Five things we learned at the Labour Conference on Sunday
Brexit, anti-Semitism and football – it was all go on the first day of the gathering in Liverpool.
Labour’s conference officially kicked off in Liverpool – and not just on the football pitch.
Here are five things we learned:
– The summer’s tensions over anti-Semitism have not eased. Jeremy Corbyn was challenged directly on whether he was an anti-Semite, “absolutely not”, but a packed Jewish Labour Movement rally saw MPs line up to criticise the party’s handling of the issue.
– Labour could support a second referendum on the European Union if delegates back one. Jeremy Corbyn said he would be “bound by the democracy of our party” even though he would prefer a general election. But there is always a chance that the final motion will be fudged, allowing the Labour leadership to keep their options open.
– Labour launched a series of eye-catching policies in the belief that an election could be just around the corner. The party announced plans for a £560 million tax on holiday homes in England and Mr Corbyn said his government would require businesses employing more than 250 people to reserve one-third of seats on boards for representatives of their workforce.
