Brexit, Partygate, Liz Truss, Sunak getting rained on, Starmer’s disregard for the electorate – UK politics really has become a tired-out, badly written, unfunny sitcom. Governments are measured on their WTF moments and whichever scandals dominated legacy media, rather than actual growth, development and improvement. And whilst that may make it more amusing, and more engaging for your average Joe, beneath lies quite a dangerous problem – UK politics has failed.

The primary job of elected officials is to work to create the best outcomes for a country, but, even at its very core, our country’s political system prevents this. Why is it that, during both world wars, the usual government vs opposition system was ditched to make way for cross-party wartime cabinets? Surely, if the best interest of the country was already priority number one, such substantial reform wouldn’t have been necessary. The very existence of two sets of benches placed facing one another pits our elected officials against each other in petty squabble, rendering ‘best interest’ a distant and distorted flame of optimism. Government and opposition stop fighting for the best, and start fighting TO BE the best. It’s not cohesive, it’s not productive, and it’s starting to look very clear that it isn’t fit for purpose.

I find it baffling that we stick, so unwaveringly, with such a clearly broken system, when such an obvious alternative is right there for the taking. The UK needs proportional representation. By opening the doors to effective, collaborative politics, not only is democracy nurtured and encouraged, but a collective goal of holistic betterment becomes pretty much unavoidable.

By having such system, not only would it take a sledgehammer to our outdated and ineffective two-party system, which already should have been written off years ago, but it would also give rise to a more diverse range of voices, and a more accurate microcosm of UK society in our parliament. Whilst I concede that there’ll be times where passing contentious legislation could be difficult, it’s undoubtable that even the debate around these issues will be more cohesive and informed, once fully free of political point-scoring. What’s more, I could also finally forget about my two least favourite words of the 2024 election campaign – tactical voting.

You’re more than welcome to call me an optimist – I’m not denying the extent of change I’m asking for here, and I’m under no illusion that we could shift to this within a year; however, in the meantime, there’s plenty that our MPs can be doing to put us on this path. Starting with extensive cross-party work on every issue. Think of a bill as a new product for a moment, the more market research undertaken before a product is created, the less kick-back from potential investors down the line. If our MPs spent more time working cross-party, creating bills and legislation that encompass a more diverse range of voices and opinions, then less time will be spent on sniping back and forth in supposedly constructive Commons debates.

Another easily achievable step would be to stop making such a mockery of UK politics. We’ve had a stream of scandals and corruption so long and so frequent that I wouldn’t be able to list them all before the next one comes about. Now, whilst the quality and morality of MPs is obviously an issue that needs to be taken seriously, my primary concern is the time that these scandals take away from actual governance – not just in Westminster, but also in the press. Transparency, an understanding of the electorate, and clear communication are key to successful governance – blurring this with yet another tale of Westminster corruption does nobody any favours.

Approval ratings and voter intentions show us just how much the electorate have fallen out with Westminster – and can you really blame us after the last decade of political shitshow? Proportional representation really should be on the cards, it isn’t far from the perfect solution; however, until then, it would be great to see our elected officials at least try and act like adults with one another in the new year.

Following some rather dramatic introduction music, and another version of a ‘change’ video, which have been used to introduce all major speakers this week, the PM took to the stage, grinning with joy, ready to deliver his first speech as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 

From the off, Starmer reminded conference that “change has begun”, reeling off everything that Labour have achieved, and are on their way to achieving so far. He pledged to introduce the Hillsborough law to parliament before the anniversary of the disaster next April, and emphasised his goal of “putting politics back in the service of working people”. Echoing Reeve’s remarks from yesterday, Starmer made it clear that “service doesn’t mean we’ll get everything right, [it] doesn’t mean everyone will agree” but affirmed his belief that “the British people want, and need, the mandate that [they] have won”. 

The last few days have been rife with speculation as to whether the PM would address recent donation controversy in his speech today, in a bid to calm the media’s scrutiny and halt it in it’s tracks. At the podium today, Starmer claimed that “the bad faith advice from people who still hanker for the politics of noisy performance” is “water off a ducks back, mere glitter off a shirt cuff”, a gentle nod to last year’s glitter-filled stage invasion which gave way to Labour To Win’s slogan of ‘Sparkle With Starmer’; “It has never distracted me, it won’t distract me now”, he affirmed. Only time will tell whether this has been successful in moving the narrative away from ‘donor-gate’.

The PM moved his speech on to Labour’s place internationally, and, to the excitement of the audience, called unwaveringly for “restraint and de-escalation on the border of Lebanon and Israel”, as well as an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza” and “a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel”. The PM committed to standing by these stances over the next few days at the UN General Assembly. 

If you thought his speech would go off without a hitch today, think again! After being interrupted by a heckler, Starmer joked, “his pass must be from the 2019 conference”, again reiterating that Labour are no longer the “party of protest” and have “changed”. Catching up with Ellie Reeves MP after the speech, we asked her whether she thought refusing to engage with protestors undermined democracy, she told us that “Labour suffered one of it’s worst defeats” in 2019, and that the party are committed to a “country first party second” mentality. She also said that Starmer should “have the right” to make his conference speech “without interruption”. 

Other key moments from his speech included a commitment to housing veterans, affirmation of the right to access to cultural capital, and “no return to Tory austerity”. 

If you want to catch up on the key moments from the PM’s speech, our live coverage is available on X/Twitter.

The Chancellor’s speech had a real taste of hope and ambition, boasting that “Labour is back in the service of communities [they] should never have lost”. She spoke fondly of Labour women before her, such as Harriet Harman, and thanked those who came before her for paving the way for her to become the first female chancellor. Reeves believes that Labour “were elected because, for the first time in almost two decades, people looked at us, looked at me, and decided that Labour could be trusted with their money”.

Reeves spoke strongly of the apparent mess left behind by the Conservatives, acknowledging that “trust is earned, but easily squandered”, “just ask the Conservatives”, she joked. She blamed the failure of the Conservative Party on their insistence on “clinging to the discredited, trickle down and trickle our dogma”, ultimately focussing on “putting party before country” and not understanding “the world as it is today”. 

Later interrupted by a pro-Palestine protestor, shouting about the government’s continued arms sales to Israel, Reeves proclaimed that “we are the changed Labour Party that represents working people, not a party of protest”, a line similar to that used by Starmer when heckled at a rally during the election campaign. 

It’s been a trying few weeks for the Chancellor, coming under scrutiny for introducing measures to means test the winter fuel allowance, and more recently becoming embroiled in the cabinet-wide donations scandal. Reeves touched on this today in her speech, telling conference that “I know that not everyone in this hall, or in this country, will agree with every decision I’ll make, but I will not duck those decisions, not for political expediency, not for personal advantage”. 

Returning back to a theme of positive change, Reeves pledged “no return to austerity”, promising an autumn budget with “real ambition” which “will keep our manifeso commitment”. She also made promises not to raise income tax in this budget, declaring no further taxation on working people, instead focusing on filling the public spending deficit by cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion, increasing the levy on oil and gas producers, and ending non-dom tax loopholes. 

Catching up with delegates outside the conference hall, it’s clear that Reeves’ message of hope and change resonated with the audience, who spoke of “total trust” and “absolute confidence” in the chancellor and her plans for the economy. 

The stage is set here in Liverpool, with a packed-out conference hall and a lively exhibition room drawing in Labour members, councillors, delegates and MPs from across the country. The party’s annual conference has seemingly fell at just the right time this year, with a trying few weeks clearly marking the end of Starmer’s honeymoon period after just over two months in office. 

With what feels like scandal after scandal, it’s clear some are beginning to wonder if anything has really changed at all, and when the entire premise of Labour’s landslide victory hinges on just that one word of ‘change’, that’s proving to be a very big issue. In fact, the latest Opinium poll has ranked Starmer’s popularity at -26% – one point lower than former PM, Rishi Sunak’s net approval rating. 

Sue Gray, former civil servant and the PM’s current chief of staff, first rose to prominence for heading the Partygate investigations into Boris Johnson and his cabinet during the COVID-19 pandemic. She later left the civil service and joined Starmer’s team in September 2023. Recent reports placed Gray at the centre of some hefty controversy, after they revealed that she’d asked for – and been given – a whopping salary of £170,000, around £3,000 more than the PM himself. Sparking debate about whether such a large salary is deserved during such trying times, this discovery has left the country wondering whether Starmer really has enough power and control to be calling the shots. 

That’s not all for Gray either, who’s also found herself caught up in the donations scandal, after it was revealed that she granted Labour peer, Lord Alli his all-access Downing Street pass shortly after he donated £10,000 to boost the election campaign of her son, the new MP for Beckenham and Penge, Liam Conlon. The pass has reportedly been retracted following heavy media scrutiny. 

So, on the party’s biggest week, has Gray dodged of her own volition? Or has the PM asked her to keep her distance to avoid a media pile-on? It is claimed that her no-show was planned, giving her time to prepare for the UN General Assembly next week – but, as probably one of the most controversial figures in the Labour Party at present, her absence seems too well-timed to be a convenience coincidence. 

The conference opened on Friday with the leaders’ speech, a slightly unconventional approach when you consider most other major parties sandwich their big speeches in the middle of their conference, but it definitely seemed to get the audience in the mood for a weekend of “real hope and real change”. Despite co-leader Carla Denyer being absent on medical grounds, co-leader Adrian Ramsay delivered a powerful speech on the importance of co-operative politics and member-led policy, after being introduced by former Greater Manchester mayoral candidate Hannah Spencer. 

Ramsay pledged to push the government where the party “think greater ambition is needed to deliver the positive, inspiring change that people urgently want to see”. He told the audience that “Labour is getting it wrong” with the winter fuel allowance, the two-child benefit cap, and their “climate destroying” airport expansion. He also talked about the dire state of public dentistry, branding his own constituency of Waveney Valley as a “dental desert”

The focus on day two was a speech from the party’s deputy leader Zack Polanski. Polanski delivered a moving piece on the importance of truth and clarity in politics, both from politicians, and the media too. He talked about the power of communities, which are “at [their] best when [they] stand together… and [they] will never let the fascists win”, in reference to the recent counter-protests against the riots. Polanski also condemned Labour for refusing to scrap the two-child benefit cap, “our party has a very clear message for Keir Starmer”, he proclaimed, “scrap the cap!”

In conversation with Polanski later on, he said “we’re definitely not seeing the change that the Labour Party promised us”, and admitted that there are situations where he believes the Greens are now a stronger oppositional force to Labour than the Conservative Party, referencing Labour’s stance on the ongoing situation in Gaza and the West Bank. He also condemned legacy media for failing to platform smaller parties and independent voices, he believes “it’s very difficult to know what they stand for when the legacy media aren’t platforming them”, drawing contrast between Jonathan Ashworth’s frequent media appearances, despite being unseated at the last election. 

The big highlight of the final day was a speech from the co-leaders of the Young Greens, Lu Thornton and Callum Clafferty. The pair passionately called for investment and improvements to the education sector, telling the audience that “investment in young people is the most important investment we can make”. Clafferty proclaimed that “a fairer education doesn’t just mean universities; the Greens are also the only party consistently fighting for a new approach to schools and apprenticeships. Currently, students and teachers are put under undue pressure with stretched budgets, intense exams and unjust Ofsted inspections. We desperately need a system that centres student and teacher wellbeing and one that is active in tackling social injustice”.

You can look back on all the key moments from the weekend, as well as our interviews with Zack Polanski and Ellie Chowns MP on X. 

According to Polanski, the party began to adopt a “strategic process” around 2010, where all their energy, efforts and resources were thrown behind one seat, Brighton Pavilion. Following the election of the Greens’ first MP, Caroline Lucas, it was clear that such targeted, pinpointed focus is what the Green Party needed; the only problem being that Caroline Lucas then found herself ‘carrying the entire party on her shoulders’.

The 2024 election campaign saw the party focus their efforts on four very different seats: the retention of Brighton Pavilion, and the gaining of Bristol Central, North Herefordshire and Waveney Valley. Polanski believes that a combination of ‘a really clear narrative’, alongside the public growing tired of ‘binary politics’ (and ‘heaps of planning’ from Williams and his team) allowed the party to pull off their impressive feat. 

Williams believes that preparedness and fast action greatly aided the party’s result, boasting delivering leaflets to around ‘45,000 homes in about three hours’ of the election being called. But he also made it clear that isn’t enough on its own. According to data carried out after the election, 39% of those who voted Green did so because they felt they could trust the ‘party’s motives’, a statistic higher than for any other party. The same data also showed that 12% of their voters were people of colour, 4% higher than Labour, and the highest out of any political party. In fact, the Greens were found to be more likely to attracting votes from marginalised communities more than any other party. 

Polanski and Williams’ message for the future is clear – the only way is up. Williams believes that the Greens can ‘win many more seats’, having come second in over 40 on election night. Polanski criticised Labour’s governance since the election, explaining that the public ‘aren’t seeing change’ but are instead ‘seeing a child benefit cap’. Labour’s victory is “built on quicksand”, and after 14 years of a Conservative government that has ‘really destroyed society’, people are starting to really get behind “the power of the Green message”. 

She was seen as a clear choice for this role, after authoring a 2010 report for the Conservative ‘Policy Exchange’ think-tank, titled, “Housing People; Financing Housing”, and then going on to lead the Conservative Policy Forum when it was launched a year later.

Elphicke’s then-husband, Charlie, served as the MP for Dover for nine years, from 2010-2019, before having the whip withdrawn after he was charged with three counts of sexual assault.

However, this isn’t the first time he’d been caught up in controversy, previously losing the whip in 2017, after two sexual harassment claims emerged from within his own staff. It was reinstated prior to the December 2018 confidence vote in the then-PM Theresa May.

He was later found guilty of all three counts in 2020, resulting in a two-year custodial sentence, as well as a payment of £35,000. He went on to serve just half of his sentence at an open prison in Gloucestershire, having been released in September 2021. After failing to appeal his convictions in March 2021, it is reported that Natalie decided to end the marriage.

Following her ex-husband’s suspension in 2019, Elphicke stood as the Conservative candidate for his seat in Dover, and was the only name on the ballot for the internal candidate elections. She then went on to retain the seat in the 2019 election, with a majority of 12,278.

Following the election, she remained as the Conservative MP for Dover until last Wednesday, May 8th, when she defected to Labour just moments before the start of PMQs.

In the immediate aftermath of her defection, there was evident shock from both sides of the house, as well as journalists across the country, clearly showing that any defection discussions had been entirely between the most senior Labour frontbenchers and Elphicke herself.

Those across all sides of the political spectrum have expressed confusion, citing Elphicke’s hard-right stance on social issues and immigration, and her previous outspoken discontent with the Labour party.

Furthermore, Elphicke made headlines in 2020, after Marcus Rashford famously missed the ‘winning penalty’ in the UEFA Euro Final. Private messages were leaked to the press, where she expressed beliefs that Rashford “should have spent more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics”, in reference to his free school meals campaign efforts. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who now
has to work closely with Elphicke, responded at the time by telling her to “fuck off”.

Labour MPs have been quick to condemn Elphicke’s decision to join the man she called “Sir Softie” on the Labour benches. Labour backbencher Mick Whitley described the defection as “outrageous”, claiming Elphicke doesn’t share the “values of the Labour movement”.

Meanwhile, Kent Labour MP Rosie Duffield, who has worked closely with Elphicke on regional issues, and also been quick to vocally disagree with Starmer in recent months, has said she was “really confused” by the event.

Seemingly further stoking the growing fire, a Labour spokesperson refused to say that Labour would turn away hypothetical defections from right-wing figures such as Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg, saying, “We have conversations with all sorts of people who want to come and support the party”.

Attacks haven’t just come from the Labour benches either, Conservative MPs have also been quick to express their disapproval. Despite being a close ally to the Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt, and even supporting her 2022 leadership bid, the Conservative frontbencher was quick to raise Elphicke’s defection in the commons, quipping “Can I reassure [Mr Liddell-Grainger] that I am not about to
defect to the opposition benches. They wouldn’t be interested in me, I’m too leftwing”.

Elphicke aside, Starmer’s choice to allow a defector who is openly not left-wing, and openly doesn’t agree with Labour policy, may be having an opposite effect to that which he intended. In a bid to show Labour to be a broad church, and a place for anybody, some would argue that all he’s actually done is consolidate his anti-Tory stance, and his party’s current position as a protest vote.

Those on the left have been critical of Labour’s lack of commitment to policy, clearly wanting to be
able to vote for something more than just an anti-Tory party, evidenced by the stark rise in popularity Labour leadership saw when they announced plans to nationalise rail last month.

With Green Party membership increasing quite rapidly over the last few weeks, it seems possible that the Labour leadership are jeopardising voters further to the left of the party, in a bid to try and gain those close to the centre; but, on the run up to a general election, some would argue that’s a dangerous game to be playing,