What is Keir Starmer’s eight-point plan to reform Labour?
Leadership favourite vows to revamp disciplinary procedures and restrict the governing NEC

Labour leadership frontrunner Keir Starmer has announced that he will revamp party disciplinary procedures and press for all-ethnic minority shortlists, if he wins the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.
Unveiling an eight-point plan for reform within Labour, Starmer said the changes would make the party “open, respectful, creative and engaging”.
“We need our party to function like friends round a table, where each of us can be confident that our ideas are valued while we work together to find a way forward,” he said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He added that he wants to deliver “unity and reconciliation” within the party, words that PoliticsHome reports will be seen as “a thinly-veiled attack on Jeremy Corbyn”.
One eye-catching proposal is that Labour headquarters should stop imposing candidates on local parties. This has sometimes allowed past leaders to effectively gift safe seats to favoured candidates.
“The current system is impenetrable, with too much reliance on who people know rather than what they can do,” Starmer said. “It costs too much and takes too much time, effectively ruling out potentially excellent candidates.”
The New Statesman reports that the reform proposals are Starmer’s “most important campaign announcement yet” because he has “hinted at reducing the powers of the National Executive Committee (NEC)”.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The NEC is the governing body of the Labour Party, overseeing the overall direction of the party and the policy-making process.
In 2018, candidates backed by Momentum, the campaign group founded to support Corbyn’s leadership, won eight of nine positions to the National Executive Committee (NEC). Peter Willsman, another pro-Corbyn figures who was removed from the Momentum slate in a row over anti-Semitism, won the ninth spot.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––----------For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Starmer also said he would set up an independent body to deal with complaints about members. “Our current system does not work... and it should be replaced by an independent panel with experts on racism, sexual harassment and poor personal conduct cases,” he added.
His other six proposals for reform within the party are:
- Making candidates more representative
- Providing better access to the party for disabled members
- Promoting more innovative campaigning
- Making policy decisions more democratic
- Improving the transparency of Labour strategy
- Strengthening links between the party and trade unions
The Guardian says that although internal party reform is a “relatively niche topic”, it is important because the winner of the leadership contest is “unlikely to have any say over government policy for the next four years at least”.
But, the paper adds, “whoever wins the leadership election will, potentially, be able to do quite a lot to change Labour”.
-
August 9 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include snake oil salesmen, Ghislaine Maxwell's new residence, and more
-
5 hastily redrawn cartoons about redistricting
Cartoons Artists take on Donald Trump's draughtsmanship, the White House ballroom, and more
-
Bonnie Blue: taking clickbait to extremes
Talking Point Channel 4 claims documentary on the adult performer's attention-grabbing sex stunts is opening up a debate
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?
An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
Can Gaza aid drops work?
Today's Big Question UN's Palestinian refugee agency calls plan a 'distraction and smokescreen' as pressure mounts on Israel to agree ceasefire and fully open land crossings
-
Are we facing a summer of riots?
Today's Big Question Anti-immigrant unrest in Essex has sparked fears of a summer of disorder
-
Who stands to gain – and lose – from 16-year-old voters?
Today's Big Question Many assume Labour will benefit but move could 'backfire' if Greens, a new hard-left party or Reform continue to pick up momentum
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?
Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Mortgage reform: is Rachel Reeves betting the house on City rules shake-up?
Today's Big Question Reforms could create up to 36,000 additional mortgages next year
-
Corbynism returns: a new party on the Left
Talking Point Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's breakaway progressive party has already got off to a shaky start
-
Entente cordiale: will state visit help UK-French relations get over Brexit?
Today's Big Question The King, a keen Francophile who has a warm relationship with Emmanuel Macron, will play a key role in state visit