Labour denies left-wing MPs offered peerages to make way for allies of Starmer
2 June 2024, 12:03 | Updated: 2 June 2024, 14:10
Labour has denied reports that it offered left-wing MPs peerages to stop them from standing in the General Election.
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Several left-wing MPs claimed that after the July 4 poll was announced they had been told they would be raised to the House of Lords if they passed up their seats to allies of Sir Keir, according to The Sunday Times.
However, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has now denied the claim, as she said she wasn't aware of any deals being made.
Speaking to LBC's Sunday with Lewis Goodall, she said: "Well, look, as you would expect as the shadow home secretary, I don't have any say in appointments or nominations to the House of Lords.
"We've always had, we've got obviously a senior former cabinet ministers who are in the House of Lords from all parties, but what we shouldn't have is the kind of shenanigans that we've had from, I think both Liz Truss and Boris Johnson."
Asked if she personally knew of any deals having been made, Ms Cooper said no.
It comes after Sir Keir was accused of orchestrating a left-wing purge of his party when reports emerged that Diane Abbott, the first-ever black woman elected to Parliament, had been barred from standing.
After days of speculation about whether Ms Abbott would be able to contest the Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat, Sir Keir confirmed on Friday that she is "free" to stand as a Labour candidate in the General Election on July 4.
The Labour leader told reporters: "The whip has obviously been restored to her now and she is free to go forward as a Labour candidate."
On Friday, Sir Keir praised the Labour veteran as a "trailblazer", saying: "Diane Abbott was elected in 1987, the first black woman MP.
"She has carved a path for other people to come into politics and public life."
He had previously refused to say whether Ms Abbot would be defending her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat when the country goes to the polls on 4th July as he faced claims of a "purge" of left-wing candidates.
In response to the news, Ms Abbott said her local party selected her as their candidate in 2022.
She added: "But I will not be the official candidate until I am endorsed by the Labour National Executive at its meeting on Tuesday. So I am not saying anything until then".
Speaking at the launch of the Conservative Party campaign bus on Saturday, Tory leader Rishi Sunak hit out at Labour for its back-and-forth on the subject.
Mr Sunak said: "Just see what's happened over this Diane Abbott situation. And it confirms what we know about him: it's that he doesn't stick by anything he says, just constantly changes his mind.
"And it's clear that Angela Rayner is in charge of the Labour Party and not him."
Meanwhile, when asked on the subject at the launch of Labour's 'battle buses', Sir Keir refused to be pressed on it, as he said: "I dealt with that issue yesterday.
"Today is about taking our argument to the country and getting people back to work."
