UK politics: Starmer faces revolt as 27 Labour MPs condemn decision not to restore whip to Corbyn – as it happened

According to a snap YouGov poll, half of voters think Sir Keir Starmer was right not to reinstated Jeremy Corbyn as a Labour MP, and only 21% think he was wrong.

But amongst Labour voters, opinion is much more divided. Some 38% support Starmer on this, but 32% think he made the wrong decision, the poll suggests.

The poll also suggests 63% of people view the Labour party as divided.

Northern Ireland has recorded 518 further coronavirus cases. That is down from 549 yesterday, 791 a week ago today and 679 two weeks ago today.

The number of coronavirus patients in hospital is levelling off, according to this chart on the dashboard.

But there have been 11 further deaths, up from nine yesterday, eight a week ago today and 10 two weeks ago today.

Public Health Wales has recorded 640 more coronavirus cases. That is down from 705 yesterday, 928 a week ago today and 1,202 two weeks ago today.

And there have been 41 further deaths, up from 34 yesterday but down from 45 a week ago today.

Diane Abbott, shadow home secretary when Jeremy Corbyn was leader, has also criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s decision not to readmit him to the parliamentary Labour party. She posted these on Twitter.

Law firms have had to increase their security or even shut their offices due to their involvement in cases where there have been judgments seen as “favourable to migrants”, MPs have been told.

In evidence to the Commons home affairs committee this morning Michelle Knorr, of Doughty Street Chambers, said the government’s use of the term “activist lawyers” was “dangerous and depressing” and an “attack on the rule of law”.

In a hearing on Channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU, Knorr was asked if she thought the term “activist lawyers” was “fair” and whether criticism over last-minute applications for halting deportations is justified. She replied:

I would say that the way the term is being used it’s obviously being used in a certain way that appears to be some sort of propaganda campaign.

And certainly, I would say, it’s dangerous and depressing, and we’ve seen that the profession and legal regulatory bodies have pushed back very, very strongly against the use of that term in the way it has been deployed by the prime minister and the home secretary.

I think it’s really important to remember that us lawyers can only advise on the law as parliament makes it, so we don’t get to bring a case and make up the law when we get to court.

Last month more than 800 former judges and senior legal figures signed a letter saying government attacks on the profession were endangering lawyers.

In the summer the Home Office deleted a tweet condemning “activist lawyers” following a complaint to the home secretary. But that has not stopped Boris Johnson and Priti Patel continuing to denigrate the profession. In their speeches to the online Tory conference in the autumn, they both singled out “lefty lawyers” for criticism.

NHS England has recorded a further 282 coronavirus hospital deaths. There were 98 in the north-west, 62 in the north-east and Yorkshire, 52 in the Midlands, 23 in London, 20 in the south-east, 16 in the east of England and 11 in the south-west. The details are here.

This is below the equivalent figures for yesterday (330), for last Wednesday (361) and for the Wednesday two weeks ago (302).

Aslef, the train drivers’ union, has welcomed the decision by the NEC to readmit Jeremy Corbyn as a member of the Labour party, but is disappointed that the Labour whip, in parliament, is still withdrawn.

Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said:

We are delighted with the decision, which is the right decision, to readmit Jeremy. He has been a member of the Labour party all his adult life, and made an enormous contribution to his Islington North constituency, to the party, and to the labour movement. But we are disappointed that he will not be able to sit as a Labour MP in the House of Commons as the whip is still withdrawn.

Jeremy has called for the recommendations of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to be implemented so that antisemitism is rooted out once and for all. And that is right.

We believe it is vital that we move forward, as a Labour party and a labour movement, together. We need to look to the future, and come together, to take on the Tories and rebuild Britain after the ravages of the pandemic. We do not want – or need – factional infighting.

This is from Richard Burgon, the Corbynite Labour MP and chair of the chair of the Socialist Campaign group in parliament.

At his post-PMQs briefing Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said that the decision to speed up Jeremy Corbyn’s disciplinary case was taken by party HQ.

The spokesman also refused to say what Corbyn would need to do to regain the party whip. “I’m not going to pre-empt any of that,” the spokesman said, when asked if a clear retraction and an apology would be sufficient.

The spokesman also said Starmer and Corbyn have not spoken since the night before the publication of the EHRC report last month. This morning Corbyn was told he was not having the whip restored by Nick Brown, the chief whip.

Ian Lavery, a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn’s and chair of the Labour party under his leadership, told the World at One that Sir Keir Starmer should have accepted the decision of a national executive committee panel to reinstate Corbyn as a party member. He said:

If you’ve got committees in place – and these committees are individuals elected by the membership – if you’ve got committees to deal with disciplinary, they come out unanimously with something how on earth is it correct that anybody in the party can overrule that?

But Lavery ruled out resigning the whip himself out of support for Corbyn. He went on:

What we want to do is exactly what Keir wants, exactly what Jeremy is saying: we want to root out antisemitism from the Labour party, undoubtedly so, and by prolonging this issue, by what the leader has done this morning, doesn’t really help because it just continues the pain in every constituency.

The latest edition of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is out. Jessica Elgot and Michael Savage discuss the latest on Labour’s Corbyn conundrum, Johnson’s self-isolation, and lockdown restrictions in Scotland. Patrick Wintour reports on the trip to Moscow by Foreign Office minister Wendy Morton. Plus Salma Shah and Jason Stein describe what it’s like to be a spad in times of crisis. Thanks!

Stephen Pollard, the former editor of the Jewish Chronicle, says he is not impressed by Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement about Jeremy Corbyn.

UPDATE: I have corrected this to say Pollard is a former editor of the Jewish Chronicle. He was editor for many years, but he is now an editor at large.

Jeremy Corbyn has been tweeting - but not about his relationship with the PLP. He has just posted this.

Andrew Scattergood, co-chair of the pro-Corbyn Labour group Momentum, has described Sir Keir Starmer’s decision not to admit Jeremy Corbyn to the PLP as “farcical”. In a statement he said:

A disciplinary panel found that Jeremy Corbyn had not broken any rule, so now Keir Starmer is making it up as he goes along. This is not only farcical and incompetent, it is a blatant political attack on the left at a time when Labour should be united in taking on the Tories.

The recent national executive committee election results show that there is a clear socialist majority amongst the membership. Together we will fight for a socialist Labour party, committed to getting rid of our broken system and transforming Britain in the interests of the many. They can’t remove the whip from our movement.

Turkey farmers have received a welcome pre-Christmas boost after being told by the government that thousands of seasonal workers coming to the UK from Europe to help slaughter and pluck birds for festive tables are exempt from 14-day quarantine.

The British Poultry Council (BPC) last month demanded an urgent exemption from Covid-related travel restrictions to avoid shortages of highly skilled turkey pluckers and butchers which, it said, could have triggered the collapse of this year’s supply. Around 9 million British turkeys are reared for Christmas each year but the seasonal sector cannot survive without non-UK labour, it warned.

The exemption will cover some 5,500 seasonal workers who normally travel from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia – typically on two-month contracts - to help slaughter, pluck and prepare birds destined for UK Christmas dinner tables. Farmers are promising workers Covid-secure accommodation and work “bubbles”.

Welcoming the move, the BPC said: “If the exemption helps us deliver a fantastic Christmas and helps our smaller seasonal producers, then it can only be a good thing.”

Bambos Charalambous (Lab) says BAME people are twice as likely as white people to get coronavirus, and more likely to go into intensive care. A study says structural inequalities are to blame. How will this be addressed as the vaccine is rolled out?

Johnson says the government is considering this issue now. He says work might be a factor. People in some jobs may be exposed to a higher viral load. He says the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will address this when it makes recommendations.

And that’s it. PMQs is over.

Ian Byrne (Lab) asks if the PM will put a right to food into law.

Johnson says Byrne is right to raise this issue. He says the government will ensure that no child goes hungry this Christmas.

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, says his constituency, Moray, would benefit more from the government’s growth deal if the money were spent more quickly.

Johnson thanks Ross for his lobbying on this.

Mohammad Yasin (Lab) says six out of 10 people dying from Covid have been disabled. Why have disabled people been so let down?

Johnson does not accept that. He says the government has offered disabled people all the support it can.

He says the way forward is to get the disease under control.

Sir Christopher Chope (Con) says 1m people have recovered from Covid. That means they won’t be reinfected for six months. Will the government follow Sweden and exempt them from the rules?

Johnson says the evidence points both ways on this issue.

Chi Onwurah (Lab) says some families will lose £1,000 from planned cuts to universal credit in April. Will the PM reverse those cuts?

Johnson says the government wants to tackle child poverty. It will continue to support people. The most important thing it can do is support people into work. He says 400,000 children have been lifted out of poverty in the last 10 years as a result.

Johnson says he is pleased that Facebook, Twitter and Google have said no company should profit from vaccine misinformation. The government will publish its plans in relation to this soon.

Margaret Ferrier (ex-SNP, now independent) asks about an application to the EU settlement scheme.

Johnson says he understands this case is being considered urgently.

Mark Pawsey (Con) says supermarkets have been able to sell clothing while clothes shops are closed. And they have benefited from the suspension of business rates. Should they pay?

Johnson says he understands the feeling of unfairness. The government is hoping to help all retailers.

James Murray (Lab) says in March Sir Patrick Vallance said keeping Covid deaths below 20,000 would be a good outcome. Now deaths are over 50,000. Why has the UK had the deepest recession and the highest number of Covid deaths in Europe?

Johnson says it has been a global problem. The UK has been supporting people. But he has no doubt that the UK can get through it, he says.

Kate Osborne (Lab) asks if the government will offer a lifetime skills guarantee, so that people can retrain at any point in their life.

Johnson says that is what he announced only a few weeks ago.

Gareth Bacon (Con) asks about people living in flats with dangerous cladding who cannot move because it needs to be replaced.

Johnson says he has deep sympathies with people in this situation. The government is working as fast as it can to remove cladding where necessary.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader at Westminster, asks if Northern Ireland would prove ideal for a roll out of mass testing.

Johnson says that is an excellent proposal. The government will talk to the Northern Ireland executive about it.

Sir Graham Brady (Con) says tens of thousands of jobs have already been lost in aviation. Will the government taskforce ensuring testing can replace quarantine when the lockdown ends?

Johnson says the government is working on this. It wants to help airlines.

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, lists a range of policies imposed on Scotland over the last 20 years. And he lists a string of popular Scottish government policies. Does the PM understand why people think Johnson is the real disaster.

Johnson says he referred to this earlier. He says the SNP should focus on “the real priorities of the people of Scotland”. He says when he ran a devolved administration, that is what he did. He did not focus on constitutional issues, he says.

Blackford says Johnson’s comment was not just a slip of the tongue, it was a slip of the Tory mask. The Tory power-grab bill (the internal market bill) proves this, he says. He says another 20 years of Westminster government would be a disaster for Scotland.

Johnson says he could not disagree with Blackford more. What the UK does collectively is far, far better than what it could do as individual nations. He cites examples such as the furlough scheme and support for business during Covid. The UK has shown its value and will continue to show its value.

He says the SNP would take Scotland back into the EU, which would be a massive surrender of power, he says.

Karl McCartney (Con) asks the PM to join him at a football match in Lincoln when that is possible again.

Johnson says the government wants to ensure no football club goes out of business.

Starmer says Johnson cannot call him Captain Hindsight, because Johnson is now implementing the circuit breaker lockdown that Labour proposed.

He says Johnson has defended the £21m payment.

Can the PM give an assurance that from now on all contracts will be subject to full transparency?

Johnson says all contracts are being published. He says it is extraordinary that Labour is attacking the government on this. He quotes Rachel Reeves, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, writing to the government complaining it was not using various firms offering to make PPE, including a company specialising in historical costumes. He is proud of what the government did. Any government would do the same, he says.

Starmer says there is a huge gap in the system. If people cannot afford to isolate, there is no point tracing them.

He says the government spent £21m on an intermediary for a PPE contract. A few weeks ago the government could not find that for free school meals for the poor. Was that a good use of money?

Johnson says the government shifted “heaven and earth” to get PPE into the country. He says now the UK can procure 70% of the PPE it needs. Originally it was 1%. He calls Starmer Captain Hindsight. Starmer used to complain about the government not getting PPE quickly enough, he says.

Starmer says it is Tory MPs who are opposed to Johnson’s policy.

It is estimated only 11% self-isolate when they have to. That is not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t afford to. Does the PM accept we need to make it easier and more affordable for people to do so?

Johnson claims Labour has continuously attacked test and trace. It is extraordinary that Starmer is supporting it now. He says an extra £13bn has been spent on welfare. We need to encourage people to self-isolate, so businesses can get back to normality as soon as possible.

Starmer says of course he does not want the break-up of the UK. But it is the PM who is fuelling it.

He asks if the PM would be able to self-isolate if he were on just statutory sick pay, at £13 a day, or getting the one-off payments, worth £35 a day.

Johnson says he thinks it is a reasonable package. People can qualify for other support too.

He says he is glad Labour is now supporting test and trace.

Starmer says the single biggest threat to the UK “is the prime minister every time he opens his mouth”. When the PM said he wanted to take back control, people did not think that was from Scotland. Instead of talking down devolution, does the PM agree Scotland needs more power?

Johnson says Tony Blair has admitted he did not see the rise of nationalism after devolution. He says devolution worked for London. But the SNP are not focusing on services. They are concentrating on breaking up the UK.

Sir Keir Starmer sends his best wishes to the PM for doing the right thing and self-isolating.

He says devolution was one of Labour’s proudest achievements. Until now there was cross-party support for it. Why did the PM call it a disaster?

Johnson says what has been a disaster is the SNP constantly campaigning for the break-up of the UK. Otherwise devolution is a sensible policy. He benefited from it as mayor of London, he says.

Andrew Rosindell (Con) asks about a flyover in Romford.

Johnson says the Labour mayor of London is to blame because he “blew” Transport for London’s finances.

(Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has called that a lie.)

Anna McMorrin (Lab) asks why the government is breaking its own manifesto commitment and cutting global aid. Will the PM rule that out?

Johnson says the country can be proud of its aid record. And people can be even prouder of the commitment made to tackle climate change he says. The UK is leading the world in this, he says.

At PMQs Boris Johnson starts by telling the Speaker has has been updated by his officials about the inquiry into the leak of the lockdown announcement.

This is from John McDonnell, who was shadow chancellor when Jeremy Corbyn was leader.

These are from Dame Margaret Hodge, one of the Labour MPs most critical of Jeremy Corbyn for his handling of complaints about antisemitism.

From my colleague Jessica Elgot

Here is some Twitter comment from journalists on the Starmer/Corbyn decision.

From Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall

From Ronan Burtenshaw, editor of the leftwing Tribune magazine

From the Mail on Sunday columnist Dan Hodges

From Justin Cohen, the news editor of Jewish News

Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, has welcomed Sir Keir Starmer’s decision not to readmit Jeremy Corbyn to the parliamentary Labour party. She said Corbyn had been “shameless and remorseless for what he put the Jewish community through”.

From the Labour MP Toby Perkins

A mass testing programme is to take place in Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales, the Welsh government has announced.

Everyone living or working in Merthyr Tydfil will be offered Covid-19 testing in the first whole area testing pilot in Wales.

The health minister, Vaughan Gething, said there would be “logistical support” from the armed services. He said:

The mass testing programme will see the use of lateral flow devices for the first time at this scale in Wales.

Everyone who attends any of the sites in Merthyr will be given a test using the devices, which can turnaround results within around 20-30 minutes. If an individual tests positive via a LFD test, they will then have a traditional swab test and will be asked to return home so they can self-isolate immediately.

Building on the learning from the first mass testing pilot in Liverpool, Merthyr will provide further vital information to help inform future rollout of mass testing in Wales.

At one point the Merthyr area had the highest Covid rate in the UK, though earlier this week the rate had halved to around 330 cases per 100,000 people following local lockdown restrictions and the Welsh firebreak.

This is from Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum, on Sir Keir Starmer’s decision not to readmit Jeremy Corbyn to the PLP.

From my colleague Heather Stewart

Here are two experienced political journalists with quite different interpretations of the Sir Keir Starmer statement. (See 11.10am.)

From Toby Helm, the Observer political editor

From Beth Rigby, Sky News’ political editor

In a useful analysis of the government’s 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution”, Simon Jack, the BBC’s business editor, says it marks a change of thinking in the Conservative party. He says:

In the past, and in the parsimonious eyes of Treasury officials, green stuff = cost. There is now a new orthodoxy that green stuff = jobs.

Boris Johnson has written about the plan for the Financial Times, and he makes a similar point. He writes:

British towns and regions — Teesside, Port Talbot, Merseyside and Mansfield — are now synonymous with green technology and jobs. This is where Britain’s ability to make hydrogen and capture carbon pioneered the decarbonisation of transport, industry and power.

The government news release about the plan is here. And here is our news story.

Here is video of Sir Keir Starmer being doorstepped and asked about Jeremy Corbyn this morning. (See 9.51pm.)

Katya Adler, the BBC’s Europe editor, says Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is due to brief the EU27 on the trade talks with the UK on Friday morning. She has a Twitter thread on this starting here.

From the Times’ Steven Swinford

Yesterday’s UK daily coronavirus figures were published on the government’s dashboard very late. But the Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group has had a close look at the data for England and found some encouraging signs.

The 7DMA is the seven-day moving average.

The end of the Brexit transition period may aggravate political tension and paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland, according to the region’s Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) watchdog.

Republican and loyalist paramilitary groups continue to recruit and present a “clear and present danger” 22 years after the Good Friday agreement, the IRC said in its annual report. It said:

As the end of the Brexit transition period approaches, the possibility of a heightening of tensions reinforces the urgency of dealing with the ending of paramilitarism.

Against this backdrop and the loss of EU law enforcement tools as a result of Brexit, it is also essential that comprehensive arrangements are in place to enable the continuation of cross-border police and judicial co-operation.

The report recommended a mix of responses in policing, criminal justice and socio-economic development to curb the threat.

The British and Irish governments set up the IRC in 2017. Its four commissioners have a mandate to report on progress towards ending paramilitary activity. They do not make detailed security or threat assessments.

In a New Statesman article about Jeremy Corbyn’s readmission to the Labour party yesterday, Stephen Bush argues this has been “an unmitigated disaster” for Sir Keir Starmer. Bush writes:

The offence of ‘bringing the party into disrepute’ is designed to be so broad that almost any behaviour can be said to fall into it, giving a party leadership with a reliable majority on the NEC and its subcommittees a blank cheque for expulsions. But while Keir Starmer does have such a majority on the NEC as a whole, he does not in its various subcommittees, and the panel deciding this matter was ‘hung’, featuring two impeccable Corbynites and two Starmer loyalists in addition to Alice Perry, who is regarded as a swing voter on the NEC. As a result, Corbyn has been issued with a warning – a sanction that looks like a let-off because it coincides with his suspension as a party member being lifted.

The full article, which is worth reading, is here.

The BBC doorstepped Sir Keir Starmer outside his home this morning and asked him if Jeremy Corbyn would have the whip restored (ie, be readmitted to the PLP) following his readmission to the party last night. Starmer refused to answer, and just said he put out a statement last night.

This is what Starmer said last night.

The Conservative MP John Penrose, who is married to Dido Harding (see 9.18am), has also been self-isolating. On Monday he posted this on Twitter.

In a HuffPost feature on the Starmer/Corbyn suspension story, Graeme Demianyk says there are two theories as to how Jeremy Corbyn came to be readmitted to the party yesterday.

There are two theories ... floating around as to how Corbyn ended up getting away with effectively a minor sanction. One is that the NEC panel didn’t vote the way Starmer’s team expected it to, and it is all a shock to them. The other is that the panel did indeed vote precisely the way they were expected to, as part of a grand compromise to readmit the former leader and avoid more civil war, while getting him to make amends.

The first theory could explain why Starmer tweeted what appeared to be irritation and embarrassment at the outcome. “I know that this has been another painful day for the Jewish community and those Labour members who have fought so hard to tackle antisemitism,” he said.‌

Sienna Rodgers from LabourList has a useful explanation as to why Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters and the party leadership can reach different conclusions when studying the same rules to to whether Corbyn’s readmission to the the party automatically leads to his return to the PLP. (See 8.58am.)