Labour policies ‘obscured' by rows over welfare and winter fuel
He said that the party have 'a series of really commendable and absolutely essential policies' and also suggested a wealth tax as a change that could 'commend' them to the general public.
The week of Sir Keir's first anniversary in Number 10 saw the Prime Minister scrap a raft of the Government's proposed welfare reforms in the face of a backbench revolt.
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock said a 'cloud hangs over the accomplishments of the Government' (Jane Barlow/PA)
Asked what has gone wrong in Government, Lord Kinnock told the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: 'What's gone wrong is really the lack of a narrative, a story of the objectives of the Government and where they're working towards it and how they're working towards it.
'They are working towards it with a series of really commendable and absolutely essential policies.
'They are barely noticed because they're obscured by all the song and dance and noise, drums banging and cymbals clashing of the winter fuel payment… the welfare programme, the two-child benefit cap, the cuts in development aid, all those negative things that really are heartily disliked across the Labour movement and more widely, much more widely.'
He said that a 'cloud hangs over the accomplishments of the Government, which are substantial and will become greater, and people are not getting the message'.
Lord Kinnock said there are things the party could do that 'would commend themselves to the great majority of the general public' and that these included 'asset taxes'.
'By going for an imposition of 2% on asset values above £10 million, say, which is a very big fortune, the Government would be in a position to collect £10 billion or £11 billion,' he said.
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said he thought a wealth tax would be 'the worst thing to do' and opposed the idea of 'piling further taxes on the wealth creators'.
He also told the same Sky News programme that it had been a 'year of utter underperformance' from Labour.
'Whether you look at illegal boats, migrants coming across the Channel, that's now at record levels, far from smashing the gangs, they're smashing all the records as to the numbers coming into our country. If you look at the chaotic U-turns that we've just had in the last few weeks,' he added.
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said it had been a 'year of utter underperformance' from Labour (James Manning/PA)
Analysis by the PA news agency found that Labour has seen a double-digit drop in support in the opinion polls since last year's general election.
According to figures collated this week, the party has averaged 24% in polls in the past month, down 10 points from 34% in the weeks following the 2024 election.
It is common for political parties to experience a slide in the polls after taking power – it has happened to every UK government bar one in the past 40 years – but a drop of this size is unusual.
The last time it was in double digits was 1992/93, when the Tory administration led by former prime minister John Major saw its poll numbers fall 12 points, from an average of 43% in the weeks after the April 1992 election to 31% a year later.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
43 minutes ago
- Times
Starmer will get it right after first getting it wrong … again
Sir Keir Starmer has just enjoyed his first prime ministerial birthday. No formal celebrations are understood to have taken place in No 10 over the weekend, though he may have been ambushed with a cake. It does happen. The consensus on his first year is that he has been uniquely skilled at making sure he suffers the maximum amount of pain for the very smallest amount of benefit. He has crossed the street to be punched in the face by blame. He and Rachel Reeves have liked to brand this relentless stampede toward loathing as being unafraid to take 'tough decisions'. Scrapping means-tested winter fuel payments, hammering the disabled; these were 'tough' decisions. And then, soon after, they were not afraid to take the even tougher decisions, of making themselves look ridiculous by not going through with them. In an interview to mark his first year, Starmer did not disagree with the verdict of a football friend who had called him 'a hard bastard'. He does himself down. To take all these tough decisions not once but twice is not merely hard but double hard. Great British Energy, renationalised rail, renters' rights and employment rights; these are all theoretically popular ideas but no one has noticed. Why? Because the government has made a spectacular show of doing and undoing again some of the most unpopular policies in decades, actions from which no one gains and only they suffer. Labour's second year began with a big bold plan to turn this frown upside down. What was Labour's most popular policy from the glory days of 1997? Sure Start centres, special community hubs for new parents that transformed life chances for children, which should never have been scrapped. And so to the dispatch box came the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to announce the plan to bring back Sure Start, under the new name of 'Best Start'. But, it not being 1997 any more, Phillipson and co had spent the weekend doing all they could to make sure no credit could come their way. Instead, what should have been the most popular policy announcement in ages was overshadowed by Labour's worst humiliation yet — the reform of funding entitlements for children with special educational needs. This stuff is toxic. In a fractured and polarised Commons, the state of special needs education is the one area of unity. Every MP spent weeks last year knocking on doors, trying to win votes and in every part of the country they heard that there's a crisis in special educational needs. While Phillipson spoke, members on both sides bobbed with enthusiasm. It was clear they were desperate to ask about anything other than the subject at hand. On Sunday, she'd been given a number of chances to assure the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that she would not be cutting the budget for special educational needs. That assurance did not come. On Monday morning on Times Radio, Stephen Morgan, the education minister responsible for early years, provided the same amount of reassurance — zero. At the moment, more than half a million children receive thousands in what are called education, health and care plans (EHCPs), at a cost of £12 billion a year. Reforms to this system are coming in the autumn, and 'reforms' rarely mean anything other than spending less money. Not for the first time in the past year, Mark Francois was the voice of reason, which tells you more than you need to know about the past year. 'The secretary of state has pointedly refused to rule out scrapping EHCPs,' he said. 'If that is her intention, could I offer her some advice: please don't do that.' Did we hear a 'Don't worry, I won't'? No we did not. Francois got the Kuenssberg treatment. What we heard was the following: 'We are taking our time to get this right.' If these words are frightening parents, they needn't worry. We know how it goes. 'Taking our time to get it right,' means one thing. Starmer and co have alighted on a third way all of their own. They'll get it right in the end, but only by first getting it wrong. As the sign on President Reagan's desk never quite read, there is no limit to what a man can do, as long as he makes sure he never, ever gets the credit.
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
Public inquiry begins into ‘horrific' Southport murders
Chairman Sir Adrian Fulford, a former vice-president of the Court of Appeal, will begin proceedings with an opening statement at Liverpool Town Hall. And on Wednesday, the inquiry will hear evidence from four families whose children were injured in the attack. A key question for the inquiry is whether the attack could or should have been prevented, given what was known about the killer. Axel Rudakubana was given a life sentence in January, with a minimum term of 52 years – one of the highest minimum terms on record – for murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29 last year. The 18-year-old also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. Sir Adrian said: 'Today, just less than a year since one of the most horrific crimes in our country's history took place in Southport, we open the independent inquiry into the events surrounding the attack and events leading up to it. 'Tomorrow I will then begin to hear from some of the families whose children were injured on that terrible day. 'We will hold two days of hearings this week and then resume hearings on September 8 at Liverpool Town Hall when I will hear from more of the victims, survivors and their families. 'My focus throughout this inquiry will be a thorough and forensic investigation of all the circumstances surrounding the attack and the events leading up to it. 'This will include the perpetrator's history and interactions with all the relevant agencies, how they shared information and responded to the risks that he posed. I will then move into a second phase next year where I will consider the wider issues of children and young people being drawn into extreme violence. 'As chair of this inquiry, I am committed to proceeding at pace and with rigour whilst balancing the needs of those who live with the continued trauma of what happened in Southport in July 2024.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the public inquiry in January to help understand what went wrong and prevent any repetition of similar incidents. Three separate referrals were made to the Government's counter-terror programme Prevent about Rudakubana's behaviour in the years before the attack, as well as six separate calls to police. A review into the Prevent referrals published in February found there was sufficient risk posed by Rudakubana to keep his cases within Prevent active but that these were closed prematurely while too much focus was placed on a lack of distinct ideology. The inquiry will draw on evidence from interviews with witnesses and disclosure from 15 organisations, including MI5, Counter-Terrorism Policing, NHS England and Merseyside Police. The widespread rioting and civil unrest following the murders is not being examined by the inquiry. Rachael Wong, director at law firm Bond Turner, representing the three bereaved families, said: 'We know that nothing the inquiry reveals or subsequently recommends will change the unimaginable loss felt by the families of Elsie, Alice and Bebe, but we all now have a responsibility to ensure that something like this never happens again. 'We will be doing all we can to assist the chair through the inquiry and uncover the truth. 'It is only through intense public scrutiny that real change can be effected.' The inquiry begins at 2pm.
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
Long-running road and rail projects to go ahead after year-long pause
The decision will see major road and rail projects outside London and the South East go ahead, backed by £92 billion from last month's spending review. Most have been in the works for several years, and many have already received planning permission. But their future was thrown into doubt last year when Labour announced a review of transport infrastructure projects, saying the previous Conservative government had promised to deliver some without putting enough money forward. In a statement to Parliament, then-transport secretary Louise Haigh accused the Tories of leaving a £2.9 billion gap between what it had announced and what it had funded. Almost a year after launching its internal review, the Government has now decided to press on with five major road schemes, five rail projects and 28 smaller road schemes, saying they will cut journey times, ease congestion, create jobs and support new housing. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'Transport is the backbone of our economy, which is why we are giving them the record funding boost they need, putting taxpayers' money where it matters most and making everyday journeys easier. 'With over £92 billion investment, including the biggest ever boost for city regions in the North and Midlands, we're delivering the schemes that fast-track economic growth and jobs, connect communities, and will help us build 1.5 million new homes, as we deliver our plan for change.' Preparatory work for some of the projects has continued despite the pause, but Tuesday's announcement means they can now proceed in full. For some projects, supporters will hope the backing marks the final stage of a long-running process. One, a widening of the A66 Trans-Pennine route, was first proposed in 2016, while the reopening of the railway between Portishead and Bristol has been the subject of a 25-year campaign. The A66 upgrade was given planning permission in March 2024, but was delayed by an ultimately unsuccessful legal challenge and put on hold by the new Government's review. Construction is now expected to start this winter. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak, whose constituency is served by the A66, welcomed the announcement, saying it would improve 'journey reliability' given the existing road's 'poor safety record'. The Portishead line, reopening a railway that was closed in the 1960s, was also thrown into question by the review, but then West of England mayor Dan Norris announced funding had been secured in February this year. On Tuesday, the Government announced it would invest another £27 million in the project, which it said would 'connect an additional 50,000 people' and support 'a significant new housing development'. Other major road schemes confirmed on Tuesday include the M54-M6 link, the M60 Simister Island junction near Manchester, the A38 Derby junctions and improvements to the A46 Newark bypass. Both the Simister Island and Newark bypass projects are yet to receive planning permission. The Government has also confirmed its commitment to build new stations at Wellington and Cullompton in the South West and Haxby in Yorkshire, which had all been part of the Conservatives' Restoring Your Railway project that was scrapped when Labour came to power. Funding for the stations, along with the Midlands Rail Hub plan to add 300 trains a day to the West Midlands network, was previously announced at last month's spending review. Other, smaller, schemes include improvements to the Middlewich Eastern Bypass, in Cheshire, and the A382 between Drumbridges and Newton Abbot, in Devon. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the investments were 'long overdue' and would 'transform local communities and improve living standards across the country'. But the Conservatives accused the Government of using the announcement as a 'distraction tactic'. Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said: 'Labour are re-announcing projects that are already under way in order to distract from their failing economic strategy of high tax and high borrowing. They just don't have a plan. 'Rachel Reeves's catastrophic economic mismanagement and Keir Starmer's total inability to control his own party has led to a string of unfunded U-turns, meaning that more tax rises are coming.'
