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

BOTH the Tory Party and Labour have responded to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case on possible genocide by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza by trying to ban or shout down anyone using the “G-word” — genocide.
This definitely isn’t because they are precious about calling things “genocide” or any worry that the term could be devalued; the top members of both parties have been very free to call “genocide” in the much less sure case of the Uighurs in China.
South Africa made a case at the ICJ that the IDF’s war is not just a response to the Hamas-led massacre of Israelis on October 7 2023. Instead, the IDF’s actions are “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group […] in the Gaza Strip.”

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