Labour must offer more than ‘better managed decline’ on economy, MPs urge
An influential group of MPs has said Labour needs an urgent renewal of economic strategy to offer voters “more than better management of decline” before the next general election.With Keir Starmer fighting to ward off a leadership challenge, the leading backbenchers from the soft-left Tribune group published a series of essays calling for bolder action to salvage the party’s remaining time in power.In a foreword by the former cabinet minister Louise Haigh and Yuan Yang, a prominent figure from Labour’s 2024 intake, the MPs issued a thinly disguised attack on Starmer amid pressure on him to set out a timeline for his departure.“We do not present this as the final word.They are an invitation – to challenge assumptions, test ideas and help build a broader coalition for economic renewal.
Because the economic status quo is no longer defensible,” the MPs wrote.“And if politics is to regain trust, it must offer more than better management of decline.”Calling for higher taxes on wealth, action on the cost of living and more borrowing to fund investment – including a redrawing of the government’s fiscal rules – the group said the essays were intended as “idea generation” rather than a manifesto for a Starmer replacement.However, amid febrile conditions within party ranks after crushing defeats in elections across Britain last week, several MPs loyal to No 10 and groups linked to the prime minister’s rivals are increasingly floating new ideas in public to push for a change of direction.Haigh, who quit in the early months of Starmer’s government after it emerged she had been convicted of fraud over a missing work phone, is seen as a key power broker on the left of the party for any would-be replacement, and became one of the first senior figures to call openly for his resignation.
In her contribution, Haigh called on Labour to replace Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules with a requirement to target lower levels of debt over 10 years rather than five to allow for a more flexible approach to investment.However, in a nod to pressure from bond market investors fretting over higher borrowing levels and a leftward shift in policy, she said this should only be done after the government had balanced day-to-day spending with tax receipts.Haigh also called for the scrapping of stamp duty and its replacement with a proportional property tax and reformed council tax, higher rates of capital gains tax, and for the breakup of the Treasury – handing its budget-setting powers to No 10 while turning it into a new growth ministry.Yang, a member of the Treasury committee, urged Labour to use its response to the Iran war to overhaul cost of living support, including proposing a free minimum energy guarantee modelled on a system in Austria, further cuts to green and social levies on energy bills, and free bus fares for under-25s and recipients of universal credit.The prime minister vowed on Monday to prove his doubters wrong in a make-or-break speech.
However, more than 70 Labour MPs – including Yang – have now urged him to set out a timetable for his departure.Labour MPs have said they believe the health secretary, Wes Streeting, could imminently launch a challenge.Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is also hoping to find a route to parliament to seek the leadership.In a wide-ranging pamphlet, the essay collection was published in the quarterly Renewal political journal, overseen by the progressive left thinktank Compass, which is led by Neal Lawson, a prominent supporter of Burnham.The Tribune group insisted they had long planned to publish the essay collection, had contributed independently, and wanted to “focus on ideas not individuals”.
Yang, who is a member of Tribune and the Labour Growth Group, a faction once considered loyal to Starmer, said: “You can see our constituents are clearly dissatisfied with the economic outcomes.So it is time for us to dig into the reasons behind that and to think about the whole structure of the economy.”
How to match wine with vegetables
At a recent tasting, I got chatting to a winemaker from Australia’s Clare Valley as I bravely made my way through his wares: a ripe, leathery shiraz and a deep, dark cabernet sauvignon that put me in mind of blackcurrant bushes. These were serious wines – and good value, too. A generation ago, such gutsy New World reds were all the rage, but now, lamented the winemaker, gen Z was more interested in lighter, cooler-climate wines, lower on the alcohol and brighter on the palate.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
‘Restaurants won’t survive’: Michelin chef opens venues abroad to withstand UK taxes
A British Michelin-starred chef says he is opening restaurants abroad to subsidise his UK venues against a backdrop of high taxes and a struggling hospitality sector.Jason Atherton is now in Forte dei Marmi, on the Tuscan coast in Italy, where he is preparing his newest opening, Maria’s, which will be in the Principessa hotel. The Sheffield-born chef now has restaurants all over the world, including in Dubai and St Moritz.He said he was finding it easier to make a profit in countries with more forgiving policies towards restaurants, pubs and bars. “I am trying to sustain our business by opening abroad
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for spring chicken thighs with spring onions, mint and peas | A kitchen in Rome
The weather lately has been as temperamental as peas in pods. But peas are even harder to read than the sky: some pods contain sweet things no bigger than peppercorns, which explode when you bite them; the contents of others, however, are closer to small ball bearings, their size very likely a sign that all the natural sucrose has been metabolised and transformed to pea starch. The best thing for the tiny ones is to snack on them alongside a bit of cheese, whereas the path for big ones is the same as for dried peas, so pea and ham soup or a long-simmered puree.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
Navel gazing: oranges, mandarins and persimmons top Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for May
“Sweet, low seed and great for snacking” imperial mandarins have just started their season, says Josh Flamminio, owner and buyer at Sydney’s Galluzzo Fruiterers. The tangy-sweet citrus is selling for between $2.99 and $3.99 a kilo in major supermarkets. At Galluzzo, Queensland-grown imperial mandarins are $3
How to save asparagus trimmings from the food-waste bin – recipe | Waste not
Asparagus butts are a particularly tricky byproduct to tame because they’re so fibrous. I usually cut them very finely (into 5mm-thick discs, or even thinner), then boil, puree and pass them through a sieve (as in my green goddess salad dressing and asparagus soup), but even then you’ll still end up with a fair bit of fibrous waste. Enter asparagus-butt butter: a recipe that defies all odds, making the impossible possible by transforming a tough offcut into an intense compound butter that’s perfect for grilling or frying asparagus spears themselves, or for eggs, bread, gnocchi or whatever you can think of. The short fibres brown and caramelise in the butter, and in the process become the highlight of the dish, rather than the problem.This transforms an unwanted byproduct into an intense expression of the plant’s flavour
Thoran and chaat: Romy Gill’s Indian-style asparagus recipes
Spring’s first asparagus always feels like a celebration, but there’s so much more to cooking those spears than just butter and lemon. Here, those tender stems combine with bold Indian flavours in two playful dishes. The thoran, inspired by Keralan home cooking, involves stir-frying asparagus with coconut, mustard seeds and curry leaves to create something warm and comforting (my friend Simi’s mum always used to drizzle it with a little lemon juice to give the flavours a lift). The chaat, meanwhile, tossed with tangy tamarind, yoghurt, spices, crunchy chickpeas and sweet pomegranate, is a delicious snack or side. Together, they show how versatile asparagus can be: easy to cook, vibrant and moreish even in unexpected culinary traditions
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