Latest news with #BethRigby
Sky News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Starmer defends suspending rebel MPs after backbench criticism
Sir Keir Starmer has defended suspending four of his own MPs, saying those who "repeatedly break the whip" have to be dealt with. In his first comments on the decision to purge a handful of backbenchers, the prime minister said all Labour MPs were elected on a "manifesto for change" and that needs to be delivered "as a Labour government". Asked by Sky's political editor Beth Rigby if the suspensions make him look weak, Sir Keir said: "I'm determined that we will change this country for the better for millions of working people. "I'm not going to be deflected from that and therefore we have to deal with people who repeatedly break the whip, because everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto of change and everybody needs to deliver as a Labour government." The casualties of the crackdown were Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Rachael Maskell, who are no longer part of Labour's parliamentary party and will sit as independent MPs pending a review. The move has been criticised by several of their colleagues who say the party leadership should listen to backbench concerns rather than punish them for speaking out. The four MPs had voted against the government's welfare cuts earlier this month. However, it is understood this isn't the only reason for their suspension with party sources citing "repeated breaches of party discipline". More than 100 Labour MPs had initially spoken out against the plan to cut personal independent payments (PIP), though only 47 voted against the bill's third reading after it was watered down significantly in the face of defeat. Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair faced a similar-sized revolt when he tried to push through welfare reforms in 1997, but he did not suspend those who voted against him. Sir Keir was speaking in a Q&A following a press conference alongside the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He said he is determined to carry out his reforms "because we inherited a broken economy and broken public services" and "no government has inherited both of those". However, he is facing a fiscal blackhole as the original welfare plan had aimed to save £5bn before it was softened. It also remains unclear how the government will fund extending the winter fuel allowance, which was another concession to angry backbenchers following the controversial decision to scrap universal payments. On Wednesday night a chorus of MPs who have been critical of the government hit out at the decision to suspend four of their colleagues. Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby who was temporarily suspended last year for revolting over the two-child benefit cap, said: "These decisions don't show strength. They are damaging Labour's support and risk rolling out the red carpet for Reform." Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, said a key role of backbenchers is to challenge policies that "make a Reform government much more likely" and the prime minister should be "listening to those voices, not punishing them".
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Starmer hits back at ‘rattled' accusation over Labour MP suspensions
Sir Keir Starmer rejected comparisons to Sir Tony Blair when grilled over the suspension of Labour MPs due to their opposition of welfare cuts. Sky News' Beth Rigby recalled how 47 MPs voted against the former Labour prime minister's welfare plans in 1997, but none had the whip removed. It comes after the party suspended Brian Leishman, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchcliff, and Rachael Maskell on Wednesday after they led a backbench rebellion over planned welfare cuts. When asked why he was "so rattled" by the rebellion, the PM replied: "I'm determined that we will change this country for the better for millions of working people, and I'm not going to be deflected from that. "Everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto of change, and everybody needs to deliver as a Labour government."
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Awkward moment Eluned Morgan was asked to rate Keir Starmer
Wales' First Minister was asked to rank the performance of the UK Government. She was being interviewed by Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby as part of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast. In a videoed clip, the journalist asked her to score the UK Labour government's performance in its first year out of ten. The news channel had asked a Welsh focus group to rank the performance of Keir Starmer's administration out of ten. Before Beth Rigby told her the answer, she asked the First Minister what she would rank them, but she declined to answer. "Oh My God. That's a big question isn't it. It's tough. Oh My God. It's a difficult question and I'm not going to answer it because I'll get into all sorts of trouble if I do that," she said. READ MORE: First-ever tax on visitors to Wales officially set to become law READ MORE: New poll shows Reform UK's chances of winning Welsh election, and it's not good news for Labour She went on to say that Wales has benefitted from having a UK Labour Government. "That's really good news, I think there's lots of areas for them to improve on. We can all improve on what we do," she said. When she declined to score, she was asked what Welsh voters had scored the administration. The answer was 5.5. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here "I think they think there's a lot of room for improvement, particularly on welfare reform and winter fuel. I am utterly relieved that they have changed their minds on those two things," said Eluned Morgan. She admitted she was "absolutely cringing" at being asked the questions in the podcast. Labour is trailing in the polls ahead of the Senedd election in May 2026. Three consecutive polls have now shown Labour would come behind Reform UK and Plaid Cymru next year. Polling for Sky News released this week showed a better figure for Labour - at 23% - but still way behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. The poll, by More in Common for Sky News is the second to project Reform would be the biggest party in the Senedd. In terms of Senedd voting intention, the poll shows Reform in the lead with 28% of the vote, followed closely by Plaid Cymru, on 26%. Labour is third with 23%. The Conservatives would go from being the official opposition in the Senedd to having 10% of the vote. The polling, of 883 people carried out between June 18 and July 3, shows less than half (48%) of Labour's 2024 voters would back the party in a Senedd election if it were held today. Their largest losses for Labour are to Plaid Cymru (15%), followed by Reform(11%). However, a significant proportion of Labour's 2024 voters (13%) are undecided about how they would vote in a Senedd election. A YouGov/ITV Cymru Wales poll in May put Labour in third and Plaid top. A different poll, by Find Out Now, put Reform UK top.
Sky News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
What will Keir Starmer learn from the Labour welfare chaos?
👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 It sounds like concessions are coming for the over 100 Labour MPs who had threatened to rebel over the government's planned welfare cuts. On this episode, Beth Rigby, Ruth Davidson, and Harriet Harman went over the possible options for the Prime Minister. They also talk about what Keir Starmer needs to learn from the chaos of the past few days. Plus, is President Trump the "daddy" in his handling of the Israel-Iran conflict, as NATO head Mark Rutte may have suggested?
Sky News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Government makes concessions to Labour rebels over welfare reforms
The government has made an offer to rebel Labour MPs over its controversial welfare reforms, Sky News understands. More than 120 Labour MPs were poised to vote against the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bill on Tuesday. The changes come after a ring-around by cabinet ministers failed to bring rebels on side. The bill was intended to restrict eligibility for the PIP - the main disability payment in England- and limit the sickness-related element of universal credit, to help shave £5bn off the welfare budget by 2030. Sky News political editor Beth Rigby has been told that existing PIP claimants will be able to keep their payments, which means 370,000 people will not lose out. This will cost the government at least £1.5bn, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Sky News understands that a senior source has accepted the change, but it will be up to each individual rebel to make a decision on whether to withdraw. The source said they think the changes are a "good package" with "generous concessions". A reasoned amendment signed by 126 Labour MPs argued that disabled people had not been properly consulted and further scrutiny of the changes is needed. If passed, this would have killed the bill. Other concessions offered by the government include allowing existing claimants to keep the health element of Universal Credit. Sky News understands that some senior rebels are willing to accept the concessions - with one saying that "the concessions will be positively received, and I expect to vote with the government now". Other MPs who had not wanted to rebel were also expecting to change their votes. However, several Labour MPs on the left of the party have gone public to say they will still oppose the government, including Diane Abbott, Richard Burgon, Nadia Whittome and Brian Leishman. Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the change would mark a "screeching U-turn" - and claimed the changes mark "another unfunded spending commitment". What is PIP? The biggest shakeup to the system involved changes to PIP - money given to people, including some of whom are in work - who have extra care needs or mobility needs as a result of a disability. People who claim it are awarded points depending on their ability to do certain activities, such as washing and preparing food, and this influences how much they will receive. From November 2026, people would have needed to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of PIP - instead of fewer points spread across a range of tasks. This would have impacted existing claimants as well as new ones. The government's concessions are understood to see this change dropped for existing claimants. The government intended to freeze the health element of universal credit, claimed by more than two million people, at £97 a week during this parliament, and cut the rate to £50 for new claimants. Again, it's understood the government's concessions mean this change now won't apply to existing claimants.
