Keir Starmer and Zarah Sultana
(Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire / Leon Neal/Getty Images)FRESH strife for Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer, who was criticised on stage by his MP Zarah Sultana at a rally for her campaign Enough is Enough last night.
At a packed launch meeting at the Clapham Grand, Sultana said policies of a public sector pay rise, cuts to energy bills and taxing the rich were popular, adding: “Someone tell the leadership of the Labour Party”. Starmer has been unsure whether to let Labour MPs join strikes.
Sultana was joined by the RMT’s Mick Lynch, who said he expected to clash with Liz Truss if she becomes PM, comparing her to a “clone” from the TV series Westworld.
On Tuesday, Left-wing group Momentum started a movement backed by Labour MPs Dawn Butler and Sam Tarry with the Starmer-critical slogan: “We need a Labour leader on the side of workers”.
When Sultana took the stage to cheers and applause, she quipped: “I feel like this is stand up comedy, but there’s nothing f***ing funny about what I’m about to talk about!”
Theatres fear price hike
The capital’s theatres are bracing for high energy bills. Eleanor Lloyd, of the Society of the London Theatre, tells us the hikes are “having a serious impact”, and while most are trying to use less energy, some shows will be affected.
The Vaults in Waterloo told The Stage that some “shows just won’t get made” if they have to cut energy use. Meanwhile, The Park Theatre in Finsbury Park is wrangling with its supplier after it was quoted a bill nearly three times the usual price.
Stallone’s new film
Actor Sylvester Stallone has another action blockbuster coming out this month, one of many in his long career. In the latest, Samaritan, he plays a bin man who is also “almost like a modern-day Hercules”. But Stallone, now 76, reveals he is starting to have some reservations about the genre, estimating that he’s had “31 operations due to action films” over the years. He adds: “I wish I would get over it”.
Celebs love Stranger Things
Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore, model Amber Le Bon and stylist Kyle De’Volle had fun at a new interactive experience based on TV show Stranger Things in Brent Cross last night. The area worked its charms on Le Bon, who told us: “I’ve never been here, but if it’s all like this it’s wonderful!”
Tigerlily Taylor, daughter of Queen drummer Roger, lounged on a replica sofa from the show in one of the sets that visitors can explore.
Dr Ranj’s health warning
TV DOCTOR Ranj Singh looked dapper at a press showing of Cruise at the Apollo Theatre last night, a one-man play about gay life in the Eighties.
Dr Ranj reassured us on monkeypox. “Don’t panic,” he said. “Get your vaccines, be aware of the signs and symptoms, and protect each other as well as yourself.”
