Difference between revisions of "Keir Starmer"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m |
(Why Sir Keir Starmer was knighted: How the Labour leadership contender earned his title – and what he has said about it) |
||
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
In 2012, the Swedish prosecutor received an email from the [[CPS]]: “Don’t you dare get cold feet!!!” Other [[CPS]] emails were either deleted or redacted. Why? Keir Starmer needs to say why.<ref>''[[Document:Julian Assange Must be Freed, Not Betrayed]]''</ref> | In 2012, the Swedish prosecutor received an email from the [[CPS]]: “Don’t you dare get cold feet!!!” Other [[CPS]] emails were either deleted or redacted. Why? Keir Starmer needs to say why.<ref>''[[Document:Julian Assange Must be Freed, Not Betrayed]]''</ref> | ||
| − | + | ==Background== | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
Keir Starmer was born in 1967 in Southwark, London. His father, Rod Starmer, was a toolmaker, and his mother, Josephine Starmer (née Baker), was a nurse. Starmer’s parents were both staunch Labour supporters, and they named Keir – their second son – after the first leader of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie. | Keir Starmer was born in 1967 in Southwark, London. His father, Rod Starmer, was a toolmaker, and his mother, Josephine Starmer (née Baker), was a nurse. Starmer’s parents were both staunch Labour supporters, and they named Keir – their second son – after the first leader of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie. | ||
| Line 49: | Line 43: | ||
A year after graduating from Oxford, Starmer became a Barrister at the highly distinguished Middle Temple. He was then appointed as a member of the Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 2002, and moved to Doughty Street Chambers the following year. | A year after graduating from Oxford, Starmer became a Barrister at the highly distinguished Middle Temple. He was then appointed as a member of the Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 2002, and moved to Doughty Street Chambers the following year. | ||
| − | Starmer’s legal work primarily consisted of human rights issues, with one of his most notable successes being the so-called “McLibel” case where he assisted two environmental activists, Helen Steel and David Morris, in a highly contentious case brought against them by the US fast-food giants, McDonald’s. | + | Starmer’s legal work primarily consisted of [[human rights]] issues, with one of his most notable successes being the so-called “McLibel” case where he assisted two environmental activists, Helen Steel and David Morris, in a highly contentious case brought against them by the US fast-food giants, McDonald’s. |
McDonald’s had accused Steel and Morris of libel after they produced and publicised a factsheet which contained numerous claims that were highly critical of the company’s ethics and practices. Both were refused legal aid in order to defend themselves, but received substantial pro-bono assistance from a number of lawyers, including Starmer. | McDonald’s had accused Steel and Morris of libel after they produced and publicised a factsheet which contained numerous claims that were highly critical of the company’s ethics and practices. Both were refused legal aid in order to defend themselves, but received substantial pro-bono assistance from a number of lawyers, including Starmer. | ||
| Line 57: | Line 51: | ||
In addition to his role in the McLibel case, Starmer undertook substantial legal work challenging the death penalty in the Caribbean and Africa, and he also worked as a human rights advisor to the Policing Board in Northern Ireland. | In addition to his role in the McLibel case, Starmer undertook substantial legal work challenging the death penalty in the Caribbean and Africa, and he also worked as a human rights advisor to the Policing Board in Northern Ireland. | ||
| − | Following years of successful legal work in the field of human rights, and after being named QC of the Year in 2007, Starmer was named as the new Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 2008. | + | Following years of successful legal work in the field of human rights, and after being named QC of the Year in 2007, Starmer was named as the new Head of the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] (CPS) and the [[Director of Public Prosecutions]] (DPP) in 2008.<ref>''[http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=133949 Nina Goswami: "Keir Starmer QC appointed DPP"]''</ref><ref>''[http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4397189.ece Frances Gibb: "Human rights lawyer Keir Starmer named as new prosecution service chief"]''</ref> |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | : | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | : | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | Starmer | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | + | ==DPP== | |
| + | During his role as [[DPP]] (2008 to 2013), Keir Starmer oversaw numerous highly successful cases, including the prosecution and eventual conviction of a number of MPs and Lords who abused their taxpayer-funded parliamentary expenses, and the successful retrial of the killers of [[Stephen Lawrence]]. | ||
| − | Starmer | + | All of Keir Starmer's predecessors as [[DPP]] received knighthoods for the role, and he was no different. He was awarded a knighthood in 2014 for "services to law and criminal justice" and is therefore entitled to be known as "Sir Keir Starmer".<ref>''[https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/keir-starmer-why-sir-knighted-labour-leadership-contenders-election-1345953 "Why Sir Keir Starmer was knighted: How the Labour leadership contender earned his title – and what he has said about it"]''</ref> |
| − | Starmer | + | ===Jimmy Savile=== |
| − | + | Starmer also encountered criticism for a number of decisions made during his time as DPP – including the failure to bring charges against the prolific paedophile, [[Jimmy Savile]], whilst he was still alive. The decision was made despite the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] receiving substantial evidence of his crimes from witnesses and victims several years before the disgraced former BBC presenter died in 2011. | |
| − | + | ===Julian Assange=== | |
| + | In December 2010, as [[Julian Assange]] prepared to appear at London's High Court to hear an appeal against a lower court's decision to release him on bail, Keir Starmer was asked to comment on reports in ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper that [[Sweden]] has "not got a view at all on bail". | ||
| − | + | Starmer told [[BBC]] radio: | |
| − | + | :"The general position and the nature of the arrangement is absolutely clear. The Crown Prosecution Service acts here as agents of the government seeking extradition, in this case the Swedish government. These proceedings are brought as agents of the Swedish government." | |
| − | + | A spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office, [[Karin Rosander]], told AFP the decision to oppose bail was "a decision of the British prosecutor and that is what the British prosecutor's office has confirmed to me."<ref>''[https://www.thelocal.se/20101216/30888 "Sweden had 'no say' in Assange bail appeal"]''</ref> | |
| − | + | ===John Worboys=== | |
| + | Keir Starmer has also encountered criticism over the CPS’s decision to release the prolific serial rapist, [[John Worboys]], from prison, as well as the decision not to pursue 75 further allegations made against him. However, in 2018, the [[CPS]] issued a statement claiming the Starmer had no role in either of the decisions regarding Worboys.<ref>''[https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/cps-statement-john-worboys "CPS statement on John Worboys"]''</ref> | ||
| − | During the infamous so-called “Chicken Coup” | + | =="Chicken Coup"== |
| + | [[File:Starmer_resigns.png|300px|right|thumb|Starmer's "Chicken Coup" resignation letter]] | ||
| + | During the infamous so-called “Chicken Coup”, less than a year after the Labour membership had handed [[Jeremy Corbyn]] a massive mandate to lead the party, numerous Labour Shadow Cabinet Ministers instigated co-ordinated resignations from the front bench in a deeply cynical attempt to remove him as leader. | ||
| − | In his resignation letter, Starmer – who was a Shadow Immigration Minister at the time – essentially claimed that because a lot of other Shadow | + | In his resignation letter dated 27 June 2016, Keir Starmer – who was a Shadow Immigration Minister at the time – essentially claimed that because a lot of other Shadow Ministers had resigned, he decided to resign too. In the opening paragraph of Starmer’s letter, he claims that he initially “respected the mandate” that Labour members had given to [[Jeremy Corbyn]] to lead the party. |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | In the opening paragraph of Starmer’s letter, he claims that he initially “respected the mandate” that Labour members had given to [[Jeremy Corbyn]] to lead the party. | ||
Starmer then uses two different excuses for his decision to disregard the democratic will of Labour members: claiming that the party needed a “louder voice” regarding [[Brexit]], and that Mr Corbyn’s position was “untenable” because so many Shadow Ministers had resigned. | Starmer then uses two different excuses for his decision to disregard the democratic will of Labour members: claiming that the party needed a “louder voice” regarding [[Brexit]], and that Mr Corbyn’s position was “untenable” because so many Shadow Ministers had resigned. | ||
| − | Starmer | + | In the subsequent 2016 Labour leadership election, Starmer went on to support the astonishingly dour, former big pharma lobbyist, [[Owen Smith]]. |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | + | ===Upshot=== | |
| + | During the 2016 "Chicken Coup", the right thing to do would have clearly been to trust the decision of Labour members, rather than an overwhelmingly right-wing and detached [[Parliamentary Labour Party]] (PLP), and support the democratically elected leader of the party. Had the PLP been united, Labour may well have been in a position to gain the few thousands extra votes necessary to have formed a government in the [[UK/2017 General Election]] campaign. | ||
| − | + | Unfortunately, Starmer’s willingness to disregard clear democratic decisions in favour of what he thinks is right is not an isolated incident, with the Shadow Brexit Secretary becoming the architect of Labour’s decision to change their [[Brexit]] policy from respecting the result in 2017 to supporting a second referendum in 2019 – a policy regarded as the main reason that the party lost huge numbers of seats in their pro-Leave heartlands to the Tories in [[UK/2019 General Election|December’s General Election]]. | |
| − | + | Whilst Labour may still have lost the election had they continued with their 2017 Brexit policy to respect the Brexit vote, they would unquestionably have been far closer to the Conservative Party in terms of votes – with the only genuine question being whether the [[Lib Dems]] would have been able to charge through the middle on their pro-Remain platform. | |
| − | + | Moreover, at the [[UK/2019 General Election]], the right thing to do – electorally speaking – would have been to continue to support the democratic decision of the British people regarding the [[Brexit]] vote. Labour’s decision to support a second referendum is clearly not the only reason for their loss, but it was certainly a huge factor in the sheer scale of it – and Starmer was crucial in pushing the party towards it.<ref>''[https://evolvepolitics.com/labour-leadership-election-2020-candidate-profile-keir-starmer/ "Labour Leadership Election 2020 Candidate Profile: Keir Starmer"]''</ref> | |
{{SMWDocs}} | {{SMWDocs}} | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
Revision as of 19:10, 22 February 2020
 Sir Keir Starmer       (lawyer) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1962-09-02 London, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Leeds, St Edmund Hall (Oxford) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Victoria Alexander | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of | Labour Friends of Israel, Trilateral Commission | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Labour | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sir Keir Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has been the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras since the 2015 General Election. On 6 October 2016 he was appointed Shadow Brexit Secretary by Jeremy Corbyn.[1]
Keir Starmer is standing as a candidate in the 2020 Labour Party leadership contest.[2] Between 2008 and 2013, he was Director of Public Prosecutions and responsible for the Crown Prosecution Service. According to Freedom of Information searches by the Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi, Sweden tried to drop the Assange case in 2011, but a CPS official in London told the Swedish prosecutor not to treat it as “just another extradition”.
In 2012, the Swedish prosecutor received an email from the CPS: “Don’t you dare get cold feet!!!” Other CPS emails were either deleted or redacted. Why? Keir Starmer needs to say why.[3]
Contents
Background
Keir Starmer was born in 1967 in Southwark, London. His father, Rod Starmer, was a toolmaker, and his mother, Josephine Starmer (née Baker), was a nurse. Starmer’s parents were both staunch Labour supporters, and they named Keir – their second son – after the first leader of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie.
In contrast to his three siblings who all went the the local Comprehensive school, Starmer passed his 11-plus exam and gained entry into Reigate Grammar school. Starmer then studied law at Leeds University, where he graduated with a first-class Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1985, before winning a place at Oxford where he graduated with a Bachelor of Civic Law (BCL) in 1986. What was Keir Starmer’s career before becoming an MP?
A year after graduating from Oxford, Starmer became a Barrister at the highly distinguished Middle Temple. He was then appointed as a member of the Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 2002, and moved to Doughty Street Chambers the following year.
Starmer’s legal work primarily consisted of human rights issues, with one of his most notable successes being the so-called “McLibel” case where he assisted two environmental activists, Helen Steel and David Morris, in a highly contentious case brought against them by the US fast-food giants, McDonald’s.
McDonald’s had accused Steel and Morris of libel after they produced and publicised a factsheet which contained numerous claims that were highly critical of the company’s ethics and practices. Both were refused legal aid in order to defend themselves, but received substantial pro-bono assistance from a number of lawyers, including Starmer.
During the trial, McDonald’s initially argued that all the claims in Steel and Morris’s pamplet were false, but, after almost ten years of legal wranglings, a number of the claims in the document were eventually proved to be true – including the claims that McDonalds did “exploit children“, that they were “culpably responsible” for unnecessary cruelty to animals, and that the company were “antipathetic” to the unionisation of workers and helped to “depress wages in the catering trade“.
In addition to his role in the McLibel case, Starmer undertook substantial legal work challenging the death penalty in the Caribbean and Africa, and he also worked as a human rights advisor to the Policing Board in Northern Ireland.
Following years of successful legal work in the field of human rights, and after being named QC of the Year in 2007, Starmer was named as the new Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 2008.[4][5]
DPP
During his role as DPP (2008 to 2013), Keir Starmer oversaw numerous highly successful cases, including the prosecution and eventual conviction of a number of MPs and Lords who abused their taxpayer-funded parliamentary expenses, and the successful retrial of the killers of Stephen Lawrence.
All of Keir Starmer's predecessors as DPP received knighthoods for the role, and he was no different. He was awarded a knighthood in 2014 for "services to law and criminal justice" and is therefore entitled to be known as "Sir Keir Starmer".[6]
Jimmy Savile
Starmer also encountered criticism for a number of decisions made during his time as DPP – including the failure to bring charges against the prolific paedophile, Jimmy Savile, whilst he was still alive. The decision was made despite the Crown Prosecution Service receiving substantial evidence of his crimes from witnesses and victims several years before the disgraced former BBC presenter died in 2011.
Julian Assange
In December 2010, as Julian Assange prepared to appear at London's High Court to hear an appeal against a lower court's decision to release him on bail, Keir Starmer was asked to comment on reports in The Guardian newspaper that Sweden has "not got a view at all on bail".
Starmer told BBC radio:
- "The general position and the nature of the arrangement is absolutely clear. The Crown Prosecution Service acts here as agents of the government seeking extradition, in this case the Swedish government. These proceedings are brought as agents of the Swedish government."
A spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office, Karin Rosander, told AFP the decision to oppose bail was "a decision of the British prosecutor and that is what the British prosecutor's office has confirmed to me."[7]
John Worboys
Keir Starmer has also encountered criticism over the CPS’s decision to release the prolific serial rapist, John Worboys, from prison, as well as the decision not to pursue 75 further allegations made against him. However, in 2018, the CPS issued a statement claiming the Starmer had no role in either of the decisions regarding Worboys.[8]
"Chicken Coup"
During the infamous so-called “Chicken Coup”, less than a year after the Labour membership had handed Jeremy Corbyn a massive mandate to lead the party, numerous Labour Shadow Cabinet Ministers instigated co-ordinated resignations from the front bench in a deeply cynical attempt to remove him as leader.
In his resignation letter dated 27 June 2016, Keir Starmer – who was a Shadow Immigration Minister at the time – essentially claimed that because a lot of other Shadow Ministers had resigned, he decided to resign too. In the opening paragraph of Starmer’s letter, he claims that he initially “respected the mandate” that Labour members had given to Jeremy Corbyn to lead the party.
Starmer then uses two different excuses for his decision to disregard the democratic will of Labour members: claiming that the party needed a “louder voice” regarding Brexit, and that Mr Corbyn’s position was “untenable” because so many Shadow Ministers had resigned.
In the subsequent 2016 Labour leadership election, Starmer went on to support the astonishingly dour, former big pharma lobbyist, Owen Smith.
Upshot
During the 2016 "Chicken Coup", the right thing to do would have clearly been to trust the decision of Labour members, rather than an overwhelmingly right-wing and detached Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), and support the democratically elected leader of the party. Had the PLP been united, Labour may well have been in a position to gain the few thousands extra votes necessary to have formed a government in the UK/2017 General Election campaign.
Unfortunately, Starmer’s willingness to disregard clear democratic decisions in favour of what he thinks is right is not an isolated incident, with the Shadow Brexit Secretary becoming the architect of Labour’s decision to change their Brexit policy from respecting the result in 2017 to supporting a second referendum in 2019 – a policy regarded as the main reason that the party lost huge numbers of seats in their pro-Leave heartlands to the Tories in December’s General Election.
Whilst Labour may still have lost the election had they continued with their 2017 Brexit policy to respect the Brexit vote, they would unquestionably have been far closer to the Conservative Party in terms of votes – with the only genuine question being whether the Lib Dems would have been able to charge through the middle on their pro-Remain platform.
Moreover, at the UK/2019 General Election, the right thing to do – electorally speaking – would have been to continue to support the democratic decision of the British people regarding the Brexit vote. Labour’s decision to support a second referendum is clearly not the only reason for their loss, but it was certainly a huge factor in the sheer scale of it – and Starmer was crucial in pushing the party towards it.[9]
Appointments by Keir Starmer
Events Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munich Security Conference/2024 | 16 February 2024 | 18 February 2024 | Germany Munich Bavaria | Annual conference of mid-level functionaries from the military-industrial complex - politicians, propagandists and lobbyists - in their own bubble, far from the concerns of their subjects |
| UK/Parliament/Voted YES to vaccine passports in 2021 | UK/House of Commons | These members of the UK Parliament voted YES to the introduction of a "vaccine" passport in 2021 | ||
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2023 | 16 January 2023 | 20 January 2023 | World Economic Forum Switzerland | The theme of the meeting was "Cooperation in a Fragmented World" |
Related Documents
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Andrew Feinstein confirms GE candidacy vs Starmer | Article | 21 May 2024 | Steven Walker | Constituency resident Andrew Feinstein, who served as an MP in Nelson Mandela's government, will stand in Holborn and St Pancras at the 2024 General Election |
| Document:BBC Panorama Investigation Into Labour Antisemitism Omitted Key Evidence and Parts of Labour’s Response | Article | 22 July 2020 | Justin Schlosberg | The fact that the Labour Party is now settling libel cases brought by both John Ware and the Labour 'whistleblowers' is remarkable, not least because there is meant to be an ongoing internal inquiry into the leaked internal report, whose findings have now effectively been prejudged. But I’ve been told this will cost the party close to half a million in damages and costs. |
| Document:Batley and Spen by-election: Palestine becomes potential dealbreaker | Article | 18 June 2021 | Alex MacDonald | According to Coral, Galloway is currently on 50/1 odds to win, compared to 2/1 for Leadbeater and 2/5 for Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson. William Hill has the Conservatives on 1/3, Labour at 5/2 and the WPGB at 33/1. |
| Document:Being anti-war does not make us apologists for 'the enemy' or anyone else | Article | 28 February 2022 | Lindsey German | I am proud to be an anti-war campaigner and I know there are many like me. I note that anti-war protesters in Russia are being lauded in the British media. I also support them and send them my full solidarity. The irony is that Putin will see them as the enemy within — just as our government (and loyal opposition) treats us. |
| Document:Brexit is the villain in accidental death of the economy | Article | 6 August 2023 | William Keegan | The Brexit miscreants who conned the nation just carry on shamelessly, while their replacements, Rishi Sunak and co, take up the banner and Keir Starmer, once a noble remainer, offends his natural followers by ruling out rejoining the EU or even the single market. |
| Document:Bristol West CLP condemns suspension of Corbyn | Article | 10 November 2020 | SKWAWKBOX | Labour’s hierarchy has banned CLPs from debating or voting on Corbyn’s suspension or the EHRC report and some Regional Directors have blocked attempts to do so. It seems Bristol West members hold their democracy and their former party leader in too high a regard to toe the line. |
| Document:Dear Mr Starmer, we fact-checked your 7 Oct statement. You’re welcome | blog post | 7 October 2024 | Editor | "Appalling mix of regurgitated and already-discredited lies with grotesque one-sidedness" |
| Document:Existence vs Expansion | blog post | 21 July 2024 | Craig Murray | The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion is extremely lucid and decisive. The ball is now back in the court of the UN General Assembly, which requested the Opinion. The General Assembly now should move to suspend Israel’s membership of the United Nations. That is the next project on which I shall be working. |
| Document:Faiza Shaheen dropped by Labour for liking pro-BDS, Corbyn and Green Party posts | Article | 30 May 2024 | Peter Oborne | Left-wing Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen is deselected for 15 social media posts between 2014 and 2024 on issues from Islamophobia to Israeli lobbying, MEE has been informed. |
| Document:Five questions for new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer about his UK and US national security establishment links | Article | 5 June 2020 | Matt Kennard | Keir Starmer did not become leader to help Labour win, but to restore establishment control over the party and vanquish the heretics that dared defy its agenda. For the forces he truly represents, the project has been a smashing success. |
| Document:Former Labour leader honoured by Palestinian Forum | Article | 19 December 2021 | Steve Walker | Jeremy Corbyn receives award for ‘remarkable efforts’ to support Palestinians against oppression |
| Document:Has Western Democracy Now Failed? | blog post | 19 July 2023 | Craig Murray | We live in a post-democratic society. That is difficult to accept, but it is true. |
| Document:Here’s What Really Happened When Labour Suspended Corbyn | Article | 27 July 2021 | Oliver Eagleton | If Keir Starmer was always unlikely to stand by his ten pledges and retain the bulk of the 2017 manifesto, some hoped he would at least bring a slickness and efficiency to LOTO that was missing under Jeremy Corbyn. After the suspension debacle, this is a hope that few can cling to. |
| Document:How Keir Starmer Sabotaged Rebecca Long-Bailey | Article | 26 June 2020 | Ronan Burtenshaw | Rebecca Long-Bailey’s approach to schools reopening had been entirely vindicated: she backed teachers and their unions as they changed the political terrain and forced the Tory government into a concession. This was politics in the best traditions of the labour movement but was anathema to Sir Keir Starmer. |
| Document:How top Labour officials plotted to bring down Jeremy Corbyn | Article | 16 April 2020 | Jonathan Cook | The stench of cover-up is already in the air. Keir Starmer's Labour needs to come clean and admit that its most senior officials defrauded hundreds of thousands of party members, and millions more supporters, who voted for a fairer, kinder Britain. |
| Document:I Stand in Blackburn | blog post | 16 April 2024 | Craig Murray | I am going to need help – leafleting, canvassing, manning offices and the many myriad tasks of an election campaign. I am buoyed by the solid start we have in support across all communities in Blackburn. We are going to give Starmer a roasting, we are going to take on the zionist monopoly of power, and it is going to be great fun! |
| Document:Jeremy Corbyn says “I Condemn Violence Against All Civilians, Why Can’t Keir Starmer?” | Article | 12 October 2023 | Jeremy Corbyn | In an interview with LBC, Keir Starmer was asked whether “cutting off power and water” to 2 million people, half of whom are children, was appropriate. He agreed that Israel “has that right”. Where is the empathy for Palestinians who have lost their loved ones, their homes and their futures? What happened to the universal application of international law? |
| Document:Jeremy Corbyn’s Opponents Burned the House Down to Stop Him - Now Keir Starmer Is King of the Ashes | Article | 25 July 2020 | Daniel Finn | By sacking Rebecca Long-Bailey on a trumped-up pretext, Sir Keir Rodney Starmer has set the seal on a drastic shift to the right for the Labour Party. That shift comes just as the key arguments by Jeremy Corbyn’s opponents to justify a break with his left leadership have been falling apart in the face of overwhelming evidence. |
| Document:Julian Assange Must be Freed, Not Betrayed | Article | 18 February 2020 | John Pilger | Sarah Ferguson's interview made no mention of a leaked document, revealed by WikiLeaks, called 'Libya Tick Tock', prepared for Hillary Clinton, which described her as the central figure driving the destruction of the Libyan state in 2011. This resulted in 40,000 deaths, the arrival of ISIS in North Africa and the European refugee and migrant crisis. |
| Document:Keir Starmer is a Long-Time Servant of the British Security State | Article | 2 March 2021 | Oliver Eagleton | Keir Starmer is sometimes praised for being an outsider in the world of politics (or mocked as too lawyerly and insufficiently political). But in reality, much of his work as Director of Public Prosecutions blurred the boundaries between prosecutor and politician – following the dictates of the Cameron coalition, negotiating with foreign officials on its behalf, and dropping or pursuing cases according to its interests. |
| Document:Keir Starmer's ‘antisemitism’ sacking is a signal that Israel is safe in his hands | Article | 29 June 2020 | Jonathan Cook | Crackdown by UK Labour leader on left-wing rival will subdue critics of Israel in his party ahead of Israel's annexation move |
| Document:Labour costs pass £500,000 in hearing over leaked antisemitism report | Article | 31 August 2023 | Aletha Adu | "Much of the Labour Party machinery from 2015-18 was openly opposed to Jeremy Corbyn, and worked to directly undermine the elected leadership of the party...from winning elections to building a functioning complaints and disciplinary process" – Summary of leaked internal report (page 29). |
| Document:Labour drops plans to stand at next general election | Article | 9 February 2024 | The Daily Mash | The Daily Mash, a satirical website reported today: “People like me have been saying Labour needed to appeal to Tory supporters for years. Now they’ve done it I’m going to vote Reform because I am a typical f**kwit British voter,” said Charlotte Phelps of Reading. |
| Document:Labour has ignored its voters – it is now paying the price | Article | 24 June 2021 | Paddy Hannam | George Galloway speaks to Spiked Online about the problems faced by the Labour Party, and his campaign in the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election |
| Document:Labour's next leader has already betrayed the left | blog post | 21 February 2020 | Jonathan Cook | The next Leader of the Labour Party is already a prisoner to the "institutional antisemitism" narrative. That means their hands are chained not only to support for Israel, but to the reactionary politics in which Israel as a Jewish state makes sense – a worldview that embraces its style of ethnic, chauvinist, militaristic, segregationist politics. |
| Document:Letter to Sir Keir from a newly resigned member of the Labour Party | Letter | 8 April 2020 | Bronagh Wilson | The Labour Party is now dead, it has ceased to be, it is bereft of life. You Sir Keir and your fellow travellers disgust me and it is time you PASOKed right off!. |
| Document:Losing the Plot: reflections on the Gaza debate debacle | Article | 24 February 2024 | John S Warren | It wasn’t the Nasty Nats that lost the plot. It was the Labour Party, and the Speaker. I trust they have now lost Scotland. |
| Document:Meeting the Gaze of the Ghost in the Rubble | Article | 28 February 2024 | George Gunn | Meanwhile the ghost still looks out from the rubble of Gaza. Her stare searches across the ocean of our conscience like the beam of a lighthouse. The ghost in the rubble asks of us all: why can we not stop this madness and feed the people? |
| Document:Netanyahu Plays Chicken | blog post | 21 September 2024 | Craig Murray | Netanyahu’s strategy of assassinations and deadly stunts appears to be an attempt to goad Hezbollah out of their own territory into a suicidal advance into Israel. But Nasrullah is not falling for it. It is worth stressing that, contrary to the propaganda, in the last year Israel has hit Lebanon with five missiles for every one sent by Hezbollah. |
| Document:No denial from Starmer that he has received ‘beergate’ fixed penalty | Article | 1 July 2022 | Editor | Labour leader fails to deny reports circulating in party that he has been fined by Durham Constabulary, while police force says only that it has not issued any ‘new statements’ on matter. |
| Document:On Gaza, Sunak's Tories and Starmer's Labour have merged into a single pro-war party | Article | 22 January 2024 | Peter Oborne | If the ICJ rules in South Africa’s favour then Rishi Sunak, as well as US President Joe Biden, will be wide open to the charge that they are aiding and abetting genocide. And so will Labour’s Keir Starmer. |
| Document:Pulling no punches at yesterday's rally for Palestine in Bath | Speech | 17 November 2024 | Jonathan Cook | "From their own mouths, Lammy and Starmer have told us who they are. They are genocide deniers. They are enablers of genocide. They are conspirators in genocide, just like those who preceded them in the British government." |
| Document:Rachel Reeves needs to develop some decent ideas very quickly | blog post | 25 May 2023 | Richard Murphy | Rachel Reeves is a person out of time, out of ideas, and right now with no answer to any question that might reasonably be asked of her. It's very depressing. |
| Document:Returning the Sausages | Article | 24 September 2024 | Mike Small | "Keir Starmer’s speech to conference was one of the most stage-managed and vapid addresses I’ve ever seen. It’s not enough to have hollowed out his party, the idea of being a protestor – or having values – or even using accurate language to describe the horrors going on in Gaza must be banned and mocked." |
| Document:Starmer’s Mortal Wound On The Soul Of The Labour Party | blog post | 30 October 2020 | Rachael Swindon | Starmer clearly believes he has now firmly established his own political identity and laid the foundations for the transformation of Labour’s electoral prospects – in the mould of Kinnock and Blair. It may be that he has simply destroyed his reputation for moral and intellectual integrity – and inflicted a mortal wound on the soul of his party. |
| Document:Starmer’s purges of Labour have mutated into the arrest of Palestine supporters | blog post | 30 August 2024 | Jonathan Cook | Britain’s authoritarian new prime minister is expanding the scope of already draconian laws to redefine his critics as ‘supporters’ of terrorism. Starmer wants to be judge, jury and executioner. We must not let him get away with it. |
| Document:Sunak likes the single market. So why doesn't Labour? | Article | 5 March 2023 | William Keegan | "I had many criticisms of Thatcherism and its impact on unemployment and social harmony, but one thing Margaret Thatcher got right was the importance of the EU single market and attracting Japanese, German and other firms to the UK. All this is now up for grabs by Starmer and his team." |
| Document:That Leaked Labour Party Report | blog post | 20 April 2020 | Craig Murray | That Leaked Labour Party Report proves conclusively that Sam Matthews’ allegations of unwarranted interference from Corbyn’s office to block anti-semitism action are malicious lies. |
| Document:The EHRC’s report into Labour antisemitism is the real ‘political interference’ | blog post | 7 November 2020 | Jonathan Cook | It is instructive to compare the certainty with which the EHRC treats Councillor Pam Bromley’s ambiguous remarks as irrefutable proof of antisemitism in Labour with its complete disregard for unmistakably antisemitic comments from Boris Johnson, the man actually running the country. That lack of concern is shared, of course, by the establishment media and Jewish leadership organisations. |
| Document:The Forde Report and the Labour Right | blog post | 24 July 2022 | Craig Murray | About a third of the mass membership that Corbyn brought into the Labour Party has now left. Starmer, having lied his way through his leadership election, has now positioned the party very squarely back as Blairite and Tory Lite. There is therefore a very real argument that the Forde Report simply does not matter. |
| Document:The Notional Health Service | Wikispooks Page | 17 October 2024 | Craig Murray | "Today is my 66th birthday, so I am hoping that you will forgive an article that is at core the anecdotal ramblings of an old man. Sixty years ago or so, when my siblings or I were sick enough to be in bed, my mother would phone the surgery and the GP would come to our home to see us. This was perfectly normal. It is probably difficult for Generation Z to believe this really used to happen." |
| Document:The Rejection of Starmerism | blog post | 5 July 2024 | Craig Murray | "I don’t think any Prime Minister has ever come to power with less popular enthusiasm than Keir Starmer." |
| Document:The Zombie Apocalypse | Article | 4 December 2021 | Gordon Liddle | And then to look at the election of Sir Rodney Woodentop and one has to ask oneself:
|
| Document:The arrest of journalist Richard Medhurst and the fight to defend democratic rights | Article | 27 August 2024 | Robert Stevens | Now, in a move that would have been agreed to by PM Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Labour has pioneered the use of an amendment to the Terrorism Act passed by the Tories to once again attempt to silence and criminalise a journalist and political activist. The same course is being pursued by governments throughout the world. |
| Document:The attack on Jeremy Corbyn is baseless – there is nothing to support it in the EHRC report | Article | 29 October 2020 | Chris Nineham | Jeremy Corbyn has a record of opposing antisemitism and all forms of racism that are second to none. It was in fact precisely his campaigning and principled approach to politics that got him elected as leader of the party in the first place. |
| Document:The conspiracy of lies about Corbyn that unites Sunak and Starmer | Article | 8 November 2022 | Peter Oborne | Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's abuse of his high office to smear Corbyn proves that he means to employ the same deceitful methods as his disgraced predecessor, Boris Johnson. |
| Document:There is no future for Labour in bureaucratic centrism | Article | 11 November 2020 | Ian Lavery | Whilst many in the media and party establishments are keen to turn back the clock to the bureaucratic centrism, progressives energised on both sides of the Atlantic, whether by Corbyn or Sanders, will define our future politics. |
| Document:UK Labour party teeters on brink of civil war over antisemitism | Article | 27 July 2020 | Jonathan Cook | Labour Party member Mark Howell is suing former General Secretary Iain McNicol for “breach of contract” and is demanding that those named in the leaked report be expelled from the party (see "Mark Howell for Justice": https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mark-howell-for-justice/). |
| Document:What could go wrong for Keir Starmer? A lot actually, Laura Kuenssberg writes | Article | 11 May 2024 | Laura Kuenssberg | Following the May 2024 local elections Keir Starmer looks highly likely to be the next Prime Minister, but his future it is in doubt. |
| Document:Whatever happened to ‘due process’? | Article | 21 November 2020 | Hilary Wise | Starmer’s reaction suggests he will continue to pursue a course which he somehow sees as politically expedient. History tells us it risks leading the party into the most dangerous kind of authoritarianism. |
| ... further results | ||||
Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.
References
- ↑ "Appointed Shadow Brexit Secretary by Jeremy Corbyn"
- ↑ "Labour leadership: Phillips and Nandy secure nominations"
- ↑ Document:Julian Assange Must be Freed, Not Betrayed
- ↑ Nina Goswami: "Keir Starmer QC appointed DPP"
- ↑ Frances Gibb: "Human rights lawyer Keir Starmer named as new prosecution service chief"
- ↑ "Why Sir Keir Starmer was knighted: How the Labour leadership contender earned his title – and what he has said about it"
- ↑ "Sweden had 'no say' in Assange bail appeal"
- ↑ "CPS statement on John Worboys"
- ↑ "Labour Leadership Election 2020 Candidate Profile: Keir Starmer"
