There Is A Growing "Rebellious Mood" Among Labour Peers
2 min read
There is growing tension between rebellious Labour peers and the government over the direction of the Keir Starmer administration, PoliticsHome understands.
Much of the focus on discontent within the ranks of the Parliamentary Labour Party is on the House of Commons, where in recent weeks Labour MPs have expressed unease over issues such as planned welfare cuts and the government's language on immigration.
There is also simmering frustration in the House of Lords, however, with one Labour peer saying: "There is a rebellious mood."
This mood has led government whips to remind Labour peers of the loyalty that is expected of them, PoliticsHome understands.
Labour peers are particularly exasperated by the government's proposals for copyright and artificial intelligence in the Data Bill – an approach that has attracted fierce criticism from prominent figures in the creative industries, such as Sir Elton John.
Peers have twice defeated the government in support of a push by crossbench peer Baroness Kidron to give creatives more copyright protections from AI.
Eighteen Labour peers voted for the amendment – including the party's former deputy leader Tom Watson, as well as Kevin Brennan and Barbara Keeley, who both served in Starmer's shadow cabinet in opposition – while many more abstained, amid frustration with what they describe as the government's intransigence.
In an email to House of Lords colleagues last week, Kidron lamented: "Many from all sides have reached out repeatedly to the government, but they have failed to stand by UK copyright holders or hear the views of UK AI companies or brands."
PoliticsHome understands that Labour peers are also preparing to challenge the government on issues close to the heart of party members, including welfare and the two-child benefit cap.
There is a belief in the Upper Chamber that Baroness (Sue) Gray, former chief of staff to the Prime Minister, could emerge as someone for the government to worry about.
Gray quit her Downing Street post in October after a turbulent three months in the job.
In her maiden speech in March, she praised "heroic and committed" Whitehall officials and urged politicians to be "careful" in the language they use when talking about the civil service.
"When we hear phrases with ‘blobs’, ‘pen-pushers’, ‘axes’, ‘chainsaws’ and other implements, they hear it too," she told the House of Lords.
The remarks were widely interpreted as a criticism of a Starmer speech that accused civil servants of “being comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline”.
Additional reporting by Sienna Rodgers.
