SOLOMON HUGHES recommends Sunjeev Sahota’s recent novel set in a trade union election campaign for its fresh approach to what unites and divides workers, but wishes the union backdrop was truer to life
HOME Office Minister Jess Phillips waited over five months to put her freebie luxury dinner at the Chelsea flower show from Lloyds Bank on her Register of MP’s Interests.
This looks like a clear breach of rules saying MPs must register such freebies “within 28 days.” The current parliamentary standards commissioner says he is investigating Phillips for “late registration of an interest,” but due to the obscure parliamentary rules, he could not confirm this was over the flower show dinner: I think it almost certainly is.
Phillips has been investigated for the same breach of rules in 2022 and again in 2023. The commissioner said the latter was a “relatively minor breach” about failing to register in time a £1,000 payment from the University of Bristol for a 2-hour lecture.
While Hardie, MacDonald and Wilson faced down war pressure from their own Establishment, today’s leadership appears to have forgotten that opposing imperial adventures has historically defined Labour’s moral authority, writes KEITH FLETT
Despite Labour’s promises to bring things ‘in-house,’ the Justice Secretary has awarded notorious outsourcing outfit Mitie a £329 million contract to run a new prison — despite its track record of abuse and neglect in its migrant facilities, reports SOLOMON HUGHES



