VIJAY PRASHAD looks at the web of militias and drug-trafficking gangs that emerged in the Sweida region through the Syrian civil war, and how they relate to recent clashes and Israel’s intervention
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Will Starmer’s plan to replace members with money even work?
It seems simple: get the big money men and women to finance a Labour Party that represents them and their business interests, just like Blair. The problem is, writes SOLOMON HUGHES, that Blair won elections — Starmer does not
by Roger D Harris and John Perry
VINCE MILLS says Scottish Labour has adopted better positions than its Westminster counterpart — but unless it starts to fight for them that will count for nothing
Labour MSP CAROL MOCHAN calls for Britain to follow France’s lead and recognise the Palestinian state as part of efforts to end this war
A Chilean court ruled that funds were illegally taken by the dictator to accumulate family wealth that is now disputed among his heirs, writes PABLO MERIGUET
The shock suspension of socialist MPs and Diane Abbott’s re-suspension reveals a leadership intent on crushing internal debate — but MERCEDES VILLALBA MSP warns against surrendering party democracy without a fight
HOW is Starmer’s plan to replace members with multimillionaires going? In July the Times reported: “Keir Starmer seeks billionaire cash as Labour struggless to pay staff.” Starmer’s strategy to move rightwards from the leftish-sounding “10 pledges” he made to get elected Labour leader has a cost.
Under Corbyn, Labour again became a mass membership party — and all those subscriptions made the party’s finances healthy. Starmer trying to shift the party much further right than he promised has chased many members away, so the party is running low on cash. There is an alternative: the New Labour model that relies on Labour-leaning millionaire donors to fill the gap.
An advantage for Starmer is that these millionaires positively want Labour to abandon any establishment-challenging policies, because they are part of the establishment. So you get the cash in return for running a bland unchallenging party — which seems to play to Starmer’s strengths.
However, there is a glitch in the machine. All the Labour supporting “high net worth individuals” only really start coughing up the cash if they think the party is close to winning an election. There is no point in spending their cash to support a neutralised Labour Party if it isn’t anywhere near government — it would be neutralising something that is already neutralised.
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Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
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