Latest news with #SirKeirStarmer
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Rod Stewart urges voters to 'give Nigel Farage a chance' as he reveals what he really thinks about Keir Starmer
Rod Stewart has urged voters to give Nigel Farage a chance as he criticised both Sir Keir Starmer and the Conservatives. The singer, who is well known for hits such as Baby Jane and Maggie May, said he thinks the Reform UK leader is coming across well. Meanwhile, Sir Rod, 80, was critical of the Prime Minister's decision to cut off fishing in Scotland and give it back to the EU, saying this move has not made him popular. He also thinks the nation is fed up of the Tories. The rock legend told The Times: 'We've got to give Farage a chance. He's coming across well. Nigel? 'What options have we got? I know some of his family, I know his brother, and I quite like him.' Sir Rod, who is due to sing at Glastonbury on Sunday, explained that he doesn't think he is out of touch with ordinary people, even though he his 'extremely wealthy'. His comments on the UK's political landscape come after he previously spoke about about a problem with potholes around his £4.6million Essex mansion. In 2022, he delighted fans as he donned a high-vis jacket to fill in the craters outside his home. Sir Rod had said he was driven to take action 'as no-one can be bothered to do it'. The issue, however, continued to persist even after the local council said it would re-lay the road to fix the issues with the surface. And last November, he announced he was considering selling his Italian supercar collection over the pothole issue. Sir Rod wrote in a post on Instagram: 'I am extremely fortunate and eternally grateful to be the owner of these five beautiful hybrid sports cars, which, in my opinion, are true "works of art". 'Unfortunately, because of the potholes on our roads, I may have to find new owners for them. 'I've been driving these iconic Italian cars since the seventies, and I absolutely love and adore them.' Sir Rod was also quick to nip any criticism of his broadside in the bud. He added: 'This post is for my fans—thank you, as you are the sole reason I own them. And to all the trolls… don't bother; I never read the comments.' Sir Rod is due to perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset on Sunday. The legend who has not sung at the event since 2002, confirmed that his Faces co-star and Rolling Stones guitarist, Ronnie Wood, will be making an appearance.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Keir Starmer ‘put party before country' by caving in to benefit cut rebels, blasts Labour peer
SIR KEIR Starmer has put 'party before country' by caving to rebels and softening his benefit cuts, a Labour peer has warned. The PM was slammed for opting to appease the revolt rather than sticking with flagship reforms. Former benefits minister Lord Hutton said: 'The country cannot afford to sit back and see these welfare levels rising in the way they are and although it's uncomfortable for a lot of Labour MPs we can't go on ducking.' He added: 'I think the people that we mustn't lose sight of in all of this debate are the taxpayers who fund the welfare system.' 'It's rising at a level which I think is really unsustainable over the medium term, and the job of government is to address that, not to try and pretend it's not there." He says that the PM will have 'no choice' but to come back to welfare spending and try and reduce it. The climbdown on benefits and the winter fuel u-turn will force Chancellor Rachel Reeves to find £4.5billion after 126 Labour MPs threatened to derail plans. Downing Street insisted there would be no 'permanent' increase in borrowing but declined to rue out tax rises at the Autumn Budget to pay for it. Sir Keir said: 'For me, getting that package adjusted in that way is the right thing to do, it means it's the right balance, it's common sense that we can now get on with it.' But hardline Labour rebel Nadia Whittome said the concessions were 'nowhere near good enough'.
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Labour's disability benefits rethink: concessions suggest strategy not a change of heart
The humbling of a prime minister by his own side is rarely an edifying spectacle, but it does at least suggest a pulse in the parliamentary system. Sir Keir Starmer has now staged three conspicuous retreats: over winter fuel payments, over grooming gangs and now – most perilously – over sweeping changes to disability benefits. Two of these reversals followed backbench unrest. This week's about-face on the government's flagship welfare bill looks less like a full U-turn than a partial climbdown designed to avert open rebellion. While Sir Keir has taken a step back over benefit changes, which affect the most vulnerable in society, the result resembles textbook damage control. The concessions, presented as a response to principled pressure, feel more like fallback options held in reserve for moments of internal disquiet. The first is that existing personal independence payment (Pip) claimants will be spared new, tighter assessments – at least for now. But about 430,000 new Pip claimants who would qualify under current rules still face being excluded when tougher criteria arrive in November 2026. The second is that the health element of universal credit will no longer be frozen for current recipients. But new claimants – many too unwell to work – will be placed on a reduced rate unless they meet a higher threshold. All Pip awards are periodically reassessed, implying that all recipients could eventually face the new scheme. The upshot is that existing claimants would be protected, but future ones face tougher rules. Two people with identical conditions could receive support, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, that differs by up to £6,560 a year – purely due to timing. This, we're told, is compassion. The savings – halved to £2.5bn a year – come by offloading the cost on to future claimants. MPs rightly fear this locks in a two-tier system that is deliberately harsher on disabled people. Older Labour MPs will remember denouncing this very playbook. A decade ago, Iain Duncan Smith pioneered a slow, procedural tightening of welfare – hitting new claimants first, then reassessing the rest – precisely to defuse resistance. Labour opposed it then. Today, it is governing by the same method. It feels out of step with a post-pandemic Britain grappling with a cost of living crisis. Many Labour MPs believe these are still the wrong reforms and will vote against the bill when it comes back to the House of Commons next week. Clearly, tightened eligibility and a two-tier system may exclude many who need support. If the government wants to raise money, it might ask a little more of those with the broadest shoulders – not those with mobility aids, care plans and the audacity to ask for a fair deal. If ministers truly believe they are acting decently, they should publish the impact assessment and be honest about the consequences. Perhaps the most telling lesson is not about policy detail, but about political temperament. Modern governments are always under pressure to appear fiscally restrained. Yet whether – or how – they choose to meet that pressure reveals what they value, and who they believe can be asked to bear the costs. The welfare state has always relied on consent, and on a basic sense of fairness. If a Labour government cannot convincingly defend that principle, it risks more than backbench unrest; it risks eroding the trust that makes reform, essential in any changing society, possible in the first place. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Campaigning Liverpool kids celebrate free school meals success
A group of campaigning schoolchildren arrived on the steps of No 10 Downing Street earlier to hand over a special thank-you message. Four pupils from Monkstown Primary School in Liverpool had joined the campaign to extend eligibility for free school meals to children of families on Universal Ahmed, Max and Josie, all aged 11 and in year six, were joined for the No Child Left Behind Coalition, a campaign organised by the National Education Union (NEU).The four wanted to thank the government for extending the free school meal entitlement and handed over a card to staff at Downing Street. Earlier this month Sir Keir Starmer announced an extension of the programme, which will cover the daily cost of school lunches to an additional half a million children from six teacher Anne-Marie Ferrigan runs a project called Pupil Voice at Monkstown, which aims to let the children have a say in what the school does. She told BBC Radio Merseyside: "When they researched it, they decided that actually it wasn't acceptable that we were not getting free school meals for all the children and all the families who couldn't afford it." Josie, who made the trip to London, said: "Some of our friends in school and in our classes have struggled with that and we wanted to make it fair." Ms Ferrigan said: "We're so, so proud of all the children here at Monkstown, the fact that they can put themselves across and they can put themselves in somebody else's shoes and understand what that might feel like. "And then the fact that they want to do something about it, the fact that they want to give up their time to make change for something that doesn't even affect some of them." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Independent
17 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Welfare reforms strike ‘right balance' after U-turn, says Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer has said his welfare reforms now strike 'the right balance' after he U-turned in the face of a major backbench rebellion. Speaking for the first time after Downing Street agreed a series of concessions on its welfare policy, the Prime Minister said the climbdown followed a 'constructive discussion' with Labour rebels. He told broadcasters on Friday: 'The most important thing is that we can make the reform we need. 'We talked to colleagues, who've made powerful representations, as a result of which we've got a package which I think will work, we can get it right. 'For me, getting that package adjusted in that way is the right thing to do, it means it's the right balance, it's common sense that we can now get on with it.' Earlier, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the party was in 'a good place' on welfare reform, after offering concessions to rebels late on Thursday. Some 126 Labour MPs had signed an amendment that would halt the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill in its tracks when it faces its first Commons hurdle on Tuesday. Leading rebels now believe the concessions on offer, which include protecting personal independence payments (Pip) for all existing claimants, will be enough to win over a majority. However, the fallout threatens to cause lasting damage, as harder line rebels remain opposed to the legislation and some backbenchers have called for a reset of relations between Number 10 and the parliamentary party. But the reversal means Chancellor Rachel Reeves now faces a scramble to fill a potential hole in her budget this autumn, with the cuts now likely to save much less than the £4.8 billion the Government had expected. Economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Resolution Foundation have both suggested the changes could reduce that figure by up to £3 billion. But Downing Street has so far declined to set out its own figures for how much it now expects to save, or to say how the shortfall will be covered beyond insisting there would be no 'permanent' increase in borrowing and refusing to rule out tax rises. Facing questions about the climbdown on Friday, Ms Kendall denied suggestions she had found it 'difficult' to water down reforms she had so strenuously defended and said the concessions left the Bill in 'the right place'. 'We have listened to people, we have engaged with them,' she said. 'I think we're in a good place now, alongside the huge investments we are putting in to create the jobs that people need in every part of the country… but also to make sure there's employment support for those who can work and protections for those who can't.' The Government has also left the door open to further reform down the line, with Ms Kendall saying there need to be 'changes in the future' to ensure 'people who can work do'. The Government's original package had restricted eligibility for Pip, the main disability payment in England, as well as cutting the health-related element of universal credit. Existing recipients were to be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support in an earlier move that was seen as a bid to head off opposition. Now, the changes to Pip will be implemented in November 2026 and apply to new claimants only while all existing recipients of the health element of universal credit will have their incomes protected in real terms. The concessions on Pip alone protect some 370,000 people currently receiving the allowance who were set to lose out following reassessment. The changes represent a major climbdown for the Prime Minister, just days after he insisted to reporters he would 'press on' with the cuts, arguing there was a 'moral case' for them. Dame Meg Hillier, one of the leading rebel voices, hailed the concessions as 'a good deal' involving 'massive changes' to protect vulnerable people and involve disabled people in the design of future reforms. She said: 'It's encouraging that we have reached what I believe is a workable compromise that will protect disabled people and support people back into work while ensuring the welfare system can be meaningfully reformed.' But not all the rebels have been satisfied with the changes, with several suggesting they would create a 'two-tier system' and raising questions about who would be classified as a new claimant after November 2026. One told the PA news agency that discontent and low morale among the backbenches would 'continue to fester' without a 'wider reset' of relations between Number 10 and the Parliamentary Labour Party. Another accused decision-makers in Government of operating as an 'exclusive club' and showing 'disregard' for both its MPs and experts outside Westminster, while some claimed Dame Meg had failed to include other backbenchers in her negotiations. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the U-turn, saying the Government's failure to make 'minor savings' on welfare showed they were unable to deal with major issues. Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman Steve Darling said his party would continue opposing the Bill, saying the proposed cuts would still 'cause immense damage to some of the most vulnerable'. There was mixed reaction among charities to the prospect of concessions. Learning disability charity Mencap said the news would be a 'huge relief to thousands of people living in fear of what the future holds'. But the MS Society urged rebels to hold firm and block the Bill, insisting any Government offer to water down the reforms would amount to 'kicking the can down the road and delaying an inevitable disaster'.
