'Working people paid for Tory failure - we're putting more money in pockets'
This Labour government was elected on the promise of change.
Mirror readers know all too well that we've faced difficult times as a country over the last few years.
People up and down the country were failed by a Conservative government who crashed the economy and sent prices soaring. It was working people who paid the price.
But this government is working day and night to deliver on our promise of change, and on our number one mission to put more money in people's pockets.
Today we're announcing how we're protecting low-income families and pensioners by extending the Warm Homes Discount.
This will mean nearly 3 million extra households across the UK will receive £150 off their energy bills from this winter.
That means a total of over 6 million households will now be eligible for the discount.
This is just part of our wider mission to keep the cost of heating people's homes as low as possible.
But that's not all we're doing. In just the last week we extended the £3 bus fare cap, funded free school meals for over half a million more children, and we're delivering our plans for free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
Since we entered government less than a year ago, we've acted to stabilise the economy through making difficult decisions on tax and spend – and it's working.
Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn.
Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox.
And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday.
Interest rates have come down four times, mortgages are cheaper, and pensions are protected.
We have shielded working people's payslips from higher taxes, frozen fuel duty and boosted the minimum wage to give pay rises of up to £1,400 a year to millions of low-income workers.
These are the choices we are making.
Through our Plan for Change we're investing in Britain's renewal, to make you and your family better off.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
22 minutes ago
- Spectator
Starmer changes his tune on peerage rules
Sir Keir Starmer seems to be changing his mind a lot these days. Whether it is welfare cuts or the 'island of strangers' speech, a grooming gangs inquiry or winter fuel, the Prime Minister is struggling to keep consistent line on much at present. So it is perhaps no surprise then that the Labour leader has changed his tune on the rules around peerages too. In a little-noticed statement to parliament, snuck out last Thursday, Starmer provided an update on the 'roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in making nominations to the House of Lords.' He addressed the subject of the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC), saying that: Advice on propriety is separate to judgements about the suitability of candidates, which are for political parties… The Commission can decline to support a nomination on propriety grounds and will inform the relevant political party if this is the case. It is a matter for the Prime Minister to decide whether to recommend an individual to the Sovereign. In the unlikely event I, as Prime Minister, were to proceed with a nomination against HOLAC's advice on propriety I would write to the Commission and this letter would be published on The Commission may also provide advice on whether there are any presentational risks associated with a nominee. The Commission does not withhold support for a nominee due to presentational risks. Hmm. That is a somewhat different tone to the one struck by Labour in opposition. Flashback to 2020 when Labour criticised Boris Johnson's decision to overrule HOLAC and award businessman Peter Cruddas a peerage. It prompted Starmer's deputy, Angela Rayner, to declare that 'there is one rule for the Conservatives and their chums, another for the rest of the country.' Yet now that Labour is in office, it seems that Starmer is perfectly happy to overrule HOLAC if he deems it necessary… There is an intriguing sub-plot to this latest Starmer statement too. He goes on to refer to the creation of Crossbench peerages: As Prime Minister, I will continue to recommend directly for appointment a limited number of candidates to sit as Crossbench peers, based on their public service, including both distinguished public servants on retirement and individuals with a proven track record of service to the public. These nominations will continue to be vetted for propriety by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Given Starmer's aforementioned distinction between 'propriety' and 'suitability', it does raise the question of who exactly he has in mind to sit on the Crossbenches in future…
Powys County Times
44 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Nigel Farage ‘not interested in Wales', Starmer claims
Sir Keir Starmer has said Reform leader Nigel Farage 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for Port Talbot's blast furnaces. Speaking at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, the Prime Minister described the Reform UK leader as a 'wolf in Wall Street clothing'. 'When you ask him about Clacton, he thinks he's running in the 2.10 at Ascot,' Sir Keir joked. Mr Farage has said his party wants to restart Port Talbot's blast furnaces but Sir Keir said the Reform leader has 'no idea what he's talking about', when it comes to the furnaces, and has 'no plan at all'. Port Talbot's remaining blast furnaces were shut down in September, with a new electric arc furnace being built in their place. Reform is looking to end Labour's 26 years of domination at the Senedd elections in May next year. Labour performed poorly in this year's local elections in England, which saw Mr Farage's party win a swathe of council seats. Taking aim at Mr Farage, Sir Keir said the Clacton MP is 'a wolf in Wall Street clothing'. 'Reform claimed to be the party of patriotism while sucking up to Putin and abusing our armed forces online. 'They say they're the party of workers while they vote against workers' rights, intending to charge people to use the NHS and plan unfunded tax cuts for billionaires.' Sir Keir also said any deal between the Tories, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru at next year's key elections in Wales would amount to a 'backroom stitch-up'. The elections to the Senedd will use a proportional system for the first time, meaning coalitions are likely. The Prime Minister said it would risk a 'return to the chaos and division of the last decade' and risk rolling back the progress his party is starting to make. It would be 'working families left to pick up the bill', he added. 'Whether that's with Reform or with Plaid's determination to cut Wales off from the rest of the country, with no plan to put Wales back together,' he said. 'I know that these are the parties that talk a big game, but who is actually delivering?' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the next Senedd election. Farmers gathered outside the conference to protest ahead of Sir Keir's speech, with about 20 tractors parked on the promenade in the north Wales resort town by late morning. First Minister Eluned Morgan accused Nigel Farage of 'peddling fantasies' about the future of Wales. Next year's key elections in Wales will be a 'moment of reckoning', she said. 'Reform are rising and across the country, people are asking big, serious questions about what kind of future they want for Wales,' Baroness Morgan told the conference. 'It's time to stand up,' she added. 'While Nigel Farage is in Port Talbot peddling fantasies about sending people's grandchildren down coal mines and reopening blast furnaces, we're dealing with the reality that they left behind, the scars of decades of Tory neglect, the cost of industrial decline,' she said. 'We're not romanticising the past. We're cleaning it up.'
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
Wales rugby great Ken Owens just did something he said would make his grandparents prouder than playing for his nation
Wales rugby great Ken Owens just did something he said would make his grandparents prouder than playing for his nation The former Welsh hooker has ruled out standing for the Senedd in May 2026 Former Welsh rugby player Ken Owens speaking at Welsh Labour conference (Image: Matt Horwood ) Former Welsh rugby star Ken Owens has said speaking at the Welsh Labour conference would have made his grandparents prouder than his playing days. The retired star, who had been rumoured to be standing as a Senedd candidate for Labour, is not going to stand for election to the Senedd in 2026. He introduced the First Minister, Eluned Morgan as a supporter as she went on stage to speak to party members at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno. Owens, who comes from a longstanding Welsh Labour-supporting family, said he first met Eluned Morgan when he was out leafleting for her bid to the European Parliament when he was seven. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . "I've achieved a hell of a lot in my rugby career but for my grandparents, I think this would be a 'pinch-me' moment, they'd be even prouder I get to speak at Labour party conference," he said. "Most of you know me from the rugby field, a few scrums, a few scars, and more than a few hard-fought wins, and for Labour going to be going through a few battles over the next couple of years, and we're in it together. "Being captain is so much more than leading the team. It's about carrying a nation, I was lucky enough to do that a few times on the rugby field. Article continues below "A nation that sings together, that backs its own and believes in community, in graft and will never give up. that's not just rugby, that's Wales, that's Labour. "That's why I'm here. I was raised in a Labour household, with my grandparents where I first met Eluned. She wouldn't want me to say this but leafleting as a seven-year-old for her campaign to the European election. "I grew up hearing about fairness, standing up for your community because that's the right thing to do. "That what Eluned Morgan gets. She's grounded, passionate, driven, she doesn't just talk about Wales but fights for it. "I've played for great coaches, the best leaders know it's about them, it's about building belief in the team, and that's Eluned, that's what she's doing in Welsh Labour, delivering for people on the things that matter most in their lives. "As a party we are proud of what we represent," he said. He said what got his rugby teams through tough times was "trust, teamwork, knowing who you're playing for, not yourself, the cap, the dragon, the people we represent. That's what we have to represent now," he said. "Let's be honest, the opposition is fighting from the sidelines, but let's be honest, none of them are fit to lead this team," he said. In return, the First Minister - who arrived on stage to Don't Stop Me Now, by Queen, said she remembered meeting his mum and that his grandad was 'a Labour legend in Carmarthen'. Article continues below "I will never forget though – the time when I was canvassing with a lovely woman in Carmarthen and I was telling her with real pride how I couldn't stay for more than an hour's campaigning because my son, who was 12, was going to be playing rugby in the Cardiff Arms Park for his school. '"Oh,' she asked, 'is he any good at rugby?' 'Well, he's alright,' I said. 'Oh, my son plays rugby too,' 'Oh, is he any good?' I asked...'Well, he's out playing with the Lions at the moment!!' That was Ken's lovely mum."
