Wednesday briefing: Starmer sets out Labor leadership pitch – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

Top story: ‘My fear is they have a majority to do pretty much as they like’

Good morning, Alison Rourke here and welcome to this Wednesday briefing as recriminations over Labor’s performance at the polls continue.

Keir Starmer says he’s seriously considering running for leader and has urged laborto return to being a “broad church”. The shadow Brexit secretary, who maintained a low profile during the campaign, says the party didn’t do enough to counter the Tories ’“ get Brexit done ”slogan, but says it can still win the next election if it sticks to its values. “It is a devastating result, but it’s important not to oversteer. The case for a bold and radical labor government is as strong now as it was last Thursday. We need to anchor ourselves in that, ”he said. Starmer agrees the party’s manifesto was “policy overload” and fears the sizeable Tory majority means they can “pretty much do as they like”. Starmer blamed factionalism for the party not dealing with antisemitism.

Last night Jeremy Corbyn faced furious MPs at a fractious meeting of the parliamentary party, saying he tookresponsibility for the resultand was “Very sorry”. He said “despite our best efforts, I believe this election was ultimately about Brexit”, and claimed the media amplified Boris Johnson’s push over Brexit. John Crace writes that the only cheers that greeted Corbyn in parliament yesterdaycame from the Tory benches. You can read Dan Sabbagh on the implosion ofthe People’s Vote movement here.

The Conservatives meanwhile have been accused ofignoring Islamophobia in their ranksafter Johnson broke his promise to hold an inquiry into the issue, instead announcing a broad-brush review of how the party handles discrimination complaints. The PM has also banned his ministers from attending the World Economic Forum in Davos next month,in what’s being seen as an effort to consolidate the party’s position among working-class voters.

Trump hits back- As the vote on whether to impeach Donald Trump approaches, the president haswritten a stinging letteraccusing Democrats of waging an “open war on democracy”. Six pagespacked with scathing criticismaccused his opponents of breaking their allegiance to the constitution and cheapening what he calls “The very ugly word, impeachment!” He accused Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, of having contracted “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and of viewing “democracy as your enemy!” His attack came as more than (American historians called for his) impeachment and removalfrom office. Zero-carbon shipping- Companies owning freighters would have to pay a small levy on every tonne of fuelthey use under proposals aimed at developing zero-carbon vessels within 17 years. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents (**************************************************************************% of the global shipping industry, is proposing a $ 2 levy on every tonne of fuel consumed by ships, raising $ ma year that would be devoted to research and development of zero-carbon vessels. The ICS said while the proposed levy was small, it was designed to make it affordable for developing countries, while still raising enough to fund the development of a new generation of carbon-zero ships in a decade or so. Poverty affects patients- The poorest people have a 29% greater risk of dying from emergency surgery than those from wealthy areas. A University College London studyhas found a “a significant association between patient poverty and the mortality rates following this commonly performed emergency procedure ”. The study suggests that someone’s housing, education, employment status and working conditions – not just their medical condition – can influence who is most likely to die. Australia swelters- As the country experiencedits hottest day on record(average maximum temperature on********************************************************* (December:) **************************************************************************** .9C), there were warnings that smoke taint and sun damage from blazes and heatwaves could affectsome of the country’s largest wine producers. The Hunter Valley – home to some of the UK’s best-selling wines – is bounded by bushfires on two sides. Smoke can permeate the skin of the grapes as they ripen, causing the wine to have an unpleasant smokey characteristic. It is worst in red wine, when the skins are used to create color. Temperatures in the mid to high s are expected in wine-producing regions in New South Wales and South. Australia this week. ‘I’m speechless’- Fallon Sherrock has made darts history,becoming the first woman to beat a manat the PDC world championship. “I’m speechless,” she said. “I feel really happy because I have proven something for women’s darts, that women can play the men and beat them.” The 25 – year-old, whose twin sister Felicia also plays darts, earned her place by winning the UK and Ireland women’s qualifying event. She beat her opponent Ted Evetts as only the fifth woman to take part in the men’s championship.

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