – the Jobseekers (Back-to-Work Schemes) Bill which passed all its stages in the Commons last Tuesday – which established the […]
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What was Liam Byrne playing at?
Mar 21st, 2013 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.What is Liam Byrne playing at? There has been exasperation and annoyance that Labour MPs were instructed to abstain on last night’s DWP Commons vote. This was to retrospectively revoke workfare recipients’ right to claim compensation in light of the so-called Poundland ruling. Readers will recall IDS and his minions fell foul of an especially […]
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Labour supports Tory sanctions on job-seekers – but 40 fight back
Mar 19th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.A few months ago two young workers at Poundland appealed to the courts against being forced to work there for no wages at all or else forfeit all their benefits. The judge in the Court of Appeal decided in their favour, but also ruled that existing back-to-work schemes, of which Poundland was just one of […]
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A new Labour Policy Review is urgently needed
May 12th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.The report in today’s newspapers that a Labour shadow cabinet reshuffle may be in the offing is to be welcomed if at last it enables the party to get a grip on one of the essential components for electoral success – the Policy Review. For 18 months now this has been stranded in the doldrums […]
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Labour’s position on capping benefits
Jan 24th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.Is Labour’s position on capping benefits a carefully-crafted thought-through policy from Liam Byrne, the man charged with overseeing Labour’s policy review? Or it is just a bit of triangulated political posturing from the man responsible for the “no money left” 2010 ‘gag’? We’ll leave it to your judgement. Labour’s front bench team yesterday explained its […]
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Liam Byrne’s Capitulation
Jan 5th, 2012 by Owen Jones.This is the kind of piece that delights Liam Byrne. It is an article of faith for the Blairite true believer that, the louder the left squeal, the more confident you should be that you’re doing the right thing. Another vindication is if the swivel-eyed hard right knuckle-draggers of the Daily Mail applaud you. So I’m […]
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Labour’s policy review: Susan and Melanie and why one head is better than two
Dec 23rd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Labour’s policy making process has two heads but has shown little sign of life since Ed Miliband became Leader promising to re-create a “living, breathing party“. The two heads are Peter Hain, Chair of the National Policy Forum, who theoretically oversees the policy making process, and Liam Byrne, charged with overseeing the policy review. The National […]
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Welfare reform, opposition and the inadequacies of Liam Byrne
Mar 10th, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Last night, the Welfare Reform bill received its second reading, with a Government majority of 288. Labour abstained on the final vote. Only 12 Labour MPs opposed it in that vote. That small rebellion seriously under-represents the unhappiness on Labour benches — including many front-benchers who voted for Ed Miliband — about Labour’s decision to […]
