A Labour minister and decorated former Royal Marine commando appears to have launched an outside bid to join the chaotic Labour leadership fight. Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who served five tours in Afghanistan and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry, outlined his views on the problems facing the party in an almost 1,000-word essay in the party's 'bible'.
He wrote in the New Statesman that working class voters felt the party 'stopped understanding their lives, and so they looked elsewhere', in last week's local elections, including backing Reform UK. He said they would continue doing so without changes, adding: 'What is the point of Labour if it does not represent Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent, Barnsley, Swansea and Aberdeen? What is the point of the Labour Party if it cannot replace despair and frustration with hope, stability and purpose? The party was founded to give ordinary working people security, dignity and bargaining power over their lives. That is exactly what I believe, and it must be our mission again.'
Mr Carns has been touted as a potential future party leader by commentators, but the real scale of his support within Labour is unclear. The MP for Birmingham Selly Oak rose to be a colonel in the Royal Marines in a military career spanning 24 years before entering politics. He went on to say that voters 'do not expect perfection. But they do expect seriousness' with factions vying to remove Sir Keir from power and replace him with a more popular leader.
He also touched on his upbringing in Scotland, writing that he was raised by his single mum in a working class household in Aberdeen. 'She worked hard – running a home and caring for her kids. I know what security means to my mum and I know what pressure does to families when money is tight and when the future feels uncertain,' he wrote. 'I saw it first hand. I've also seen what happens to communities like mine in Birmingham when work, opportunities and purpose disappear and never return. When high streets are empty and people feel like Britain is broken.'
He also lashed out at Nigel Farage, accusing the Reform leader of offering people 'quick fixes – a magic wand for all your problems, a potion for your ailments'. But he warned that as people felt more and more insecure, emotionally and financially, his act 'captures the imagination of people who feel like politics hasn't worked for them'. 'They're not lazy, and they're not failing. They're not asking the government for handouts or luxury,' he wrote. 'But they're permanently on the edge of a crisis. That is where too many working people in the UK are now, and they are looking to politicians to offer a solution.'
Mr Carns has previously shown he is not afraid to speak his mind, even in a government position. Last year he branded Donald Trump's claim that America's allies stayed away from the front lines in Afghanistan 'ridiculous' and said UK troops 'shed blood, sweat and tears' alongside US comrades. Mr Trump made his comments in an interview with Fox News in which he reiterated his suggestion that Nato would not support America if asked. He said: 'We've never needed them. They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.' His remarks drew condemnation from across the political spectrum, with critics pointing to the 457 British deaths in Afghanistan and highlighting Mr Trump's avoidance of military service in Vietnam.
