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

LIBERAL fans of the dead Queen and new King argue Britain’s constitutional monarch guards against the dangers of presidential power. It’s the argument that you can’t ask for anything better, because you’ll just end up making it worse.
Royalty promotes a general sense of deference and tradition but doesn’t hold much political power. By having a ceremonial head of state, we avoid a powerful president, who could be worse. In an extreme version of this argument, monarchy can save a country from fascism.
George Orwell argued this during WWII: “A French journalist said to me once that the monarchy was one of the things that has saved Britain from fascism.

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