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 pre-Christmas Register of MPs’ Interests shows our representatives have been pretty busy with moonlighting, side hustles and freebies.
Birmingham Labour MP Liam Byrne is a controversial figure. He was a Treasury minister before Labour lost the 2010 election.
Byrne left a note for his Tory-Lib Dem coalition replacement apologising to them because “I’m afraid there is no money” in the Treasury — it was a cack-handed joke that backfired badly, helping the Tory-led coalition justify punishing austerity measures.

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