As first reported by top colleague @siennarodgers.bsky.social for PolHome way back in September last year!

This week's episode of The Rundown is such a great conversation about the student loan debate ft @theifs.bsky.social's Kate Ogden, the @smfthinktank.bsky.social's Dani Payne, Labour MP @chriscurtis94.bsky.social and colleague @siennarodgers.bsky.social Hosted by @alaintolhurst.bsky.social

Throwback to my exclusive from back in September – Labour peer Lord Glasman issued a warning to No 10 about Lord Mandelson's "unwise" appointment: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Steve Wright, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has declared that Starmer’s government “needs to start delivering for working people” He told @siennarodgers.bsky.social that the PM was on his "last chance" and that all 11 affiliated unions could call on him to go after the May elections

“I also think it’s very dangerous to underestimate Keir Starmer... “I think this guy deserves a bit more admiration and respect than perhaps he’s been given by some quarters" Justice minister Jake Richards talks to The House Magazine's @siennarodgers.bsky.social

It’s the problem that Westminster dares not talk about. But is SW1 finally waking up to the birth rate crisis? As Zack Polanski wonders who will wipe our bums, I reveal that Reform UK is putting this issue at the centre of its policymaking www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Full interview with Andrea Egan, the Unison gen sec challenger who’s confident of winning — Rayner, Burnham, Streeting + disaffiliation — Children’s homes + grooming gangs — She would not be comfortable with the union representing a member like Sandie Peggie www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Full interview with Christina McAnea, the Unison gen sec fighting for a second term — Frustrations with Labour govt — Rows with Streeting — Call for new legislation on trans rights — Govt will remove turnout threshold for industrial action ballots www.politicshome.com/news/article...

NEW: My report on the Unison general secretary race that could see the PM lose a major ally Both sides fancy their chances of winning This time, the insurgents have a key advantage: unity 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Rachel Reeves's "headroom" is based on: -£16bn in 'efficiency savings' -£6bn in savings in order to fund taking SEND off local government backs -tax rises that largely come in at the end of the forecast -immigration being at c340k net in 2029!

Chaos has engulfed the first 24 hours of the inaugural 'Your Party' conference in Liverpool, with Zarah Sultana boycotting the first day of the event, Jeremy Corbyn facing "witch-hunt" allegations, and an entryism row @siennarodgers.bsky.social & @tomscotson.bsky.social report from Merseyside

No 'Your Party' MP will be allowed to be its leader under rules voted for by members at its Liverpool conference on Sunday The party membership has approved 'collective leadership', which rules out both Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana leading it, reports @siennarodgers.bsky.social

‘Your Party’ Could Be Led By Ordinary Members With MPs Barred From Running www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Labour moving rightwards on immigration is a “huge mistake”, Unison boss Christina McAnea tells @siennarodgers.bsky.social "They'll just annoy and put off loads of voters. I don't know what they think they're offering by doing this," said McAnea, who is campaigning to be re-elected as gen sec

Andrea Egan, the Unison general secretary candidate who is hoping to oust incumbent Christina McAnea, has described Rachel Reeves’ performance in No 11 so far as “appalling” "It's clear they're not connected to working people," she told @siennarodgers.bsky.social

NEW: Inside the Corbyn-Sultana power struggle — upcoming Corbyn v Sultana leadership race (+ ‘plague on all your houses’ candidate?) — Jamie Driscoll + Adnan Hussain bow out — ambition for conference reduced — plan for the party’s name & more 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Labour MPs say Wes Streeting's stock has risen within the party after extraordinary No 10 briefings against him on Tuesday night "They've managed to create a situation where Wes is the victim/the adult in the room" report @siennarodgers.bsky.social and @adampayne26.bsky.social

🤯🤯 The definitive Your Party weekend read from @siennarodgers.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/news/article...

EXCL: £800k raised in Your Party launch has not yet been transferred to YP Zarah Sultana is being accused by YP sources of delaying the transfer for political advantage Sources close to her deny this & say her request for access to documents is reasonable 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Zarah Sultana is being accused of failing to transfer money to Your Party as agreed with Jeremy Corbyn and the other directors Sources close to Sultana denied that she is delaying the transfer for any politically motivated reasons, reports @siennarodgers.bsky.social

“The Prime Minister needs to lead that national conversation” Defence Committee chair @tandhesi.bsky.social tells @siennarodgers.bsky.social that the UK is ‘not in a state of readiness’ for war – and the government should've listened on a new homeland security minister

EXCL: Interview with Lord Glasman, who says • AI = job losses but that’s good • Zelensky’s Ukraine is corrupt • Muslims should protect Jews outside synagogues • Farage ‘not our enemy’ & is holding back racists to his right + defends talks w Peter Thiel www.politicshome.com/news/article...

My interview with rising star Katie Lam “If you take something like asylum, the whole concept of asylum – it’s a 20th-and-before-century idea for a 21st-century world,” she says + her upbringing, ambitions & struggle to hand back the mic 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

My interview with Tory whip Rebecca Paul “The NHS saved my life, without a doubt. If they hadn’t discovered it at the point they had, I doubt I would have made it to 20” The health struggles she's never talked about publicly before & lots more 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

NEW: My interview with Nick Timothy “The way our time in government ended, and in particular the way the promise of controlled and vastly reduced immigration was broken… was absolutely disgusting” + No 10 years, culture wars, free speech, burqa ban 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Can Keir Starmer and Morgan McSweeney survive much longer? Increasingly, Labour insiders from across the party think not, reports @siennarodgers.bsky.social, as Labour conference gets underway in Liverpool “I don’t see much difference between the end of Morgan and the end of the administration"

“If it was Wes, would it be more of the same?” Mick Whelan, outgoing general secretary of Aslef and chair of Labour Unions, talks to @siennarodgers.bsky.social about the state of the Labour Party, its future leadership and being ‘terrified’ of retirement

Fun interview with Mick Whelan by @siennarodgers.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/news/article...

EXCL: “I’m not somebody who peaks on day one” As Tory conference prepares to get underway, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch talks to @siennarodgers.bsky.social about being "proved right" on culture wars, hits back at briefings against her, and reveals the limits she has put on her screentime

👯 Liberal Democrat MP @paulkohlersw19.bsky.social meets @sophiealichurch.bsky.social and @siennarodgers.bsky.social in his Covent Garden cabaret bar 👇 They talk about running a business, meeting Nigel Farage and the violent attack he endured

EXCL: Kemi Badenoch tells me: • Reform let Starmer off the hook by announcing defector amid Mandelson scandal • Farage defence of Mandelson's Epstein links was “wrong” • More defections? “I will not even allow myself to start worrying about that” www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Labour left candidate for the deputy leadership, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, tells @siennarodgers.bsky.social she is “not confident at all” about being able to reach the required number of MP nominations to proceed in the contest www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Here’s a characteristically well sourced @siennarodgers.bsky.social feature on the founding of Corbyn’s new party www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Inside the founding of Jeremy Corbyn's new party – how it started, the factions forming, the debates raging Can they unite? What challenges lie ahead? How big a threat is the project to Keir Starmer? @siennarodgers.bsky.social reports

You’ll do well to find a better read on Your Party — its genesis, strategy, and many internal tensions — than this by colleague @siennarodgers.bsky.social So many nuggets to choose from, like this: what’s in a name? A lot, actually www.politicshome.com/news/article...

The BBC has decided not to send its flagship Politics Live programme to party conferences this year, PolHome understands An ex-culture secretary said it was a "further erosion" of the BBC's political coverage, and called for a rethink @adampayne26.bsky.social & @siennarodgers.bsky.social report

NEW: Egg donations – are young women aware of the risks? I reveal • Cross-party MP concerns: ‘Women’s bodies are being commoditised’ • More donors come from most deprived areas • One egg bank offers buyers an ‘AI matching service’ to screen donors 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

NEW: Our latest cover interview is with Tonia Antoniazzi, who won a landmark vote to decriminalise abortion. She talks about being painted ‘as a monster’, and says the assisted dying bill she co-sponsors may look 'completely different’ after the Lords: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

NEW: Egg donations – are young women aware of the risks? I reveal • Cross-party MP concerns: ‘Women’s bodies are being commoditised’ • More donors come from most deprived areas • One egg bank offers buyers an ‘AI matching service’ to screen donors 👇 www.politicshome.com/news/article...

“I was told it’s easy to go home on Wednesday evening and it’s not,” says one 2024 intake MP, who describes Parliament as an “open prison” I spoke to MPs about the difficulties of working in Parliament as a parent and why they're demanding change: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

For your lunchtime reading... "...there is no loyalty dividend. They feel unloved, disrespected and taken for granted" How Downing Street sleepwalked into a welfare crisis, by @siennarodgers.bsky.social

“MPs are people who want the power to change the world for the better, but so many have been left feeling powerless," one Labour MP said A brilliant look inside how No 10 sleepwalked into a welfare crisis, by @siennarodgers.bsky.social 👇

-“I blame No 10 & the frontbench” -MPs "feel unloved, disrespected & taken for granted" -But one supportive MP hits back:"He’s got to talk to Donald Trump, not me in the f***ing tearoom!” How No 10 Sleepwalked Into A Welfare Crisis @siennarodgers.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Councils including some run by Labour have failed to implement the government policy to help house all UK armed forces veterans, PolHome has learned Several councils have failed to implement the new policy, watered it down, or not updated guidance online, reports @sophiealichurch.bsky.social

The House's @siennarodgers.bsky.social talks to Looking For Growth co-founder Lawrence Newport, who wants to ban planning delays just like he outlawed the XL Bully “I come to him [Dominic Cummings] a lot. He knows his stuff... We bonded over campaigning and having death threats.”

Bad boys of Brexit, move over: the good guys of growth are here My interview with Looking For Growth co-founder Lawrence Newport on death threats, Dominic Cummings, starting a political party, beautiful housing & lots more www.politicshome.com/news/article...

It has been derided as the Frankenstein’s monster of Whitehall. So, is DCMS really up for the chop? @siennarodgers.bsky.social and @sophiealichurch.bsky.social explore why the department and its head Lisa Nandy are being briefed against, and what is likely to happen next

NEW: @thehousemag.bsky.social cover is Equity boss Paul W Fleming who says: • Labour apprch to AI/creatives would ‘legalise theft’ • Govt progress on creatives access to Europe ‘very, very, very disappointing’ • Took 200 days to get 30-min meet w Lisa Nandy www.politicshome.com/news/article...

“This technology is coming. It cannot and should not be stopped. It should be regulated" Paul W Fleming, general secretary of Equity, says the government's plans for AI in the creative industries are "very, very, very disappointing" They would "legalise theft", he tells @siennarodgers.bsky.social

New PoliticsHome podcast episode on the many groups within the PLP @stephenkb.bsky.social, @morganj0nes.bsky.social and I talk Blue Labour, Labour Growth Group, Socialist Campaign Group, Red Wall caucus, etc etc: www.politicshome.com/news/article...