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

THE Stanley Johnson-led British arm of a corporate-funded US “green” group is a growing influence in Westminster, including paying for two Tory and one Labour MP’s travel, accommodation and “hospitality” at November’s UN Cop26 Climate Change Summit in Glasgow.
The International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF) is a US “green” group which also funds ICCF-UK, their British arm. As I explained back in early December, ICCF-UK is a recent and Tory-focused initiative, founded in November 2019 with former Conservative Party environment adviser Satyen Sinha as director.
In March 2021 ICCF-UK made the Prime Minister’s father Stanley Johnson a director, in a move to beef up their political influence. Johnson’s reported poor treatment of women might make him distasteful to some, but following his appointment to ICCF-UK, the group has made more impact in Westminster.

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