Diane Abbott has led the charge in a revolt against Sir Keir Starmer, attacking the Labour leader following his speech on Thursday.
The Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and ally of former party leader Jeremy Corbyn suggested new funding is needed to underpin Starmer’s plans to seize on the “Take back control” slogan.
UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor
Labour has promised to cede fresh powers to local communities away from Westminster, as the Opposition leader pledged that his party will “take back control”.
In his first major speech of the new year, Starmer said his party would properly deliver on the Brexit campaign message from 2016 as he promised to turn it from a “slogan to a solution”.
He said Labour would bring forward a “Take Back Control Bill” that would devolve power from London to communities across the country, granting new control over employment support, transport, energy, housing and a host of other areas.
Labour, which has promised to abolish and replace the House of Lords, would see that councils will have a greater say over their own finances while also giving communities a right to request more powers, he said.
Stefan Rousseau
The Conservatives hit out at Starmer’s speech too, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly calling it a “whole load of nothing”.
“The only thing we did hear from him in that speech was a complete contradiction about Labour’s spending plans.”
Speaking to GB News this morning, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden defended the Labour leader’s plans.
“I don’t accept those criticisms. We see the future as having a strong private sector, creating wealth, the wealth we need to generate in order to fund the things that we want in the country.
“What’s important here is to invest in public services, but to do it in a responsible and fiscally sustainable way.”