Louise Ellman, who quit Labour as a result of allegations of anti-semitism, has rejoined the party.

She said she is re-joining Labour because she believes Sir Keir Starmer is making “progress” on tackling the party’s “toxic culture” that she said “allowed anti-semitism to flourish”.

Ms Ellman served as MP for Liverpool Riverside from 1997 to 2019, and resigned from the party in October 2019.

Today, she criticised a pro-Palestine motion, that conference passed, as “disgraceful” and “morally perverse”.

She said that it seeks to “demonise Israel”.

The lorry driver shortage hitting the UK is a consequence of Brexit and low wages, German chancellor Angela Merkel’s successor has said.

Olaf Scholz was asked by a British reporter, in a press conference on the morning of his election victory, about the chaos disrupting British supply chains.

The SPD leader said: “The free movement of labour is part of the European Union.”

“It might have something to do with the question of wages,” he also said.

Policy correspondent Jon Stone has the full report

Labour conference has passed a motion “acknowledging that Israel is practicing apartheid” and calls for “strong sanctions” against the country.

Labour frontbencher David Lammy has criticised his own party for failing to do enough to ensure black men run for parliament.

Mr Lammy – one of just three black men who are Labour MPs – said the party had been “slow” on the issue and needs to do “considerably more” to fix the problem.

The Conservative Party has five black male MPs.

Praising the use of all-women shortlists, the Tottenham MP said: “I do think we have to do a serious analysis about those barriers and removing those barriers … that does mean a degree of positive discrimination if you are to bring people forward.”

Pro-Palestine delegates have been accused of being “too shouty” and “too angry” during motions relating to Israel at Labour conference.

Labour members briefly debated the composite motion moved by Young Labour and seconded by Wolverhampton South West Labour Party at the conference in Brighton.

Jawad Khan, of Young Labour, said the motion would “bring us one step closer to finally ending the shameful century of British complicity and the denial of the right to self-determination, liberation and return.”

Labour MP Steve McCabe, who chairs Labour Friends of Israel, told delegates that the motion was branded “too shouty, too angry” and “completely hostile to the people of Israel”.

It comes after Labour MP Angela Eagle called for delegates at the party conference to “manage their passions”.

Chairing the debate, she said: “I’d just like to say that clearly some of the matters to be discussed in this debate today are sensitive and I know many delegates will feel very passionate … I am sure that everyone, despite their passion, will remember to manage that.”

Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds has vowed that Labour will replace Universal Credit with a better system.

It comes ahead of the government ending the temporary £20-a-week benefits uplift that was in place during the Covid pandemic, which charities and think tanks said would worsen inequality.

Mr Reynolds said: “For many people, work simply doesn’t pay enough. It won’t take them two hours to make up the £20 cut – it will take five times that.

“That’s because up to 75% of the extra money they earn is taken away from them through the taper rate, even before travel costs or childcare come into it.

“Britons on the lowest incomes effectively pay a higher marginal rate of tax than their Prime Minister because of that taper rate. It’s perverse.

“So, the next Labour government will change that and make sure people keep more of the money they earn.”