How the welfare bill went wrong
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North Wales Chronicle
16 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Keir's first year: Starmer under pressure after a rocky start for Labour
Labour swept back into Downing Street with more than 400 MPs on July 4 last year – clinching a majority just short of Tony Blair's landslide in 1997. A year later, polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice is calling it 'the worst start for any newly elected prime minister'. Sir Keir was accused of setting a gloomy tone at the outset, telling the public that 'things will get worse before they get better' and warning of 'tough choices' and a 'black hole' left in the finances by his predecessors. Soon after, a plan was unveiled to cut back winter fuel payments for pensioners, only for an enduring backlash to see the Government U-turn and widen eligibility months later. This and the recent climbdown over plans for welfare cuts to stave off a backbench rebellion have raised the prospect of further tax rises in the autumn budget as the Chancellor seeks to balance the books. It has also raised the prospect of rebellious MPs being emboldened to continue pushing back on future policy, putting Sir Keir's plans at risk. When it comes to whether voters like him, Sir John has argued that the Government has a 'lack of direction' and that the Prime Minister was 'never especially popular' and that 'the public still don't know what he stands for.' 'The only vision he's really presented is: 'We'll fix the problems the Conservatives left us.' But it's not clear how he wants to change the country,' he told Times Radio. Sir Keir has acknowledged the 'challenge' of 'getting our story across'. 'If I was to list to you all the things we've done, it's a big long list of things. [But] how do we tell the story of what we've done? How do we make sure it's actually felt by working people?' he said in an interview with The Times. He also said he took 'ownership' of all decisions made by his Government, and that he did not get to grips with the growing rebellion over welfare reforms earlier as he was focused on international affairs. Although that rebellion was eventually reduced from 126 MPs to just 49, it required extensive concessions and marked the biggest revolt of his premiership so far, just days before he celebrated his first year in office. He has played a balancing act on the world stage, strengthening ties with the EU while courting US President Donald Trump, who he wooed with an invitation for a second state visit to the UK when they met in the White House. The football-loving Prime Minister lists a 'hat-trick' of deals – an EU 'reset', a deal with India, and an agreement for relief from Mr Trump's tariffs which has been partially implemented – among his key achievements. He also touts his commitment to get defence spending up to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 – and the new Nato defence and security spending pledge of 5% of GDP by 2035. At home, he is battling the rise of Reform UK. A YouGov megapoll released last week said a general election now could see Reform UK taking more seats than Labour, while the latest Ipsos poll puts Nigel Farage's party at 34% with Labour behind at 25%. Sir Keir framed Reform UK as Labour's main opposition at a press conference in May, saying the Conservative Party has 'run out of road'. It came after Reform UK hoovered up council seats across England in local elections, as well as gaining a seat previously held by Labour in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. An immigration speech in which the Prime Minister said the UK could become an 'island of strangers' drew criticism and comparisons with Enoch Powell's infamous 'rivers of blood' address that was blamed for inflaming racial tensions in the 1960s. Sir Keir has since expressed regret at the phrasing. But he reportedly plans to target 'authoritarian-leaning' voters with a focus on tackling migration and crime. In recent polling by LabourList of members, 64% said they wanted the party to shift to the left, with only around 2% favouring a move to the right. The next test at the polls will be Welsh and Scottish elections in May, at which Reform UK hopes to end Labour's 26-year domination in the Senedd next year. Sir Keir again took aim at the party in a speech to the Welsh Labour conference last weekend, saying Mr Farage has 'no plan at all' for the nation. Political historian Sir Anthony Seldon has praised Sir Keir's ability to react to crises in foreign policy and during the riots last summer, but urged him to counter Reform UK by communicating 'growth' and 'optimism'. 'Show people that you're Prime Minister, show people you've got a story, show people things are getting better across the whole country with growth and then, you know, that will deal with Reform,' he told Sky News. Sir Keir has pledged to lead a 'decade of national renewal' and said that the first year of that has been 'cleaning up that mess' his Government inherited. In a signal he is seeking to put a positive spin on the future, he told business leaders last week: 'We've wiped the state clean, we've stabilised the economy, and now we can go on to the next phase of government, building on that foundation.'
Sky News
20 minutes ago
- Sky News
Israel-Gaza live: Trump says Israel has agreed to 60-day ceasefire in war against Hamas
Analysis: Why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire and not a permanent one By Mark Stone, US correspondent In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment. For the people of Gaza, for the Israeli hostages and their families - this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times. The key question - will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire? At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: "Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position - Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached. Israel is opposed to this. At this point only President Trump can break this deadlock." The source added: "Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate." The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump - which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to - may just amount to Israel's already-established position. We don't know the details and conditions attached to Israel's proposals. Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel's jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return? We just don't know the answers to any of these questions, except one. We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It's all about domestic politics. If Benjamin Netanyahu were to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Netanyahu's coalition. If Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days - which domestically he can sell as just a pause - then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer. It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Netanyahu's corruption trial to be scrapped. Without the prospect of jail, Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war, safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Doug Beattie: Ex-UUP leader was 'beaten badly' in the Army for being Irish
The former Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has said he was "beaten badly" by instructors for being Irish when he joined the Army at the age of became a soldier in 1982 and served three tours in Afghanistan with the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR). Originally from Portadown, Beattie became a UUP assembly member (MLA) in 2016 and was leader from 2021 until last year, after an internal row prompted his said bullying he endured during his early years in the armed forces had a huge impact on his life. Speaking to BBC News NI's Red Lines podcast, Beattie said he joined the military as a teenager, after his mother died and his father struggled with alcohol said he went to Somerset to do his initial Army training, where he faced discrimination because of his background."Because I was an Irishman - and I've always been an Irishman - I was beaten badly by instructors, by people I was looking up to," he said."I found myself bullied quite badly, it doesn't matter that I was a unionist or my father was a military man. "The fact I came from Northern Ireland meant I found myself being bullied and beaten quite a lot and that had an effect on my life as a young man." 'Lack' of women in high-profile roles Beattie also spoke to the podcast for the first time about how the furore over his resignation as party leader unfolded last stepped down as leader after an internal row over the selection contest to replace Robin Swann as the UUP's North Antrim MLA after he became the MP for South Antrim. Beattie said he had wanted a female candidate to replace Robin Swann, saying the party had a "lack" of women in high-profile jobs at Stormont, and that he was "prevented" from bringing in another candidate he preferred over Colin Crawford, who was selected by the party's North Antrim association to take on the role. The Upper Bann MLA said when that happened, he felt it was "clear I could no longer influence the party"."People who weren't supporting me made what I was doing really difficult to stay on... the truth was I had no choice," he added."I put in a letter of resignation, I didn't go to anyone I just went to the party chair. Then I was persuaded by the MLA group to withdraw it, I went back to withdraw and the party chair said no, they put it to party officers who said 'we're not letting you withdraw it, the letter stands'."The bottom line is I stepped down, I found my place back in the party as an MLA and that's where I'm working now."Beattie admitted the affair had left him "bruised" after three years in charge, but said he would like to run for the assembly again in the next election scheduled for May acknowledged that the UUP was a "broad church", which sometimes made the party "impossible to lead when you're trying to appease every level"."It's a fair criticism... it's never been easy to be leader of the UUP regardless of who it is," added was replaced as leader by Mike Nesbitt, Stormont's Health Minister, who also previously led the party from 2012 until 2017.
