Latest news with #Uturns
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
What - or who - caused the tears that sparked turmoil in the markets? Chancellor's future hangs in the balance after series of humiliating U-turns
sent markets tumbling today after a tearful breakdown in the Commons fuelled speculation she is on her way out. As stunned MPs looked on, the Chancellor wept in the Commons chamber just moments after admitting she was feeling the pressure following a series of humiliating U-turns. TV cameras captured brutal footage of the self-styled 'Iron Chancellor' wiping away tears as Sir Keir Starmer ducked questions about whether she is safe in her job. The pound fell sharply and the government's borrowing costs jumped as rumours swirled that she could be headed for the exit, taking Labour 's remaining fiscal credibility with her. Downing Street insisted that the Chancellor is not set for the chop, despite Labour MPs blaming her for disastrous cuts to disability benefits and winter fuel payments, which have been the subject of costly and shambolic U-turns. No 10 flatly denied claims that the PM and Chancellor had an angry showdown following the latest humiliating retreat over welfare reform on Monday night. Reports of a bust-up with Deputy prime Minister Angela Rayner were also denied. The Treasury insisted that the Chancellor's distress was the result of a 'personal matter'. But a Whitehall source said the Chancellor revealed she is feeling the heat following a disastrous period for the Labour government. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle briefly chastised her as she entered the Commons chamber for taking too long over her answers the previous day. A source said she tried to explain away her conduct by replying: 'I'm just under so much pressure.' Experts warned that a series of expensive U-turns, couple with faltering economic growth could blow a £20 billion hole in the public finances, forcing the Chancellor to break her own promise not to raise taxes this autumn. She is said to have resisted this week's climbdown over welfare cuts until the final moment, arguing it would wreck the government's economic credibility. Ms Reeves appeared upset as she took her seat next to the PM on the government front bench. Sir Keir's parliamentary aide Chris Ward tapped her on the shoulder to see if she was all right. But she was unable to control her emotions when Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of using her as a 'human shield' – and the PM failed to back her. During angry exchanges in the Commons, the Tory leader pointed out that the Chancellor 'looks absolutely miserable', asking the PM: 'Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the Chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?' Sir Keir – who had previously guaranteed Ms Reeves her job until the next election – ducked the question. Instead, he joked that Mrs Badenoch would be gone before the election and accused the Conservatives of leaving behind a toxic economic legacy. Mrs Badenoch replied: 'How awful for the Chancellor that he couldn't confirm that she would stay in place.' TV cameras captured brutal footage of the self-styled 'Iron Chancellor' wiping away tears as Sir Keir Starmer ducked questions about whether she is safe in her job Despite her obvious distress, the PM did not appear to speak to Ms Reeves as he marched out of the chamber for two hours of crisis meetings with MPs. It was left to the Chancellor's sister Ellie Reeves to offer comfort to her – the two sisters leaving the chamber hand in hand. Doubts about the Chancellor's future triggered market panic as analysts feared a new Chancellor could tear up Ms Reeves's fiscal rules and embark on an even higher spending programme. Downing Street later told reporters that the PM had full confidence in Ms Reeves. Asked why he had not defended her in the Commons, a spokesman said: 'He has done so repeatedly. 'The Chancellor is going nowhere. She has the Prime Minister's full backing. 'He has said it plenty of times, he doesn't need to repeat it every time the Leader of the Opposition speculates about Labour politicians.' Former Labour Cabinet minister Alan Johnson insisted Ms Reeves was a 'tough cookie' who 'ain't going to quit'. But financial analyst Kathleen Brooks, of investment firm XTB, said the 'prospect of political turmoil' was 'spooking the bond market' and causing government borrowing costs to rise. She added: 'The PM might be keeping his options open at this stage, but the Chancellor is a strange choice to axe from a market perspective. She was unable to control her emotions when Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of using her as a 'human shield' – and the PM failed to back her 'The market is pricing in the possibility of a replacement chancellor with a more left-leaning agenda, which is spooking the bond market.' Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden and justice secretary Shabana Mahmood are tipped as potential replacements for Ms Reeves if she resigns or is sacked in the coming weeks. The extraordinary episode came amid growing questions about Sir Keir's leadership following a chaotic U-turn over welfare reform has raised fresh doubts about his judgment as he approaches his first anniversary in power this weekend. The PM was forced to abandon £5 billion of cuts to disability benefits on Monday night after Labour whips warned he was heading for defeat despite offering huge concessions to rebel backbenchers last week. One minister described the events of the last week as a 'total s*** show'. But Downing Street said Sir Keir planned to continue with his approach to government despite the recent reverses. Asked if he would be making any changes to avoid repeating recent mistakes, a No 10 spokesman said he would 'plough on' with delivering the government's agenda. Rebel ringleader Rachael Maskell said there had been a 'change in power' away from the PM in the wake of the U-turn, and called on the Government to impose wealth taxes. Fellow rebel Cat Eccles said Sir Keir's explanation that he had been too distracted by foreign affairs to focus on the welfare row was 'not a great excuse'. Allies of Angela Rayner boasted that she had been 'instrumental' in persuading Sir Keir he would have to ditch the disability cuts to avert a catastrophic Commons defeat by his own MPs. Ms Rayner insisted she was not gunning for the PM's job, despite fears in No 10 that she is on manoeuvres. She told ITV's Lorraine show that 'to be fair' to Sir Keir 'there's a lot going on and the PM's been here there and everywhere doing the job for Britain'. Asked about her own ambitions she said there was 'no chance' she would ever want to be PM, joking it would 'age me by 10 years in six months'.
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Reform releases parody video mocking Labour's first year in power
Reform UK has released a parody music video titled "Now That's What I Call U-Turns" ahead of the anniversary of the general election on 4 July. The video, which Reform shared with the caption "One year of Starmer, one year of u-turns", mocks Labour's first year in power. It references several controversial Labour policies, including winter fuel payments and the early release of prisoners, using popular song titles like "Ice Ice Baby" and "I Want to Break Free". Former Reform party chairman Zia Yusuf has praised the video, stating that the party's digital team is "in a class of its own". Watch the video in full above.
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
One way or another, it's time to stick up for Keir Starmer and the art of the big, fat U-turn
Our lesson today is taken from St Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 14, verse eight: 'For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?' In the macho and combative world of Westminster politics, certainty is a highly valued commodity. If you are not decisive then you must be a ditherer. The logic, and the alliteration, are irresistible. Hence the prime minister's current difficulty over three (count 'em!) recent U-turns: over the winter fuel allowance, a national inquiry into grooming gangs and now on proposed cuts to personal independence payments (Pip). U-turns are good news for reporters and political commentators. They provide an opportunity to confirm how insightful they are, and wise after the event (admittedly some are wise before the event). They also mean that the adjective 'screeching' is likely to be used far too often, along with references to the smell of burning tyre rubber. Some words – unlike some policies – just stick. Older readers may remember that under the last Labour government it was compulsory for an extended time to refer to the transport secretary, Stephen Byers, as 'the beleaguered Stephen Byers'. Why are U-turns always regarded as being such a bad thing? Isn't it a good idea to change direction once you realise you are heading the wrong way? With the holiday season approaching, overheated children and spouses must brace themselves for that tense moment when the driver is told he has picked the wrong route, only for the man behind the wheel to declare grumpily: 'No, I've decided, we're sticking with the A591!' A no U-turns policy can make a Daddy Pig out of anyone. But what explains the enduring, emblematic power of the U-turn to make grown men and women in London SW1 tremble? Here we must point to the usual suspect, Margaret Thatcher. In October 1980, the Conservative party was heading to its annual conference in Brighton. The new Tory government was less than a year and a half old, but was already extremely unpopular and under intense political pressure. Unemployment and inflation were both high. Thatcher was seen as an inflexible and insensitive leader. Surely there would be an adjustment, and some acknowledgment of the severe economic pain the country was suffering? But, (in)famously, Mrs T said this in her conference speech: 'To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: you turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning!' It did not matter that Thatcher may not have fully appreciated the joke which her speechwriter Ronald Millar had provided for her (a pun on the 1948 play The Lady's Not For Burning by Christopher Fry). The line stuck. And the mythology around Thatcher began to grow: that she was resolute, unflinching, impervious to counter-arguments and determined never to change her mind. But hang on a minute. What happened only four months after she gave this speech, in February 1981? A government plan to close 23 coalmines was withdrawn in the face of opposition from the National Union of Mineworkers, then led by Joe Gormley. It was a complete and utter … U-turn. The headline on the BBC's website where the story is featured says: 'Thatcher gives in to miners'. People remember the moment when, three years later and with much higher coal stocks, Thatcher battled the miners again when the timing suited her better. This too fed into the 'no U-turns' myth. But it was not the whole story. Westminster orthodoxy and the real world are not always in perfect alignment. In SW1-land, you can never go into a general election committed to any kind of tax rise. But if the current government had said that, if elected, it was going to reverse the second of Jeremy Hunt's employee national insurance cuts how much happier (fiscally and politically) it might be today. The gap between what everybody in Westminster knows and what normal people think might also help explain why some free-wheeling populists like Nigel Farage get away with their bogus yet apparently 'authentic', so-called 'common sense'. No one wants to be led by a vacillating or broken 'shopping trolley' (the label Dominic Cummings applied to a chaotic Boris Johnson in No 10) that has no consistency or sense of direction. But it is OK to change your mind based on a fresh assessment of the evidence. In their award-winning 2006 book, Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?, Rob Goffee and the late Gareth Jones wrote about the power of leaders admitting to doubt and even, on occasion, weakness. 'By exposing a measure of vulnerability, they make themselves approachable and show themselves to be human,' they wrote. It is possible that the parliamentary Labour party might agree with that. Until it changes its mind. So, U-turn if you want to. Perhaps you should. It beats going full steam into the rocks. Stefan Stern is co-author of Myths of Management and the former director of the High Pay Centre. His latest book is Fair or Foul – the Lady Macbeth Guide to Ambition
