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Spectator
2 days ago
- Business
- Spectator
Why Keir Starmer is worried about Wales
Keir Starmer's address to the Welsh Labour conference this morning was exactly the kind of speech we expected. With eleven months to go until a difficult set of devolved elections, the Prime Minister fell back on the greatest hits to play to the party faithful. Labour is the party with the 'interests of working people at their heart' and 'it always will be', Starmer said. The Senedd elections next May risk producing a 'backroom stitch-up between the Tories, Reform and Plaid' with 'working families left to pick up the bill.' He reeled off various achievements: the minimum wage increase, workers' rights, the carer's allowance and, most significantly, a 'record uplift to Welsh funding.' The audience received it appreciatively enough. But this was a difficult speech for Starmer to make for three reasons. The first was the immediate circumstances of No. 10's benefits U-turn. The PM addressed this head on in his speech, insisting that welfare reform was a 'moral imperative' but had to be done 'in a Labour way'. The second are the continued tensions between Starmer and Eluned Morgan, the Welsh First Minister. Amid clashes over benefits and winter fuel, she has demanded greater powers, insisting that she will 'not stay silent' about decisions 'we think will harm Welsh communities.' The difference in their approach to politics can best be seen in slogans. This year's conference focuses on Morgan's 'Red Welsh Way', versus last year's line 'Delivering for Wales.' Yet the third reason was the most important of all. Labour is currently on course to lose Cardiff Bay next year for the first time in 27 years. The last two polls both gave the party just 18 per cent, which would produce a poor third place behind both Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. Morgan told her conference that the Senedd election will be a 'moment of reckoning'. But for Welsh Labour, it risks being a reckoning with their own record in government. She tried to attack Reform UK for their plans for the devolved health system, claiming that Nigel Farage's party would 'dismantle' the Welsh NHS and 'rip it up' for a 'privatised, profit-driven' system. Yet with Wales suffering the worst UK health outcomes, such attacks now resonate less than they might once have done. The net effect is a fraught relationship between the two strands of the Welsh Labour party: MPs at Westminster and MSs at Cardiff Bay. 'Idiots', 'mollycoddled', 'smug', 'nutty and 'naive' were all words used by the former to describe the latter in a recent Politico briefing that circulated on Labour WhatsApp groups. Facing threats from both left and right, the party seems unable to decide on the best way of concurrently shoring up both flanks. For now, Starmer appears to have settled on talking up the chances of a coalition of chaos. But given his own government's struggles, talk of continuity and stability may no longer prove so persuasive on doorsteps out in Wales.
ITV News
22-05-2025
- Business
- ITV News
Eluned Morgan to ask Keir Starmer to 'start coughing up' to make up for Wales shortchanges
First Minister Eluned Morgan says she will ask Prime Minister Keir Starmer to 'start coughing up' to make up for areas where Wales has been shortchanged when the two leaders meet on Friday. Baroness Morgan is in London ahead of a meeting of the Council of the Nations and Regions being hosted by Sir Keir. It will be the first time she has formally met her fellow Labour leader since setting out a list of concerns in her 'Red Welsh Way' speech earlier this month. In that speech, she said she would 'call out' what she thought were mistakes by the Labour UK Government, saying: 'When Westminster makes decisions that we think will harm the Welsh communities, we will not stay silent." She had also called for her UK colleagues to reconsider cuts to winter fuel payments for pensioners. On Wednesday this week, the PM announced a U-turn which will see more pensioners become eligible for the payment. The FM's speech came on the same day as the latest Barn Cymru poll for ITV Cymru Wales which suggested that Labour could fall to third place at next year's Senedd election. The poll showed Labour gaining 18% share of the vote, with Plaid Cymru coming first and winning 30% while Reform UK would come second with 25%. All that will be in the background when Eluned Morgan and Keir Starmer meet on Friday, 23 May. In an interview ahead of that meeting, she told ITV: 'I'll obviously be taking that opportunity to really push the case for those things that I outlined in my Red Welsh Way speech, making sure that we get a fairer deal on things like the railways and coal tips and other issues that are absolutely top of my agenda, where we think we've been hard done by in the past and we want them to make up for it." When asked if that would make the meeting a difficult one, she said: 'Let's see how it goes. But the spending review is coming up. "That's the opportunity for them to make a difference. I'll be pushing that case. I know lots of people pushing the case at the moment, but my job is to stand up for Wales and that's what I'm doing.' She repeated her claim that Wales has been shortchanged under 14 years of Conservative-led UK Government but added that now it falls to her party in power to change things. 'They've had a bit of time to bed in now, so we want some action and that's what I'll be pushing for. They've had a year, more or less. Now's the time for them to start coughing up for us.' The FM met Welsh Labour MPs at a dinner in Soho on Wednesday, with some signs of tension between them. We understand that some MPs had been upset by her Red Welsh Way speech and wanted to reassure her that they were doing their part. The meeting was described as a "bit fraught", although another source insisted that though differences were aired, the night ended with hugs and kisses. Eluned Morgan insisted that it was a happy get-together, saying: 'I spoke to lots last night and they understand and they reassured me that they're making the case as well.' But with a year to go to a difficult election, is now the time to ruffle feathers? 'Look, we were fine last night," she said. "I spoke to lots of MPs last night. They understand that we're under pressure. They understand that there is a need for the UK Labour government to deliver for Wales as well.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
£2.1bn north Wales rail overhaul plans unveiled
A £2.1bn plan to overhaul north Wales' railway network has been unveiled by Welsh Transport Secretary Ken Skates, but with no funding commitment from the UK government so far. The proposals include more services, the introduction of pay-as-you-go "tap in tap out" technology, electrification of lines and a Metro-style service linking Wrexham and Liverpool. Promising the plans would mean "better stations and more trains", Welsh ministers have committed an initial £13m, with substantial UK government cash needed to realise the proposals. The UK government has been asked to comment. Welsh railways underfunded, UK government admits Level crossings close so more trains can run The plans for an "integrated, high-frequency public transport network" were announced at a "Public Transport Summit", in Wrexham. Speaking at the event, Skates said: "Working together, we'll deliver our ambitious plans that take us to 2035 and beyond." The Welsh government is working with partnerships across "governments and borders across the north", he said, to "turn dreams into a reality". The plans include work on the Wrexham to Liverpool line as the first phase of introducing direct Metro services between the two cities. There are also proposals to double services between Wrexham and Chester by next May. As well as a 50% increase in north Wales mainline services, the proposals include the introduction of a new Llandudno to Liverpool route and extending the Manchester Airport service to Holyhead. Previous rail plans and funding promises for north Wales have been marked by plenty of stops and starts by both Welsh and UK governments. In 2023, former prime minister Rishi Sunak promised electrification for the north Wales mainline at a cost of around £1bn, a commitment that never came to fruition. Currently it is not clear if previous requests for rail funding will be granted by the UK government. Eluned Morgan has said the UK government is talking to Cardiff ministers about "significant investment" on a "long list of projects", which would "probably be in the shape of new stations". In a letter in January UK government Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander appeared to endorse a range of schemes in north and south Wales, including £335m worth of new stations between Cardiff and Magor. More recently, with Labour governments now at both ends of the line in Cardiff and London, there is still no promised funding from HS2 consequentials, with rail investment central to Morgan's lobbying of the UK governments through her Red Welsh Way approach. "Funding is the key issue," said Professor of Transport Stuart Cole. "£2.1bn is a reasonable figure, £1bn for the north Wales line and £1bn for the rest. Is it a political attempt to get more money? To get more votes? "There's an election coming in a year's time, and I have no doubt the Labour government in Cardiff would want to show they are getting strong support from London." The Welsh government says that the programme will be "similar in scale and ambition" to that of the South Wales Metro. "With the core valley lines the vast majority of money, some £750m of the £1.1bn to electrify the valley lines, came from the Welsh government and some £125m from the UK government," Prof Cole added. "The vision is great. But the funding is a difficulty. Where is the £2.1bn coming from?" "I'm sure Ken Skates is hoping to get more out of the UK government but there has to be something written down which says you're going to get it. HM Treasury in London has never been a giver of money to railways in Wales." Responding to that concern, Skates told BBC Wales "we must await the CSR", referring to next month's spending review in which UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will outline her plans for the years ahead. "I'm very, very confident that Wales will do well from the Comprehensive Spending Review," he said. "But, first and foremost, you have to put the business case together to get the money and that's what we've been doing. The Welsh government had been working "incredibly closely with the UK government and colleagues", he said, to make sure key projects contained in the plans were "agreed as priorities" with the UK Department for Transport. This North Wales Network is a plan aimed at improving connectivity between North Wales and the "Northern Arc", an economic corridor in the north of England with focus on connecting cities and regions within England. Over the border similar ambitions have been expressed by Manchester Labour Mayor Andy Burnham. Following Labour's poor performance, and Reform UK's gain in the local elections in England, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram have renewed calls for UK government ministers to support a Liverpool to Manchester railway line. Burnham said the line was promised a decade ago and that it was no surprise many voters in the north of England "feel so alienated from the system".
ITV News
21-05-2025
- Business
- ITV News
FM 'delighted' over PM's U-turn on cuts to winter fuel payments
The prime minister's official spokesman said Starmer wanted the changes to be introduced 'as quickly as possible', as ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen explains The First Minister has said she is 'delighted' after the Prime Minister confirmed the UK Government is rethinking the controversial cuts to winter fuel payments for pensioners. The Prime Minister said that 'as the economy improves' he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300. But officials were unable to say how many more pensioners would be eligible or if the policy would be altered in time for this winter. In response, Eluned Morgan said: "I'm delighted the Prime Minister has listened to the concerns I expressed to him and will rethink the eligibility for winter fuel payments."This is in keeping with the values of our Red Welsh Way. "The cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment caused real concern to people across Wales. "We are yet to hear the details of the announcement, but I'm hopeful that significantly more people will now benefit from the payment." The decision to means-test the previously universal payment was one of the first announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after Labour's landslide election victory last year and has been widely blamed for the party's collapse in support. The Government insisted the policy was necessary to help stabilise the public finances, allowing the improvements in the economic picture which Sir Keir said could result in the partial reversal of the measure. He said he understood the financial pressures on pensioners as he made the announcement at Prime Minister's Questions. 'I recognise that people are still feeling the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, including pensioners,' Sir Keir told the Commons. 'As the economy improves, we want to make sure people feel those improvements in their days as their lives go forward. That is why we want to ensure that, as we go forward, more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments.' He said the Government will 'only make decisions we can afford' and will therefore look at this as part of a 'fiscal event' – indicating a change will not be announced before the Chancellor's autumn budget. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch challenged Sir Keir in the Commons, calling him 'desperate' while leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar MS has called for more clarity: "It's unclear from the Prime Minister's statement whether all Welsh pensioners who have lost out will actually have their Winter Fuel Allowance reinstated. "That's why the Welsh Conservatives have made it clear that we would introduce our own Welsh Winter Fuel Allowance, funded by cutting the Welsh Labour Government's bloated bureaucracy. "Our pensioners shouldn't have to accept anything less." Plaid Cymru 's Work and Pensions spokesperson, Ann Davies MP said:the announcement as a 'half-turn' rather than a U-turn: 'Keir Starmer's latest remarks offer little comfort to the around 600,000 Welsh pensioners affected by the Winter Fuel Payment cut last winter. "That decision sent a clear and callous message: that this UK Government does not care about older people. "The trust that was broken cannot simply be restored with vague promises made months after the damage was done."
