UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Labour MPs relaunch the Tribune group under Louise Haigh and Vicky Foxcroft to unite the soft left and push for progressive policies and budget influence.
As reported by The Guardian, senior Labour MPs behind the welfare rebellion plan to revive a powerful soft-left group to influence the budget and party policy, increasing pressure on Number 10.
Which Labour MPs are leading the Tribune group revival?
Former cabinet minister Louise Haigh and ex-whip Vicky Foxcroft, who resigned in protest over welfare cuts, will lead the Tribune group to organize Labour’s soft-left wing.
The group aims to attract more than 100 MPs and includes key figures who played central roles in Lucy Powell’s successful deputy leadership campaign.
The group also counts ex-minister Justin Madders, Sarah Owen, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, and Debbie Abrahams, chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee.
Yuan Yang and Beccy Cooper, newly elected MPs, are set to co-lead the group.
Senior members of the group are urging Labour to adopt a more assertive and progressive approach in taking on both Reform UK and the growing Green Party.
Ms Powell, described as a “natural ally” of the group, praised newly elected New York mayor Zohran Mamdani on 4 November, saying his communication style offered a lesson for the Labour Party.
She added,
“His victory shows that boldness and a story of economic change in the interests of the many not the few, defeats the politics of division and despair.”
The Tribune group was originally formed in the 1960s and revived in 2017 by Labour MP Clive Efford under Jeremy Corbyn.
Members at the time included current Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Owen Smith.
During Mr Corbyn’s leadership, the Tribune group saw limited influence and remained largely dormant under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s tenure.
According to MPs, Mr Efford stepped aside to allow new MPs to revitalize the Tribune, with their first focus on ending the two-child benefit cap in the upcoming budget.
One MP involved in the group’s relaunch added,
“Clive has done a great job of ticking it over for last eight years and with new intakes heavily involved, there is a big appetite to get people together with similar values and ideas to debate issues and influence in the same way other groups do. Soft left has not been organised well for years so it is desperately needed.”
Another MP said the group will adopt a
“firmer centre-left stance, engaging new intakes and driving organisation across the parliamentary Labour Party.”
The group aims to represent a significant minority, possibly the majority, within the parliamentary Labour Party.
Tribune group set to draw more 2024 intake MPs than Socialist Campaign Group, whose members include Corbyn allies John McDonnell and Diane Abbott.
Labour’s Tribune group was formed in 1964 to support the Tribune newspaper, but is no longer linked to the publication. It was split in 1981 after Tony Benn’s deputy leadership bid, with his supporters forming the Campaign Group.
Over the summer, a new left group, Mainstream, formed to push leadership change, backed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and MPs Maskell, Lewis.
Several MPs slammed the group’s hardline approach and focus on electoral reform, saying Tribune would be more effective in party organising.
Which party could win the most seats in the general elections?
A new YouGov survey reveals Reform UK is expected to win 311 seats, just 15 short of a majority, gaining mainly at Labour’s expense.
The survey finds Labour is projected to secure just 144 seats, a loss of 267 compared to the 2024 election.
The poll also reveals the Conservatives at 45 seats, Liberal Democrats 78, and SNP 37.
Greens are projected at 7, Plaid Cymru 6, with minor parties taking the remaining 3.