Tag Archive
Miliband brothers in Labour pitch
The two brothers vying for the Labour leadership set out their visions for the party in newspaper interviews. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. »
Labour leader nominations closing
Nominations for the Labour leadership election close at lunchtime, with three candidates so far in the running. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. »
Ed Miliband joins UK Labour leader battle
Ed Miliband will stand for the Labour leadership, the BBC has learned. The former energy minister told members of his local constituency party in Doncaster that he intends to run and will announce it on Saturday morning. His older brother David – the former foreign secretary – is also standing for the post vacated by... »
Brown to quit as UK Labour leader
Gordon Brown has said he is stepping down as Labour Party leader. Mr Brown, prime minister since 2007, said he wanted a successor to be in place by the time of the party’s conference in September. Mr Brown announced his intention to quit in a statement in Downing St in which he also said his... »
Brown to quit as Labour leader
Gordon Brown has said he is stepping down as Labour Party leader. Mr Brown, prime minister since 2007, said he wanted a successor to be in place by the time of the party’s conference in September. Mr Brown announced his intention to quit in a statement in Downing St in which he also said his... »
Labour make gains in local polls
About 20 million electors will be voting in 164 council polls being held in England on Thursday, at the same time as the general election. These include those for 32 London boroughs, 36 metropolitan authorities and 20 unitary authorties. A total of 15,785 candidates are fighting 4,222 seats. Five are already returned unopposed – two... »
PM says ‘come home to Labour’
Gordon Brown is urging voters "to come home to Labour" as he says his party can still win the general election. Touring constituencies in the north of England and Scotland on the final day of campaigning, he said Labour was "moving forward". Home Secretary Alan Johnson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the prime... »
Immigration not off limits – Labour
Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg are preparing for the third and final prime ministerial debate. But the Labour leader’s preparations have been overshadowed by the fall out and negative headlines after he called a pensioner he had met "bigoted". He has been to Gillian Duffy’s house in Rochdale to apologise for his comment,... »
Kinnock says Labour win unlikely
Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock says it “doesn’t look like” his party can win the general election, but insists it remains “within reach”. This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. »
Labour candidate in crash arrest
A Labour general election candidate was arrested after crashing her car into a roundabout, says her agent. Kathryn Smith, standing in Gravesham, is understood to have been breathalysed at the scene. Her agent said she had asked to provide a blood sample. She was taken to hospital after the incident at University Way, Dartford, on... »
Labour warn over rivals’ ‘cuts’
Labour are to warn children will be hit by their opponents’ spending cuts, as they seek to refocus the campaign on "major policy issues". Lib Dem plans to axe child trust funds and Tory proposals to scale back child tax credits put children "in the frontline" of cuts, Labour will argue. The Tories will say... »
Labour axes Muslim row candidate
The Labour Party has suspended its candidate for South East Cambridgeshire over allegations of inappropriate comments on an online forum. A party spokesman described the actions of John Cowan as "totally unacceptable and well below what the party expects of its candidates". A decision will now be made whether to expel him from the party.... »
Tories target Labour heartlands
The Conservatives are wooing voters where they face a close fight with the Lib Dems and are also set to "expand the battleground" to Labour heartlands. They are mailing 500,000 homes to try to demonstrate they have modernised in areas like the environment. Setting out their green agenda, the Lib Dems pledged to put protecting... »
Labour now ‘irrelevant’ – Clegg
Nick Clegg has described Labour as "increasingly irrelevant" and suggested voters face a straight choice between his Lib Dems and the Conservatives. He said it was "a nonsense" that Gordon Brown could end up "squatting in No 10" just because of the UK’s voting system. Meanwhile, Lord Mandelson has warned Labour voters that switching to... »
Labour pledge on NHS reforms
Gordon Brown has confirmed that every NHS hospital in England will become a foundation trust by 2015. Launching the party’s election manifesto at a Birmingham hospital, he re-affirmed pledges to give patients legally-binding rights on treatment and waiting times. More GP surgeries will be open from 8am to 8pm and there will be extra health... »
Labour manifesto due for launch
Labour is due to launch its manifesto, which the BBC has learned will include a pledge not to raise income tax rates. However, it is understood it will not include a similar pledge on VAT. Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised that a fourth Labour term would "rebuild the economy, renew our society and restore trust... »
Labour: No income tax rates rise
Labour’s election manifesto will contain "no big new spending commitments", party sources have said. But BBC political correspondent Gary O’Donoghue understands that it will include a commitment to doubling paternity leave from two to four weeks. The party’s programme is due to be launched by Gordon Brown on Monday. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said in... »
No big new spending from Labour
Labour’s election manifesto will contain "no big new spending commitments", party sources have said. But BBC political correspondent Gary O’Donoghue understands that it will include a commitment to doubling paternity leave from two to four weeks. The party’s programme is due to be launched by Gordon Brown on Monday. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said in... »
Labour hits back over Tory plans
Lord Mandelson has hit back after 23 captains of industry backed Tory plans to axe part of Labour’s planned National Insurance rise. The business secretary said the Tories could not make their sums add up without increasing VAT. The 23 bosses including Marks & Spencer’s and Next’s chiefs – said the 1% NI increase was... »
Blair to rally Labour supporters
Tony Blair is to enter the pre-election fray when he addresses party supporters in his old constituency. The former prime minister will give a speech on Tuesday at the Trimdon Labour Club, the same venue where he announced he would step down as PM in 2007. Newspaper reports have suggested Mr Blair will make several... »
Brown to address Labour gathering
Prime Minister Gordon Brown will outline Labour’s key election pledges as he addresses his party’s Scottish conference in Glasgow. He will tell delegates Labour can win the election, with a promise to bolster the economy. Mr Brown will start the day in the Midlands by unveiling the party’s election pledge card, ahead of his keynote... »
Labour cuts ‘tougher than 1980s’
Alistair Darling has conceded that if Labour is re-elected public spending cuts will be "tougher and deeper" than those implemented by Margaret Thatcher. Asked in a BBC interview to spell out how far-reaching future cuts could be, Mr Darling did not reject a comparison with measures taken in the early 1980s. The Tories have said... »
Labour ‘will get recovery right’
Chancellor Alistair Darling is preparing to give his third budget, the last before the general election. He is expected to describe it as "a Budget to secure the recovery and invest in our industrial future". It is thought stamp duty on house sales of up to £250,000 will be scrapped and a planned rise in... »
Labour MP Moffat ‘angry’ at party
Labour MP Anne Moffat has reacted angrily to her party’s decision to deselect her. The East Lothian MP accused the Scottish Labour leader of acting in a "cowardly" way by refusing to support her during the deselection process. Iain Grey MSP said the process had been democratic. Constituency activists voted on Friday to oust... »
Labour suspends former ministers
Three former cabinet ministers are to be suspended from the parliamentary Labour party after being recorded for a documentary on political lobbying. Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon will be suspended following reports in the Sunday Times and a Channel 4 Dispatches programme. All three deny any wrongdoing. Mr Byers has referred himself for... »
Labour pledges lobbying crackdown
Labour has promised to introduce stricter rules for lobbyists in the light of claims that senior MPs had offered their services for money. Former cabinet ministers Stephen Byers and Patricia Hewitt denied any wrongdoing after they were secretly recorded for a Channel 4 documentary. Labour said the claims showed there was a need for more... »
Labour MP died of natural causes
Labour MP Ashok Kumar, who was found dead at his home on Monday, died from natural causes, police have said. Mr Kumar, who was 53, had represented Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland since 1997, after becoming MP for the ancestor seat of Langbaurgh in 1991. His office said his death was "a huge shock" and... »