Why is Starmer purging the Labour left?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 30 May 2024
⏱️ 47 minutes
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Summary
Sir Keir Starmer is on a warpath. But not against the Tories but his own side. At least, what is nominally his own side.
Starmer has poured petrol on the fire of the Diane Abbott imbroglio by deselecting several of his own left-wing candidates and MPs. Why is Starmer engaging in bloodletting in the middle of a general election campaign? Jon and Lewis discuss a party addicted to civil war.
And we’re joined by the playwright of the moment, Jez Butterworth to discuss theatre, working with Harvey Weinstein, Baby Reindeer and his latest show, The Hills of California.
Editor: Tom Hughes
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:09.3 | This is a global player original podcast. Any briefings like that, I think are disgraceful, |
| 0:15.9 | and I don't accept that briefings like that should happen. I don't see any reason why |
| 0:20.1 | Diane Abbott can't stand as a Labour MP going happen. I don't see any reason why Diane Abbott can't stand |
| 0:21.3 | as a Labour MP going forward. I don't know whether we can yet call it Abbottgate, but the story |
| 0:29.0 | about Diane Abbott and whether she will stand again in Hackney North and Stoke Newington is now |
| 0:35.0 | in day three or day four. It is the first running story of this campaign. |
| 0:40.3 | Yes, Tory mishaps are plenty, but this is a running saw now for the Labour Party and what on earth |
| 0:47.2 | they're going to do. And Kirstama hasn't chosen to resile from this. He's poured petrol on the |
| 0:53.6 | interneissime battles, which have so marked and |
| 0:56.9 | characterised the Labour Party in recent years, because overnight it has become clear that |
| 1:02.1 | Labour, Labour High Command, are deselecting a string of left-wing Labour candidates or sitting |
| 1:09.0 | MPs. Why? Why is Kirstama and his leadership team doing this now? |
| 1:14.4 | On today's show, we're going to try and explain. Welcome to the newsagents. |
| 1:21.3 | The Newsagents. |
| 1:23.6 | It's John. It's Lewis. And we promised you that today would be your questions answered. |
| 1:29.2 | And we lied. No, we're actually... Fluid. Fluid events. |
| 1:32.4 | Fluid events. Because this is such a big story. We thought we have to do what is happening in the Labour Party. |
| 1:37.6 | So that is going to be today, tomorrow we will do your questions. Promise, sort of. |
| 1:43.3 | And also, later in the show, we're going to hear from |
| 1:45.9 | the playwright, brilliant playwright, Jez Butterworth, who created Jerusalem and who has a lot |
| 1:52.0 | to say about politics and the world we're in right now. But as we're recording, the Diane Abbott |
... |
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