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

SKY NEWS is investigating money that flows around MPs in donations, second jobs and funding for all-party parliamentary groups. It’s good to see journalists “follow the money” around politics — which is something we are supposed to do, but often don’t.
Sky’s investigation highlighted and raised questions about one of the biggest blocks of donations. A company called MPM Connect is the third-biggest donor to MPs since the last election, giving £340,000 to three Labour right figures — Wes Streeting, Dan Jarvis and Yvette Cooper. The donations help run these “moderate” MPs’ offices — the cash promotes their political careers, not their luxury.
Sky is right to raise these questions — but it only really “followed the money” part of the way. While MPM Connect’s role is shadowy, it is possible to pin them down a bit more.

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