Labour MP Fumes Over Party’s Lack Of Communication And Authority

A Labour backbencher has attacked the lack of clear communication within his party in a surprise intervention exposing the level of discontent among the backbenchers.

Karl Turner called out deputy PM and justice secretary David Lammy on Wednesday after he announced his decision to axe some jury trials, claiming the government had got it “incredibly badly wrong”.

Speaking to Times Radio on Sunday, the MP for Kingston upon Hull East explained he would not have spoken out against such a senior minister in the past – but he was left with little alternative this week.

His remarks come amid growing frustration over the flip-flopping of the government as they U-turn over major policies – like the two-child benefit cap – which their backbenches don’t like.

Responding to concerns about Keir Starmer’s control over his own party, Turner said: “I’ve got no axe to grind. But we’re in a situation whereby it appears as if the government is governing by consent of the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party].

“The Tories did that for a bit – it didn’t get them very far.”

He said the chief whip Jonathan Reynolds “ought to be on the pitch scoring goals” because he is an “incredibly respected” politician.

“He ought not to be in the chief whip’s office where he can’t come out on the telly or Times Radio and do the stuff we need to do as a government,” the MP said.

“The former chief whip – I wouldn’t have been out publicly a week ago if the former chief whip Alan Campbell was in charge of the chief whip’s office, because he would have rang me and would have said, ‘I need to talk to you, Turner.’”

He suggested they would have come up with a more constructive plan together, and Campbell – who was removed as chief whip in the September reshuffle – would have facilitated meetings with the prime minister if necessary to resolve the issue.

In exchange, Turner said he would have kept quiet about his frustrations.

He said it would be a case of only speaking about your discontent in the party if there was “no alternative”.

But in this case, he claimed there was little clear communication. He told Times Radio: “All I’ve had is an attempt by me to speak to the chief whip, which I got an appointment to see him I think two days later.

“And then a text from a whip telling me to please calm down, or words to that effect. Don’t tell me to calm it down, I’ve been in there 15 years. It’s rare for me, in fact it’s incredibly unlikely and unusual.”

He said he would never usually “gob off” unless he needed to, adding: “Campbell would have sorted this. I’m afraid to say this but Johnny Reynolds isn’t capable of sorting this – and I like the man a lot, by the way.”

Starmer is facing intense scrutiny right now over the lack of control and discipline he has over his own MPs.

He suspended one MP, Markus Campbell-Savours, only this week after he voted against an initial vote on the government’s plans to tax inherited farmland.

Questions around just how long he has left in office continue to rise too, as pundits speculate which of his senior allies in the cabinet could be looking to replace Starmer in No.10.