Apart from a bright spark of hope in the victory of the Gaza motion, this year’s conference lacked vision and purpose — we need to urgently reconnect Labour with its roots rather than weakly aping the flag-waving right, argues KIM JOHNSON MP

WE are in the middle of an energy crisis which is throwing increasing numbers of people into “heat or eat” decisions. And right in the middle of that is a phoney market solution that fell apart. Because this is Britain, it is also marked by a Tory all-friends-together cronyism.
The government would like to blame the “energy crisis” on one external factor — Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
It is true that Putin’s bloody war has created a side effect of a big pressure on energy prices, alongside the main effects of killing, torture and injustice. But energy inequality is a problem that long predates Putin’s vicious war.

The new angle from private firms shmoozing their way into public contracts was the much-trumpeted arrival of ‘artificial intelligence’ — and no-one seemed to have heard the numerous criticisms of this unproven miracle cure, reports SOLOMON HUGHES

It is rather strange that Labour continues to give prestigious roles to inappropriate, controversy-mired businessmen who are also major Tory donors. What could Labour possibly be hoping to get out of it, asks SOLOMON HUGHES

Keir Starmer’s hiring Tim Allan from Tory-led Strand Partners is another illustration of Labour’s corporate-influence world where party differences matter less than business connections, writes SOLOMON HUGHES

MBDA’s Alabama factory makes components for Boeing’s GBU-39 bombs used to kill civilians in Gaza. Its profits flow through Stevenage to Paris — and it is one of the British government’s favourite firms, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES