My conference pass was revoked for asking difficult questions: this is Keir Starmer’s Labour | Owen Jones

<p>I was told it was a ‘safeguarding’ issue. This speaks to a party that has not only lost its soul, but is scared of the truth</p><p>A party without a soul, a purpose, or tolerance for dissent: that’s the lasting impression of Labour from its annual jamboree in Liverpool.</p><p>Corporate Britain is stamped over everything. There’s a “hub” sponsored by the lobbying firm Anacta, whose clients range from an <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/lobbying-firm-secret-access-to-starmer-speech-3938315?srsltid=AfmBOooKTGhl6Je4ySGVxUQigYclnfgYkUh4-CLSYCnF2lXgzp91melu">Israeli-owned arms company</a> to various airlines. Ministers chatter with suited business types in a “lounge” sponsored by Arden Strategies – the “advisory and communications firm” run by the former Labour cabinet minister Jim Murphy, now a key conduit between boardrooms and government – while the invite-only Politico Pub is underwritten by Uber. Labour’s commitment to a third Heathrow runway is boastfully projected on to a conference wall. Signs of idealism are scarce: the party shop sells posters of Barbara Castle, but given her <a href="https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/10/the-resilient-radicalism-of-barbara-castle">scalding denunciations</a> of Blairism, one can imagine what she’d make of this one-note tribute act to New Labour.</p><p>Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/30/keir-starmer-labour-conference-pass-revoked">Continue reading...</a>