Latest news with #WelshLabour
ITV News
43 minutes ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Starmer: Fixing welfare system is 'moral imperative'
Sir Keir Starmer has said 'everyone agrees' the welfare system needs to be fixed but that Labour will not 'take away the safety net' that vulnerable people rely on. In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference that came after a major U-turn on reforms in the face of a backbench rebellion, he said fixing the 'broken' system must be done in a 'Labour way'. 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.' He called Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan a 'fierce champion' and 'the best person to lead Wales into the future' to applause and cheers from the audience. Baroness Morgan had publicly criticised the welfare plans and called for Sir Keir to change tack on restrictions on winter fuel payments, which he also eventually reversed. Farmers gathered outside the conference in Llandudno to protest ahead of Sir Keir's speech, with about 20 tractors parked on the promenade in the north Wales resort town by late morning. Sir Keir also said any deal between the Tories, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru at next year's key elections in Wales would amount to a 'backroom stitch-up'. The elections to the Senedd will use a proportional system for the first time, meaning coalitions are likely. The Prime Minister said it would risk a 'return to the chaos and division of the last decade' and risk rolling back the progress his party is starting to make. He told the Llandudno conference it would be 'working families left to pick up the bill'. 'Whether that's with Reform or with Plaid's determination to cut Wales off from the rest of the country, with no plan to put Wales back together,' he said. 'I know that these are the parties that talk a big game, but who is actually delivering?' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the next Senedd election. Reform UK is eyeing an opportunity to end Labour's 26 years of domination in the Welsh Parliament. Labour performed poorly in this year's local elections in England, which saw Nigel Farage's party win a swathe of council seats. Sir Keir also took aim at Nigel Farage, calling him a 'wolf in Wall Street clothing' who has 'no idea what he's talking about'. He said the Reform UK leader 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Starmer: Labour will not take away ‘safety net' from vulnerable people
In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference that came after a major U-turn on reforms in the face of a backbench rebellion, he said fixing the 'broken' system must be done in a 'Labour way'. 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.' He called Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan a 'fierce champion' and 'the best person to lead Wales into the future' to applause and cheers from the audience. Baroness Morgan had publicly criticised the welfare plans and called for Sir Keir to change tack on restrictions on winter fuel payments, which he also eventually reversed. Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC she was 'right to raise concerns' and promised to 'deliver on those as far as we can'. First Minister and Labour leader in Wales, Baroness Eluned Morgan, has publicly criticised the welfare plans (PA) Farmers gathered outside the conference in Llandudno to protest ahead of Sir Keir's speech, with about 20 tractors parked on the promenade in the north Wales resort town by late morning. Sir Keir also said any deal between the Tories, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru at next year's key elections in Wales would amount to a 'backroom stitch-up'. The elections to the Senedd will use a proportional system for the first time, meaning coalitions are likely. The Prime Minister said it would risk a 'return to the chaos and division of the last decade' and risk rolling back the progress his party is starting to make. He told the Llandudno conference it would be 'working families left to pick up the bill'. Sir Keir warned his audience about allowing Reform UK or Plaid Cymru to gain power in Wales (Screengrab/Welsh Labour TV/PA) 'Whether that's with Reform or with Plaid's determination to cut Wales off from the rest of the country, with no plan to put Wales back together,' he said. 'I know that these are the parties that talk a big game, but who is actually delivering?' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the next Senedd election. Reform UK is eyeing an opportunity to end Labour's 26 years of domination in the Welsh Parliament. Labour performed poorly in this year's local elections in England, which saw Nigel Farage's party win a swathe of council seats. Sir Keir also took aim at Nigel Farage, calling him a 'wolf in Wall Street clothing' who has 'no idea what he's talking about'. He said the Reform UK leader 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.
Spectator
2 hours 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.
South Wales Argus
2 hours ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Starmer: Labour will not take away ‘safety net' from vulnerable people
In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference that came after a major U-turn on reforms in the face of a backbench rebellion, he said fixing the 'broken' system must be done in a 'Labour way'. 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work,' the Prime Minister said. 'Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken: failing people every day, a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control. 'Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way.' He called Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan a 'fierce champion' and 'the best person to lead Wales into the future' to applause and cheers from the audience. Baroness Morgan had publicly criticised the welfare plans and called for Sir Keir to change tack on restrictions on winter fuel payments, which he also eventually reversed. Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC she was 'right to raise concerns' and promised to 'deliver on those as far as we can'. First Minister and Labour leader in Wales, Baroness Eluned Morgan, has publicly criticised the welfare plans (PA) Farmers gathered outside the conference in Llandudno to protest ahead of Sir Keir's speech, with about 20 tractors parked on the promenade in the north Wales resort town by late morning. Sir Keir also said any deal between the Tories, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru at next year's key elections in Wales would amount to a 'backroom stitch-up'. The elections to the Senedd will use a proportional system for the first time, meaning coalitions are likely. The Prime Minister said it would risk a 'return to the chaos and division of the last decade' and risk rolling back the progress his party is starting to make. He told the Llandudno conference it would be 'working families left to pick up the bill'. Sir Keir warned his audience about allowing Reform UK or Plaid Cymru to gain power in Wales (Screengrab/Welsh Labour TV/PA) 'Whether that's with Reform or with Plaid's determination to cut Wales off from the rest of the country, with no plan to put Wales back together,' he said. 'I know that these are the parties that talk a big game, but who is actually delivering?' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the next Senedd election. Reform UK is eyeing an opportunity to end Labour's 26 years of domination in the Welsh Parliament. Labour performed poorly in this year's local elections in England, which saw Nigel Farage's party win a swathe of council seats. Sir Keir also took aim at Nigel Farage, calling him a 'wolf in Wall Street clothing' who has 'no idea what he's talking about'. He said the Reform UK leader 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.
Wales Online
3 hours ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Keir Starmer warns Wales that Nigel Farage will treat us like 'fools' in scathing attack
Keir Starmer warns Wales that Nigel Farage will treat us like 'fools' in scathing attack The Prime Minister said Nigel Farage 'takes people for fools' Keir Starmer speaking at the Welsh Labour conference at Venue Cymru in Llandudno (Image: Welsh Labour TV/PA ) Prime Minister Keir Starmer has attacked Nigel Farage saying he has "no plan" for Wales. In a speech to Welsh Labour members at their conference in Llandudno he said the Reform UK leader 'isn't interested in Wales'. Referencing Mr Farage's visit to Port Talbot where he said his party wanted to look at reopening mines in Wales and said that the blast furnaces at the Tata plant in Port Talbot should be restarted. The Prime Minister criticised both of those saying the Clacton MP's plan for Port Talbot would result in the current progress towards the electric arc furnace being stopped and jobs being lost. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . The Port Talbot proposal was widely criticised as being unrealistic. Mr Farage himself admitted it would cost 'in the low billions' and industry experts and members said not only is the cost prohibitive but it is impossible to restart a closed blast furnace. He didn't directly criticise the reopening of coals mines suggestion by Mr Farage but did use the opportunity to highlight things his administration had done in terms of committing money to coal tip regeneration and miners' pensions. "Nigel Farage isn't interested in Wales, he's interested in Nigel Farage, he takes people for fools. Article continues below "Just look what he said earlier this month, going to Port Talbot pretending he's got a plan to reopen the blast furnace, he's got no idea what he's talking about. He's got no plan at all. "Let's be clear. What Reform's plans would be mean in practice. Cancelling the electric arc furnace, cancelling the construction work that's on track to start in just a few weeks time, cancelling the 5,000 jobs it'll bring. "That's all you ever need to know about Reform," he said. Reform UK is polling to take seats in the Senedd and a recent UK Parliamentary poll by YouGov showed they would take 23 seats off Labour. Plaid Cymru would also do well at the expense of Labour. Less than a year ago, in the July general election, Labour took 27 of the 32 seats available. You can read that story here. The Senedd election in May 2026 is widely seen as being a huge test for both Eluned Morgan and Keir Starmer. Polling shows Labour could slip from the party in power, for the whole of the devolution period, to third with 18% of the vote. The most recent polling for Wales by YouGov is here. Article continues below The next election will be fought under a new voting system, with new constituencies and will increase the number of Senedd members from 60 to 96 at a cost of billions.
