Labour Manifesto Policy Is a Behind Closed Doors Affair
Today the Labour high command and leading figures of the Labour movement are finalising the party manifesto. This is Labour’s “Clause V” meeting, attended by Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet, senior backbench MPs, top trade union leaders and members of the party’s national executive. Widely flagged is the row with the big unions demanding no backtracking on workers’ rights and fighting a proposed ban on North Sea oil and gas drilling. Business lobbyists are pressing Starmer to, well, be business friendly. Angela Rayner’s proposed union-driven Labour reforms are, to put it mildly, a point of difference.
Another point of contention is the expected manifesto shift on trans issues. Starmer’s former position on whether men can have cervixes or women can have penises might be the accepted wisdom in his leftie North London legal circles – to voters however it is confusing and repellant. Perhaps he is nowadays less close to, as well as less influenced by his old friend and fellow KC Maya Sikand, with whom he shared Chambers. She was involved with the Trans Working Rights Group and may have been a bad influence on Starmer when it comes to sex and gender issues. The 2019 manifesto threatened “mandatory LGBT+ inclusive” education – think “Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkeys” for all. Starmer has noticeably moved on this issue which was appalling to old school feminists and Mumsnet hardliners alike – expect the manifesto to ignore the issue.
