Latest news with #DivisionBell
Daily Mirror
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Keir Starmer issued 'crossroads' warning after food bank use skyrockets
Food bank charity the Trussell Trust joined The Division Bell podcast to emphasise the urgent need for the government to act in response to increasing levels of poverty Food bank charity the Trussell Trust joined The Division Bell podcast to emphasise the urgent need for the government to act in response to increasing levels of poverty The government is at 'a crossroads' as food bank provision has skyrocketed over the last five years, according to the leading food poverty charity. The Trussell Trust has provided 2.9 million emergency food parcels in the last year - a 51% increase since 2020. Since Labour slashed the welfare budget in March, 250,000 people in the UK risk being pushed into poverty including 50,000 children. Sumi Rabindrakumar, Head of Policy at Trussell, knows this far too well as in the past 12 months alone over one million parcels have been provided for children. Ms Rabindrakumar said: 'The Government needs to choose now to decide whether it's going to change course because otherwise by the end of this parliament realistically we're going to see food need rising. If you look at the cuts on the horizon in social security, inflation and high costs not really showing signs of easing, we can't see that this situation is going to get better.' Speaking on the Division Bell podcast, the policy expert emphasised the charity's 'priority [is] for the government to pause and reflect and rethink on the cuts to disability support.' 'Three in four people who come to Trussell food banks are disabled or who live with someone who is, there isn't a situation where these cuts are anything other than devastating," she said. After Keir Starmer 's U-turn yesterday regarding making more pensioners eligible for winter fuel payments, Ms Rabindrakumar said: 'They have to make a decision about which way they go down because the decisions they make over the next year are the ones that will have an effect by the end of this parliament. You can't turn it around overnight. They need to start making a change now.' The welfare bill is expected to be cut by approximately £5billion a year. Around 370,000 people currently receiving welfare could lose out after changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP). 'PIP isn't an out-of-work benefit,' Ms Rabindrakumar explained, 'work isn't at the moment a reliable enough route out of hunger and hardship.' 'About one in five people who are referred to Trussell food banks are in work. We know that that in itself isn't going to be enough to move people out of deep poverty. That's the reason why the social security system is so vital. It provides protection for people who have to take lower-paid work to afford the essentials, put food on the table, afford clothes, afford their energy bills and so on.' Ms Rabindrakumar emphasised that the welfare cuts 'affect us all' because severe levels of hardship have many impacts including 'driving up negative impacts on people's health, by pushing people further from work, that affects our public services, it affects our economy, it affects public finances. These cuts don't just have a cost to people, it affects us and costs us all.' To hear more about the UK's reliance on food banks, Mr Starmer's U-turn and the inside scoop on Westminster, be sure to listen to this episode of The Division Bell wherever you get your podcasts.
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Reform verdict on most Tory defectors - 'Why would we want that?'
Fresh from their win at the local elections, Reform's former Head of Press Gawain Towler told The Division Bell the party don't want to be 'associated' with many Tories Reform UK has set up a "defection team" as so many Tories are looking to jump ship - but the party doesn't want most of them, according to Nigel Farage 's former spin doctor. Gawain Towler, who worked for the right-winger for two decades, said: 'The question is, do we want them? I don't necessarily think we do." Support for the Tories continues to nosedive, with the latest YouGov poll coming in at just 18% - third behind Labour and Reform. Mr Towler said: 'If that momentum continues and you see Tory polling under 20% for six months, it's deeply dispiriting for them. It doesn't matter how, you will see a continual leeching.' After former Tory MP Lee Anderson defected to Reform in March last year and retained his Ashfield seat at the general election, Mr Towler believes there are many more who want to join. Speaking on The Division Bell podcast, he said: 'On election night last year in July, how many Tory MPs were sitting there saying, looking at the results in Ashfield, when Lee Anderson stormed in thinking 'why on Earth, didn't I do it myself?'' As Head of Press for UKIP, Brexit Party and Reform between 2004-2024, Mr Towler had a front row seat to the rise of Nigel Farage and doesn't think his appeal will dry up any time soon. The question for Reform, he claims, isn't if they're going to see more Tory MPs try to defect - it's how many. He said: 'Of course we're going to get MPs. It happens every time, but when you see a party that is being hammered so very badly, how many MPs? One of the polling projections I saw, I think they get 17 [MPs]!' Despite this, Mr Towler said he would be 'surprised if there's more than five [MPs] that we are happy with. "Look at their track record, look at what they did in office. Why would we want to be associated with that?' He claimed he had heard top Tories saying: 'He [Farage] smokes and he drinks, so he's probably going to die before [the election]." He retorted: 'If that's the best they've got - 'ooh, our best chance of winning this election is if Farage has a hernia or something' - but if that's your strategy, waiting for him to pop his clogs, then it seems a bit threadbare.' To hear more from inside Westminster, listen to this week's episode of The Division Bell on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
Daily Mirror
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
'Hurt and anger' over Hillsborough Law could impact Runcorn by-election
As the key by-election in Runcorn and Helsby takes place next week, The Division Bell discussed the impact of Keir Starmer's failure to deliver the 'Hillsborough Law' on time People in Liverpool feel 'betrayed' as Keir Starmer failed to deliver on his promise of a 'Hillsborough Law' before the 36th anniversary of the tragedy. This could be a decisive factor in the minds of some residents in nearby Runcorn as they head to vote in the by-election on May 1. Mr Starmer promised at the Labour Conference in Liverpool in September that he would introduce 'a law for the 97 that people shouldn't have had to fight so hard to get." However, he missed his pledge of introducing it before the anniversary on April 15, saying more time was needed to create the 'best version' of the legislation. 'It would impose a duty of candour on public officials to try and prevent state cover-ups of that kind and he promised it would be brought forward in time for the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.' Lizzy Buchan explained on the Division Bell podcast. Not fulfilling his promise, 'is a big issue in Liverpool, in Merseyside, and Runcorn is not very far away.' Lizzy stated: 'People I've spoken to on the ground say that there's a lot of hurt and anger about the fact that they feel they're about to be betrayed on this issue ... Labour activists I've spoken to there are concerned about it and MPs from nearby constituencies.' The polls show Reform is ahead of Labour by 40% to 35% which represents a 20% swing from Labour to Reform since the general election. It is Mr Starmer's first by-election as Prime Minister, and if Labour candidate Karen Shore loses, it could be a huge blow for Labour as the constituency has been a Labour stronghold for decades. Christian Calgie predicted that he'd expect 'Labour to hold it by a thousand votes, but as Nigel Farage keeps telling us, this is Labour's 16th or 17th safest seat in the country so if they're getting to that level of closeness almost every Labour MP in the country is going to wake up terrified." Lizzy agreed: 'Labour will hopefully clinch it, but Reform have absolutely thrown the kitchen sink at it, and they are doing well in that area.' To hear more about the local elections taking place next week, the Supreme court's gender ruling and current affairs, check out this week's episode of The Division Bell.
