Starmer vows to press on with welfare reform as he takes blame for U-turn
Despite the setback, which saw changes to the personal independence payment (Pip) stripped out of his welfare legislation, Sir Keir said on Thursday his Government was 'pressing on with welfare reform'.
Answering questions at the launch of Labour's NHS plan, he said: 'It is important we reform the system. Welfare isn't working.'
The Prime Minister went on to praise disabilities minister Sir Stephen Timms, who is now leading a review of Pip, saying he was 'a thoroughly decent man of huge integrity that we can have faith in to do the review and make the changes that are necessary'.
Sir Keir's U-turn saw planned changes to Pip eligibility put off until after Sir Stephen has completed his review of the benefit next autumn, leaving only changes to universal credit to go forward.
That decision has caused a fiscal headache for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, with the £4.8 billion of savings the reforms were expected to deliver now unlikely to materialise.
Economists have warned that this is likely to mean further tax rises in the autumn, and the Prime Minister did not rule out the possibility on Thursday.
Ms Reeves has previously promised she would not need to repeat the £40 billion tax raid she set out in October 2024.
Asked if he would repeat that commitment, Sir Keir said: 'No prime minister or chancellor is going to write a budget in advance, but we did really tough stuff in that budget last year.'
Sir Keir Starmer has given his full backing to Rachel Reeves, who was seen crying in the Commons chamber on Wednesday (Jack Hill/The Times/PA)
But he added that last year's budget had already done much of the 'heavy lifting' on repairing the public finances.
The Chancellor also declined to 'speculate' about tax rises ahead of the budget, but told broadcasters there was 'a cost to the welfare changes that Parliament voted through this week and that will be reflected in the budget'.
Ms Reeves herself appeared alongside Sir Keir and Health Secretary Wes Streeting at the launch of the NHS plan on Thursday, a day after she had appeared visibly tearful in the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions.
The Chancellor told broadcasters it had been related to a 'personal issue', while Sir Keir gave her his full backing, adding: 'I think it's just fantastic she's here and, as I say, none of this would be happening if she hadn't taken the decisions that she's taken.'
Questions about the Chancellor's future had sparked a sharp fall in the value of UK government bonds on Wednesday, but the markets rallied on Thursday morning following repeated reassurances she was safe in Number 11.
But Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the scenes in the Commons over the past week had left bond markets 'twitchy' about the Government and 'their ability to actually grip things like spending going forward'.
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The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
After Two Tier Keir, we now have Two Tear Rachel… Reeves is finished but how long before her boss exits too?
IF there is one cast-iron rule in politics, it's this: If the Prime Minister is having to say he has full confidence you will stay in your job, your days are definitely numbered. So no wonder then that Rachel Reeves was moved to tears as she sat behind Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs on Wednesday when, after months of saying she would be his Chancellor until the next election and beyond, he chose to studiously dodge the question. 2 2 After Two-Tier Keir, we now have Two-Tear Rachel. As those tears rolled down her cheeks, the Chancellor prompted feverish speculation about the cause of her sobs — wiping £3billion off the markets, pushing up government borrowing costs and devaluing the Pound into the bargain. Wheeled out to face the cameras yesterday, Reeves plastered on the make-up and a beaming smile to insist she had been upset about a ' personal issue ' and had been 'having a tough day' which, unlike most people's bad days, was broadcast 'on the telly' for all to see. We may never know the true reason behind her blubbing, but what we do know is that her wobbly bottom lip didn't just wobble the markets, it also sent trembles through the entire Government. Facing a swift exit There is no doubt now that Rachel Reeves is facing a swift exit from the Treasury, even if she does survive until the autumn Budget. Yet the real question mark now is not over HER future but that of her boss, the Prime Minister. This, after all, was supposed to be a week of celebration for Labour's first year in office after winning a landslide victory in the General Election last July. Instead the PM has suffered a humiliating defeat in the Commons over his welfare reforms at the hands of his own backbenchers and been forced to deny he plans to sack his Chancellor while facing approval ratings so low that they've surfaced in New Zealand. Some of us knew this Labour government would be bad but not many realised just how bad they would turn out to be. It would have been inconceivable a year ago to imagine, after being elected to Downing Street with a whopping 411 MPs, that Starmer would be facing questions about not only his Chancellor's future but even his own so soon. Even Britney Spears has had longer honeymoons than this. Squirming Keir Starmer refuses to say Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor at next election after horror Budget And for all the PM's claims that Reeves will be Chancellor for years to come, after months of broken promises and U-turns no one actually believes a word he says any more. After all, Rachel From Accounts hardly had a great start in the job. From the disastrous decision to cut winter fuel payments to ten million pensioners to the inflation-busting pay rises for train drivers and doctors, to the revelations that her CV was full of exaggerations and her taste for freebie tickets to Taylor Swift concerts, the Chancellor's reputation has long been in tatters. The sight of Reeves blubbing in the Commons this week wasn't just embarrassing for her — it embarrassed the whole country. And the desperate cries of 'bullying!' and 'sexism!' by Labour MPs are shameless coming from a party that happily attacked both Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May for crying as they left office. If you can't stand the heat, Rachel, get out of the Number 11 kitchen. The Chancellor's claims to have had a 'tough day' will fall flat with many voters who are having tough days EVERY day thanks to this Government's policies. What about people struggling to pay their bills as the cost of living continues to rise and taxes go up? What about pensioners worried about putting the heating on last winter after Reeves took away their winter fuel allowance? What about the farmers who face losing their family farm thanks to the inheritance tax hike? What about the small business owners who have had to shut up shop after the Chancellor's employer National Insurance rises? Everyone in Westminster knows that the only thing keeping Reeves in her job right now is that she acts as the PM's human shield — someone he can blame for every mishap, every poor judgment, every U-turn and every tax rise to come in the next Budget. From being hailed as Labour's greatest asset, as 'the first woman Chancellor' (as if anyone cared), Reeves has quickly become the Government's punching bag. No wonder the tears have started rolling. It is obvious to everyone that Rachel From Accounts is way out of her depth. But she isn't alone. Starmer is also flailing around like a drowning man, desperate to blame anyone and anything else for his own failings. Nothing of substance Ultimately, though, everyone knows he is in charge and the buck stops with him. Reeves may have exposed a fatal weakness with her tears, but the past 12 months have revealed far greater failings in her boss. As he marks his first year in office, we now know that underneath Starmer's shiny helmet of Brylcreemed hair, there is absolutely nothing of substance. Sir Keir has proved himself to be a Prime Minister with no ideas and no philosophy, no policies and no plan; a man with no backbone and no moral compass. He is a leader who cannot lead, a manager who cannot manage, a politician with no political instinct. The Prime Minister is just an empty suit — and he likely didn't even pay for the suit himself. He probably got Labour donor Lord Ali to buy it for him. Starmer can keep telling us that his Chancellor is going nowhere but we all know her exit from the Treasury will come sooner rather than later. The question remains, after his damaging and chaotic first 12 months in office, can the country survive another year of this Prime Minister? VYLAN COUNT COST OF HATE WORDS have consequences, as the Left-wing cancel culture mob have cried for years as they happily ended the careers of anyone who dared to question them. Well, indeed they do for Bob Vylan, the punk-rap duo from the mean streets of Ipswich, who led chants of 'Death, death to the IDF' and ranted about 'f***ing Zionists' during their Glastonbury performance as it was live-streamed on the BBC iPlayer. Not only do they now face a criminal investigation over their antisemitic chants, they've been dropped by their management, seen visas for a US tour revoked, and UK gigs have been cancelled. Oops. There have been consequences too for the BBC, where institutional antisemitism is now so part and parcel of the corporation's culture that, no one – not even the Director General Tim Davie – could spot the obvious anti-Jew hatred in those chants and shut down the live feed from public view. Now the BBC has said it will no longer live-broadcast 'high risk' performances and staff may face disciplinary action for any failures. As Bob Vylan face the fallout from their 'music' hate-fest, they should learn a lesson from another Glasto performer. As Rod Stewart proved, there's a lot more longevity in showbiz for entertainers who show musical talent than there is for those spewing vile torrents of hate. Oh yes, and a bevy of beautiful leggy blonde backing singers helps too.
Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Reeves has made herself unsackable by crying at PMQs, claim Labour critics
Rachel Reeves has made herself unsackable by crying at Prime Minister's Questions, Labour critics have claimed. The Chancellor's display of emotion in the Commons on Wednesday was followed by Sir Keir Starmer giving her his unequivocal backing. The Prime Minister committed to keeping Ms Reeves in the Cabinet for the rest of his first term as colleagues publicly rallied around the Chancellor, who said she was dealing with an unexplained 'personal issue' when she burst into tears. However, a government source complained that Sir Keir 'seems to have tied himself to her' after her tears, which triggered a £3bn market sell-off and crash in the value of sterling. 'I thought at the beginning of Wednesday she would go, then thought it was confirmed when I saw her crying at PMQs, but then she didn't,' said the source. Another source said Ms Reeves had enjoyed an 'outpouring of sympathy' over an incident that was still 'inescapably linked to the political facts' of the welfare rebellion. A third added that being pictured distraught on television had 'shored up her position'. One insider said that, since Monday, the mood in Whitehall has transitioned from 'head in hands' over the welfare rebellion to the 'surreal horror' of watching Ms Reeves cry in the Commons. 'The dark clouds were descending,' said another source. 'Not in a terminal sense, but that everything was going wrong at once.' Some Labour MPs have privately suggested that the Chancellor should be sacked for her opposition to reducing the benefit cuts. Ms Reeves and Sir Keir put on a united front on Thursday, hugging in front of the cameras as they launched the Government's health strategy. The Chancellor said: 'People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday. Today's a new day and I'm just cracking on with the job.' She later added that 'when I'm having a tough day it's on the telly, and most people don't have to deal with that'. Sir Keir said politicians are 'humans in the end' as he praised Ms Reeves, adding that she would serve in her role 'for many years to come'. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said: 'She is a tough character. She is resilient, and she will bounce back' The Telegraph understands that the Chancellor also spoke to Angela Rayner, with whom she has previously had a difficult relationship, about the emotional episode on either Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Rumours that her tears came after a row with either Sir Keir or Ms Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, were denied on Wednesday. While Ms Reeves is now considered safe, there is still talk of a reshuffle of other Cabinet ministers, their aides or more junior colleagues. Some advisers think Sir Keir will launch a 'reset' just before the parliamentary summer break, which begins on July 22, to allow new ministers to familiarise themselves with their brief before the Labour Party conference at the end of September. Others think the Prime Minister is more likely to wait until early in the new year, noting that he 'seldom rushes things' and has a tendency to give members of his team plenty of time to improve before sacking them. The PMQs session followed a week of tense negotiation between the Government and Labour rebels, who forced almost £5 billion in concessions on Sir Keir's benefits reforms. Ms Reeves, who opposed a Government U-turn, will now be forced to find that money in her autumn Budget, on top of existing commitments and a black hole of around £20bn. She has promised to do that without breaching Labour's fiscal rules or raising any of the 'big three' taxes – VAT, National Insurance and income tax. Treasury sources insist that the fiscal situation could improve later this year if the cost of servicing government debt falls or Britain experiences significant economic growth. But there is a consensus in other departments that Ms Reeves is now boxed in by her previous commitments. 'I can't see how she can pull it off after all the promises she has made,' said one source. Another added: 'She's in an impossible position, but that wasn't a secret. Now it's even more impossible.' A new poll by YouGov, published on Thursday, showed almost three-quarters of voters now expect Labour to break its manifesto pledge to not raise the three largest taxes. 'My guess is that we will keep to those promises, but there are decisions to be taken,' a source said. 'We didn't want to come in and raise taxes last year, but circumstances meant we had to do something.' There is disagreement over how politically damaging it would be for Labour to break its manifesto pledges on tax, after a year of turmoil with the election of Donald Trump and war in the Middle East. It may not be mathematically possible to raise as much as Ms Reeves requires in the autumn without touching those taxes. Freezing income tax thresholds, which would not be a manifesto breach, would raise around £10 billion, while some form of wealth tax or higher rate of capital gains tax could make up some of the rest of the shortfall. But higher taxes of any kind are unlikely to be popular, regardless of whether they come as a surprise to the public. 'Is the Treasury orthodoxy running Britain without any political lens?' asked a source. 'They are just looking at a column on a spreadsheet that says they need £5bn and they go to another column in the Budget and get it from there, without thinking about the politics.'
Western Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Ex-Labour MP says she will set up new party with Jeremy Corbyn
Zarah Sultana – who had the Labour whip suspended last year – said she was resigning from Sir Keir Starmer's party and would 'co-lead the founding of a new party' with the ex-Labour leader. In a statement posted on X, Ms Sultana, who represents Coventry South, said that the project would also involve 'other independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country'. Today, after 14 years, I'm resigning from the Labour Party. Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other Independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country. Join us. The time is now. Sign up here to stay updated: — Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) July 3, 2025 She said that 'Westminster is broken but the real crisis is deeper' and the 'two-party system offers nothing but managed decline and broken promises'. She added: 'A year ago I was suspended by the Labour Party for voting to abolish the two-child benefit cap and lift 400,000 children out of poverty. I'd do it again. I voted against scrapping winter fuel payments for pensioners. I'd do it again. Now, the Government wants to make disabled people suffer; they just can't decide how much.' She urged people to 'join us'. Ms Sultana was one of seven MPs who had the Labour whip suspended last summer when they supported an amendment to the King's Speech which related to the two-child benefit cap. Four of the seven had the whip restored earlier this year but Ms Sultana was not among them.
