Why Starmer finally came out to give his full backing to his tearful chancellor
Most famously in recent history it was former 1922 committee chairman Sir Graham Brady's visit to Liz Truss in Downing Street to force her to resign after the mini-budget fallout.
But last night Keir Starmer had reached such a moment. His government was in meltdown.
A brutal 48 hours had seen him apparently lose control of his government's policy agenda after the welfare reform rebellion by Labour backbenchers.
This had been followed by him failing to guarantee his chancellor's future in PMQs as she sat behind him in tears.
The optics of the drama at PMQs fed into the picture of a government that was rapidly going into a tailspin.
With a £5bn black hole in the country's finances left by the welfare retreat, fevered speculation over a reshuffle, and no real sign of a plan to sort things out.
But the real problem was that the gilt markets – the same issue that ended the Truss government – had taken notice of what was happening and not happening and reacted accordingly.
The black hole in the finances, the lack of a vote of confidence in the chancellor and Rachel Reeves' apparently distraught personal state were all enough for the UK's credit rating to come under threat.
A spokesperson from Downing Street trying to tell journalists that the prime minister had confidence in the chancellor after the fact was simply not enough. This was doubly true when various bits of spin about it being a personal matter or a row with the Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle were offered as explanation for the tears.
As the front pages began to drop with pictures of Reeves and questions over whether Sir Keir backed her on them, the prime minister had to reassert his authority and personally give his chancellor his support.
Without that, his big speech on NHS reform today would have been a sidenote to a story about a government that was in a state of collapse.
It was always planned for him to do interviews to mark his first year in office, but the one with BBC's podcast Political Thinking with Nick Robinson gave an early opportunity to help fix the self-inflicted damage and restore order.
He has now effusively given Reeves his backing, which will not please many Labour MPs and now may make it difficult to remove her if he was so minded. However, he has at least restored some semblance of order given himself some breathing space to work out how he is going to wrestle back the political agenda from his fractious backbench MPs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
19 minutes ago
- Scotsman
The former Edinburgh councillor drafted in to see off 'near existential threat' to Tories
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Those of us who endured typing classes may remember hammering out 'Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party', but it's more familiar as a cliché when it comes to political rescue jobs. Sir Keir Starmer may be looking out for anyone who might come to his aid and restore his reputation – men, women or guide dogs – after his Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill was gutted into pointlessness to stave off a crushing Commons defeat. So many U-turns, so much political capital burnt, his Chancellor in tears, and all he has to show for it is approval ratings plunging further into the red along with his government's balance sheet, and rebel MPs, notably Alloa MP Brian Leishman, emboldened to speak in terms which under normal circumstances would warrant summary expulsion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He is not alone in having his troubles to seek and, before this week's debacle, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was tying with him on minus 34 in pollster YouGov's approval ratings. His are unlikely to have improved, but Ms Badenoch might get a lift from doing what the Opposition is supposed to do: oppose and put the government under pressure. Former Edinburgh councillor Mark McInnes, who has just been appointed chief executive of the UK Conservative party, is one of the Tories' most effective political strategists | Jane Barlow Tories on track for 46 seats There is, of course, a long, long way to go, with YouGov's poll of 11,000 voters last week to mark the Labour government's first anniversary showing the Conservatives on track for a previously unimaginable 46 seats, a loss of 75. That Sir Keir was on course to lead his party to a catastrophic collapse to 178 seats, a drop of 233, would be of no solace if Reform was able to pick up the predicted 271 constituencies to be the biggest single party in a hung parliament. But coming to the aid of the party is Mark McInnes, aka Lord McInnes of Kilwinning, widely regarded as a lot more than a good man, but one of the Conservatives' most effective political strategists in recent memory and this week appointed as the UK party's new chief executive, having had his arm twisted by influential figures like Lord Steve Gilbert with whom he worked closely after being appointed as Scottish party director in 2011 when still plain old Morningside councillor Mark McInnes. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In that role he was key to the Scottish Conservatives' change in fortunes through the referendum era, forming a tight team with leader Ruth Davidson delivering the charisma, the savvy David Mundell MP supplying the political nous, and Eddie Barnes the media and communications strategy, all underpinned by his forensic analysis and deep understanding of voting patterns and behaviours, and sharp management of the grassroots party. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch needs to find a way to fight back against the threat posed by Reform UK (Picture: House of Commons/UK Parliament) | PA Wire Better Together stalwart When Mark spoke at party conferences and conventions, delegates didn't just dip in but listened intently because they knew they would learn something. If Ruth fired the shots, Mark supplied the ammunition. Elevated to a peerage in 2016 in recognition of his work during the 2014 independence referendum campaign to sharpen Better Together's messaging after a lacklustre start, he was instrumental in delivering the huge gains in Scotland at the 2016 Holyrood and 2017 general elections, and to hold the Scottish Parliament seats in 2021, after which he went south to bolster the Downing Street team. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Wisely taking a step back after Liz Truss's election to party leader in 2022, the last time I spoke to him he was on a study trip on a Turkish archaeological site and as far out the loop of British politics as he could make himself, which wasn't far away at all and he supported Kemi Badenoch's leadership campaign. No one doubts the enormity of the challenge he faces, with one friend describing his first job being 'to see how much life there is left in the patient', but another was more pointedly critical of the current leadership, and identified the need to strip back to core values of hard work, personal responsibility and 'appeal to people for whom aspiration is not a dirty word'. Reform support expected to plateau Further, there is a need to reconnect with 'constituencies of purpose' like the business community and farmers disillusioned by Labour's tax raids, only set to increase after the welfare climbdown wiped out hoped-for savings. With Tories now polling in the teens, one analyst said it will be tough just to reach the mid-20s, but there is a belief that Reform will plateau, and arguing to turn either more to the right or left was a 'false dichotomy' when a clear appeal to all right-of-centre voters was needed. 'And anyway, how many parties has Nigel Farage been through before there's a fall-out?' one observed hopefully. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But who better to judge the new chief's chances than the person with whom he worked the closest, Ruth Davidson. "Appointing Mark McInnes is probably the smartest political move Kemi Badenoch has ever made. If there is anyone in the Conservative party that understands how to build votes against all odds, it is Mark,' she said. 'Smart, talented, hardworking and living in the real world, he's spent decades confounding the odds in Scotland where the party's last rites have been read many, many times. He knows what it means to fight for every vote and – crucially – how to win them. But appointing Mark is not enough on its own to see off the near existential threat facing the Conservatives. Ms Badenoch and her team actually have to listen to him, work to his tempo and pace and implement his ideas. Time will tell if she's prepared to do that."
Scotsman
19 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Why Labour incompetence created welfare Bill disaster – and worse is to come
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As a former Chief Whip, I often tell colleagues that the first rule of politics is to know how to count. You have to be able to add up the votes on your side of the aisle and the numbers on the opposite side – and make sure that your figures add up. That may appear to be a pretty low bar to clear but it is one that Keir Starmer's government has spectacularly failed to pass this week. Incompetence at the top of the government created utter chaos over the welfare Bill – but there may be far worse yet to come. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A Bill that set out to cut back support for people with disabilities and health challenges was always likely to meet resistance from both inside and outside of Labour. That is why it is astonishing that the government only began to realise the scale of its miscalculation towards the end of last week, when more than 100 Labour members – led by several senior, moderate MPs – signed an amendment which would have brought down the Bill entirely. Chancellor Rachel Reeves was clearly emotional as Keir Starmer was grilled about the Labour rebellion over the welfare Bill (Picture: House of Commons/UK Parliament) | PA Wire High-handed ministers In one fell swoop, the massive Labour majority in the House of Commons was gone – and all because of the high-handed, contemptuous approach taken by those at the top. For a government to be blindsided in this way is a total failure of party management. It suggests that whips are either not doing their job, or are being ignored by those above them. Above all, it smacks of a government that thinks it is a lot cleverer than it really is, and that does not believe it is accountable to the MPs who make up their majority. What is so concerning about this week's debacle is that ministers appear to be unwilling to make the case for their policies, either with the public or with their own MPs. To govern, after all, is to choose. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sometimes cuts have to be made, tough decisions taken. If the planned cuts in the welfare budget were so necessary, as the government claimed up to the last minute, why were ministers so unwilling to win the argument with their colleagues? A lack of conviction This matters, because now that the government has shown that it cannot control its own party, every difficult vote becomes that much more difficult. The rebels have had a taste of successful rebellion – why would they stop here? What we are witnessing is a government that does not have the courage of its convictions. It may, in truth, not even have convictions to begin with – and a government that has neither the ideas nor the votes has a rocky road ahead of it. All indications, however, are that this poor management is going to continue. Just hours after the government turned tail on the welfare Bill, anonymous messages were circulating from the higher-ups, threatening that the two-child limit on benefits – one of the greatest drivers of child poverty in this country – would have to be kept in place to teach a lesson to rebellious MPs. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If the government think they have the numbers to bully their MPs, they may have another thing coming. The first rule of politics is to know how to count.
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
UK's cheapest and priciest seaside towns to buy a home
By Buying a home in Dorset's exclusive Sandbanks is a dream for many downsizers looking to relocate to the coast. It's a stone's throw from a beautiful sandy beach, surrounded by luxurious yachts and is popular among celebrities. The catch? An average price tag of a cool £1.28million – which is the most expensive for a seaside town the UK, new research reveals. That's according to property portal Rightmove, which has crunched the numbers for the costliest and most affordable seaside spots in the country, based on their asking prices. Of course, buyers may well negotiate to shave tens of thousands of pounds off the listed price - or end up offering more than the asking price to secure their home in these in-demand hotspots. All of the top ten town Rightmove says are the most expensive are along the south coast – but the very top spots are not in the typical staycation destinations of Cornwall and Devon. Homes in the luxurious Sandbanks are listed for an average £1.28million– some three times the national average, Rightmove says. It's the only seaside town in the country where asking prices are more than £1million. And it's not hard to see why, with it's proximity to the beach and clear blue water. Plus, your neighbours would be former football manager Harry Redknapp and television chef Rick Stein. However, homes with the average price tag are unlikely to buy you a house as £1.25million typically only stretches as far as a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment or maisonette. Mary Lou Press, of estate agent industry body Propertymark, explains in the past decade prospective buyers have been hunting for different characteristics in their home – and picturesque areas such a seaside spots are now much more appealing, which has driven up their price tag. The pandemic sparked a major race for space in the property market as families flocked out of economic hubs such as London in favour of working from home in coastal destinations. While the trend has cooled slightly in recent years as workers return to the office, the seaside spots are clearly still in demand. Press says: 'Seaside locations are desirable for many people of all demographics, and with popularity comes heightened house prices, which can price many locals out of the housing market. 'Considering that the average house price of coastal homes has only slightly dipped, and buyer demand has increased, ongoing economic turbulence doesn't seem to have overly affected the market or dented the confidence of buyers of coastal locations.' But despite the high asking price, the price tags for homes in Sandbanks have fallen by 3 per cent year-on-year. And it's not alone. In fact, across the top 50 most expensive seaside spots, average asking prices fell by 1 per cent – and that's despite demand rising by a healthy 8 per cent. After Sandbanks, it's neighbouring area Canford Cliffs which is the second most costly coastal town. A home in the town will still set buyers back some £974,635, which typically buys a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home. The area is home to Canford Cliffs beach, which has been awarded the coveted Blue Flag status, the gold standard for beaches. Plus, it is also close to Shore Road beach and Branksome Chine beach. The area is just a 35-minute walk from Sandbanks, ideal for those who want to shave more than £300,000 from their hose purchase but still want to be close to the glamorous Sandbanks. However, Canford Cliffs has also seen a slight sip in house prices with the average price tag falling by some 9 per cent year-on-year. Taking the bronze spot is village Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire, where colourful beach huts line the shore. Homes here are listed for £728,460. Also in Hampshire, Lymington takes fourth place as property asking prices are £639,316. Classic coastal destinations in holiday hotspots Cornwall and Devon also make the top ten. Budleigh Salterton is the fifth most expensive town with a price tag of £535,761. Then it's popular second home area St. Ives (£507,139), Dartmouth (£500,006) and Sidmouth (£494,811). Rounding out the top ten is Whitstable in Kent – where asking prices average £469,586 – and Hythe, where homes are listed for £466,898. And if you want a cheaper spot? Head up north, according to Rightmove. Saltcoats – a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire in Scotland and around a 50 minute drive to Glasgow – has been crowned the most affordable seaside resort by Rightmove. Homeowners list their properties here for just £122,208 – some £256,032 lower than the average across the nation. Plus, prices have soared by some 13 per cent year on year, the highest growth on the list. But despite the low price tag, there's plenty to do in this small town with seaside classics such as bowling, a museum, cafes and a cinema to keep you busy. In the silver spot for the most affordable seaside town is Peterlee in County Durham. Properties here are listed for just £38 more, on average, than those in Saltcoats. At £122,246, asking prices have seen a 6 per cent growth in prices in the last year. Next is Ashington in Northumberland where asking prices are £135,050 and Bootle in Merseyside, with price tags of £135,208. In fact, not one town in the bottom ten is more than £160,000, making these locations good value for seaside seekers on a tight budget. Grimsby, Blackpool and Fleetwood also make the list of the most affordable seaside spots with listed prices of £142,072, £142,804 and £148,101, respectively. Birkenhead in Merseyside (£149,527), Blyth in Northumberland (£153,487) and Workington in Cumbria (£158,956) finish the top ten cheapest spots.
