So. Farewell then Josh Simons. The Macclesfield MP has quit his job at the Cabinet Office following the revelations about his time as head of Labour Together. Back in 2023, the think tank – which helped Keir Starmer get elected party leader – spent thousands paying APCO Worldwide to dig into the background of journalists who wrote stories about them. Simons has now quit as a minister, days after Starmer asked his ethics adviser to investigate him. He’s not having a great week, eh?
In a statement, Simons said he welcomed being cleared by Sir Laurie Magnus but that he was resigning as he had ‘become a distraction from this government’s important work.’ In a letter to Starmer, Sir Laurie said Simons now accepted the terms he agreed with APCO Worldwide were ‘wider than he had understood’ and he had acted ‘too hastily in confirming their appointment’. Magnus said Simons had acted ‘in good faith’ but added that the MP acknowledged the ‘perceived gap between his public statements and what he now accepts appears to be a more extensive scope has been damaging’. You could say that…
One MP who is not impressed is Kemi Badenoch who took to Twitter to declare that:
Keir Starmer has used the conflict in the Middle East to sneak out yet another ministerial resignation. Another time he’s lacked the backbone to sack a minister who was obviously in the wrong. Simons was in charge of a group that deliberately smeared journalists, even using a journalist’s Jewish faith to call him into question. Labour hasn’t changed. The ‘think tank’ Labour Together has donated or provided support to over 100 Labour MPs, including many of the Cabinet. Their former staff members are in positions of influence across Government, including as civil servants. Simons has resigned so it’s clear Labour Together is utterly finished as an organisation. Keir Starmer must tell us immediately if he will now end Labour Together’s links with his government and return the tainted money they’ve donated.
Ouch! Don’t hold your breath Kemi…
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