It’s that time of year again. Spring is sprung and that means another bad set of local elections for an unpopular incumbent government. Cue much gnashing of teeth, plenty of wringing of hands and an endless stream of policy announcements from Labour caucuses fearing the future of their party. One particularly noticeable faction is the 100-strong ‘soft left’ Tribune group, whose members include former ministers Louise Haigh, Vicky Foxcroft and Justin Madders. Respected backbenchers whom an embattled PM might want to keep onside…
Steerpike has heard that Tribune will shortly be launching a pamphlet of policy essays in the aftermath of 7 May, in the latest headache for Sir Keir Starmer. Key members of the group have decided that the Prime Minister will not be leading Labour into the next election and will set out their stall for whoever comes next. Perched between the Blairites and Corbynistas, the Tribune group are not united behind a single leadership candidate. While Angela Rayner has her supporters, many are unconvinced of her appeal beyond the party membership and long for the return of Andy Burnham. Truly, Labour’s prince across the river Mersey…
So sensitive are leadership discussions, that the Tribune WhatsApp group is set to ‘admin only’ preferences to prevent leaking. Instead, conversations around succession are restricted to MPs’ offices and the Commons corridors between votes. Many backbenchers are desperate to avoid a rushed toppling in the wake of the locals. There are a growing number who want the PM to pave the way for Andy Burnham to return to the Commons, award him a role in cabinet and then ensure a smooth transition of power. A soft-left source told Steerpike:
We don’t want a repeat of the Tories, where they probably would have done better in the election had they stuck to Boris rather than churning through Liz and Rishi.
The pamphlet, which Tribune will insist does NOT constitute a manifesto, is set to show the soft left ‘isn’t just wishy washy and spend spend spend’. Haigh, the transport secretary turned backbench power player, will cover topics on tax and the economy, alongside new-intake MP Yuan Yang. The pair want to cover tax cliff edges including the £100,000 mark that bars aspirational workers from childcare subsidies. Better late than never eh…
Immigration will be hidden under the concept of ‘social mobility’, in an essay penned by equalities committee chairwoman Sarah Owen. A sizeable portion of soft left MPs support a crackdown on arrivals – though cannot say so out loud for fear of looking too right-wing. There is support for clamping down on numbers, though Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s scrapping of permanent refugee status would be set for the bin.
Come ‘Starmergeddon’ 7 May, Steerpike expects the PM to be in full on ‘listening mode’, given his precarious chances of survival…
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