Labour conference 2007

Union seizes on pledge to curb private equity

Unions yesterday scented victory in their battle to end tax privileges for private equity after the prime minister, Gordon Brown, announced at the Labour Party conference he planned to crack down on abuses by the industry
Union seizes on pledge to curb private equity

Political partying with Michael White

Our senior political commentator explores the social side of conference season, and hears why Labour's annual trip to the seaside is like a political Glastonbury.
Political partying with Michael White

  • Smith on back foot as migrant projections jump 30%

    Official projections for annual migration to Britain were raised by 45,000 to 190,000 a year yesterday, threatening to undermine the new "zero tolerance" approach to crime and illegal immigration unveiled by home secretary Jacqui Smith.
    Smith on back foot as migrant projections jump 30%

  • In praise of ... coining a phrase

    Leader: There is a classic recipe for a party conference speech: something borrowed, something blue, something old and something new - and Gordon Brown used every ingredient this week.
    In praise of ... coining a phrase

  • Straw in the wind

    Leader: Jack Straw yesterday recalled the four separate occasions in which he had personally intervened to stop criminals in their tracks. Such courage is commendable. The same cannot be said of the justice secretary's suggestion that the law might be changed to strengthen the rights of have-a-go heroes.
    Straw in the wind

  • Red Flag rises above a dodgy future

    Simon Hoggart: There was a brief period during the Blair years when The Red Flag was banned altogether, but once it had been safely defused, it returned - sung yesterday by a willowy soprano, so it sounded less like a call to the barricades than Proms in the Park.
    Red Flag rises above a dodgy future