Keir Starmer has this week laid down two new conditions for holding the Labour whip. This is my initial assessment of the points he made in his interview. To be clear I speak only for myself in this brief commentary. 1/7 First, Keir has said anyone is prevented from holding the whip if they assert moral equivalence between NATO and Russia. In the discussion of the war in Ukraine, nobody in the Labour Party I am aware of has asserted there has been any moral equivalence between Russia & NATO.2/7

People are facing a cost of living crisis in 2022. In this thread I estimate some major cost increases facing households this year & solutions:
Council Tax rise £67
NI rise £250
Income tax threshold rise £150
Housing costs £169
Energy bills £600
Food bills £169
Total £1405 1/7 A comprehensive rescue package is needed to provide people with the security they need, including:
5% public sector pay rise £3.3bn
Universal Credit increase £6.0bn
WFP to UC households £1.65bn
Double WFP to pensioners £1.9bn
Total £12.85b 2/7

With more redundancies and salary cuts announced today it is imperative that the government urgently comes up with an income protection package for workers losing, or at risk of losing, their jobs because of the coronavirus crisis. The UK is lagging behind other countries, despite some of them being made aware of coronavirus cases weeks after we were.

I am excited to announce that Labour will deliver free full-fibre broadband to all individuals and businesses by 2030: fast, secure, reliable internet connections for everyone. bbc.co.uk/news/election-… The government will own the network that is rolled out, making it better planned, better coordinated, and able to reach everyone, including rural and remote communities.