Latest news with #LordHayward
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Fury at 'unacceptable' waste as Parliament brings in new £150k-a-year 'commercial' boss after Lords shambles over £10m gates that don't work
Fresh fury has been aimed at Parliament's 'unacceptable and unnecessary' spending following the hiring of a new top boss on a bumper salary. The role of 'chief commercial officer' - based at the Palace of Westminster - has been advertised with a salary of around £150,000. But it has been claimed the total cost of the hire will be nearer £1million over the next four years, at a time when other budgets are being squeezed. This is once pension contributions and other costs, such as a headhunting fee, are factored in. Lord Hayward, the Tory peer, also used a letter to Parliament's management to hit out at 'obfuscation' as to whether it is an 'additional role'. The appointment comes amid plans to establish a joint commercial department between the House of Commons and House of Lords. 'In the private sector merging departments normally results in a reduction of staff but it would appear not in Parliamentary management terms,' Lord Hayward wrote. The former MP also highlighted other examples of eye-watering spending, including £9.6million on a new front door that doesn't open properly. Fresh fury has been aimed at Parliament's 'unacceptable and unnecessary' spending following the hiring of a new top boss on a bumper salary. Lord Hayward added: 'At a time when all aspects of government and individuals are having to cut expenditure severely... management of the parliamentary estate seem willing to spend money on costs which any ordinary person would find unacceptable and unnecessary.' There is a new front door at the main entrance to the House of Lords, known as the Peers' Entrance, following the approval of an upgrade in March 2022. It has since sparked anger after its £9.6million cost was revealed - a nearly 60 per cent increase from the original estimate of £6.1 million. Peers said earlier this month it is still not fully accessible for disabled peers and requires a permanent member of staff on site 'to press the button to open the door'. In his letter, Lord Hayward said the 'ongoing cost of security at Peers' Entrance appears to be... more than £2,500 per week'. 'Why is the taxpayer even covering for this?,' he added. Lord Hayward also criticised the ongoing cost of employing 'traffic marshals' on the parliamentary estate, when he claimed there were 'much cheaper alternatives'. 'The most public example of this ongoing cost which management appears willing to accept is the marshal at carriage gates,' he wrote. 'They have no role. The police and security control the vehicles and public going in and out of the estate. 'This individual position doing nothing costs at minimum £66,000 per annum. 'Can I please ask when parliamentary management is intending to acknowledge that it is spending unwarranted sums while individuals, the nation and government are short of money?' A House of Lords spokesperson said: 'Providing services that are value for public money is a key priority for the House of Lords Administration, as is ensuring effective systems of governance and financial management are in place to support this. 'Our approach is subject to rigorous oversight by the House Finance and Audit and Risk Assurance Committees and is set out transparently in our annual report and accounts.'
The Independent
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
U-turns on controversial policies won't win back lost voters, Starmer warned
Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that announcing U-turns on controversial policies may not be enough to turn around his dwindling approval ratings or win back lost voters. Polling experts say last week's climbdown on winter fuel payment cuts — as well as a potential reversal on the Tories' two-child benefit cap — run the risk of making him look 'insecure' and could trigger yet more talk of a leadership challenge. The warning comes as the prime minister scrambles to win over voters who have turned their back on Labour since the party's historic general election victory ten months ago. The PM is also facing a rebellion from his own MPs over controversial welfare cuts and a growing unease over the direction of the party. Polling guru Sir John Curtice warned that any policy reversals — even if deemed popular by MPs and the public — may not be enough to assuage concerns over his leadership, adding that 'doubts have crept in' for Labour MPs over whether Sir Keir is the right person to lead the party to victory in 2029. Referring to the recent U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts, he told The Independent: 'These things stick in the memory — so you can change the policy now and you can probably reduce the damage, but it's difficult to erase some people's memory.' Fellow pollster Lord Hayward, a Tory peer, also warned that too many U-turns could paint a picture of insecurity for the prime minister. 'The big risk is that any government that reverses a headline policy — which clearly they have done on winter fuel allowance — immediately does two things. 'One, it leaves itself open for more bids for the reversals of policy, and secondly, it is a display of insecurity which automatically gives rise to talk about the replacement of a leader.' He added of Sir Keir: 'In relation to putting him back in a strong position, he has to be consistent. You can afford to reverse the odd policy, but you can't afford to reverse lots of them. So he has to be clear about where he goes from here.' On Wednesday, the prime minister announced plans to row back on last year's controversial decision to means test the winter fuel payment, telling the Commons he would look at increasing the thresholds at which people start to receive the benefit. Sir Keir is also now reportedly considering scrapping the two-child benefit cap — a policy that restricts parents from claiming certain benefits for more than two of their children — because it is 'the right thing to do'. Critics of the policy say removing the cap would be the most effective way of reducing child poverty across the UK amid warnings that as many as 100 children are pulled into poverty every day by the limit. Labour backbenchers have also been urging ministers to axe the cap over recent months as disquiet grows against Sir Keir's wider welfare reforms, with more than 150 MPs now preparing to vote against them. However, Sir John pointed out that the decision is a complex one for Sir Keir because the two-child benefit cap is relatively popular among voters, adding that reversing it is 'not what you would choose to do if you were really focused on why you were behind in the opinion polls." It would also be seen as a significant backtrack for the prime minister, after he last year stripped seven MPs of the Labour whip for rebelling against the government over an SNP-led motion to scrap the cap. The reported change in approach was revealed as it emerged that Nigel Farage is preparing to outflank Sir Keir on benefits by committing to scrapping the cap and fully reinstating the winter fuel payment – piling pressure on the prime minister to do the same. The PM has been attempting to tackle the threat posed by Reform UK after they won a massive 677 council seats at the local elections and overturned the Labour-held Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary seat. Sir Keir's party lost two-thirds of the council seats they won in 2021 and are continuing to lag behind Reform in the polls. Asked on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg about whether the cap would be abolished, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner refused to be drawn on the reports. "I'm not going to speculate on what our government is going to do,' she said. Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister was forced to deny having ambitions to become the leader of the Labour Party, amid growing rumours that she is seeking to challenge Sir Keir. Quizzed about a potential leadership challenge, Ms Rayner categorically ruled out wanting to hold the position at any point in the future, saying she would 'never' consider putting herself forward as prime minister. The Independent revealed that a large number of MPs from the so-called 'soft left' of the party are organising to try to force a change of direction, with allies of Ms Rayner urging her to organise a leadership contest. But Ms Rayner told Sky News: 'I don't want to be leader of the Labour Party.' Sir John warned that the questions over Sir Keir's leadership reflects the 'nervousness that has now got into the Labour party about Starmer and the character of his government, and certainly the party's standing in the polls'. "The authority of prime ministers rest very heavily on their being thought to be a winner for their party,' he said. 'The problem that Starmer now has is that doubts have crept in to [Labour MPs'] minds as to whether or is going to be a winner in 2029.' Lord Hayward said the questions over a possible leadership challenge from Ms Rayner are a 'real reflection of the difficulties that Labour are in at this point.' It comes after a leaked memo, thought to be part of a briefing campaign against the deputy prime minister from rivals within the government, revealed that Ms Rayner backed plans to force middle-class families to lose their child benefit in a bid to avoid welfare cuts for the disabled and a squeeze on public spending. Meanwhile, Ms Rayner piled further pressure on the prime minister over his plan to water down the winter fuel cut, saying details could be revealed within weeks. Downing Street last week insisted that the first opportunity to unveil the changes would be at October's budget, raising questions over whether that would allow enough time to have the changes in force for next winter. Indicating a shift in position, Ms Rayner said on Sunday: 'Well, I think that the we've got the upcoming Spending Review, and I'm sure that the chancellor will set it out when we've got the opportunity. At the first opportunity, she will set out what we'll be able to do.'
