Latest news with #Uturn
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
From winter fuel payments to two-child benefit: All Starmer's U-turns explained
Sir Keir Starmer appears to be heading for a number of major U-turns amid growing concern from MPs about the direction of government and following a devastating performance at the local elections. The prime minister last month announced plans to reverse his controversial cuts to winter fuel payments, saying he wants more pensioners to be eligible for the benefit. There is also a growing expectation he will lift the two-child benefit cap. While nothing has been announced yet, the prime minister is privately said to be in favour of lifting the cap – but has refused to commit to anything until the child poverty strategy is published in the autumn. Below, The Independent looks at all the times Sir Keir has U-turned on his promises or let voters down on the journey from Labour leader to prime minister. Winter fuel payments In July, the chancellor announced that pensioners not in receipt of pension credits or other means-tested benefits would no longer receive winter fuel payments - a £300 payment to help with energy costs in the colder months. After spending months ruling out a U-turn, the prime minister in May told MPs he now wants to ensure more pensioners are eligible for the payment – something he claimed has come as a result of an improving economic picture. Weeks after the announcement, there is still very little detail on who will be eligible. Pensions minister Torsten Bell said there would be no return to a universal payment for all and it is expected that the government will instead change the £11,500 threshold at which people can claim. But with no simple way to process that, there are reports the allowance could be paid to all pensioners, with the amount later repaid by those on higher incomes. Promising in 2020 to create a social security system fit for the 21st century, Sir Keir said: 'We must scrap the inhuman Work Capability Assessments and private provision of disability assessments... scrap punitive sanctions, two-child limit and benefits cap.' But before the election, Sir Keir said Labour was 'not changing' the Tory policy if Labour were to win power. He has stuck to his guns, even suspending seven Labour MPs for rebelling against his King's Speech in a bid to have the policy scrapped. And now, it looks like the prime minister is gearing up to row back on the position. While nothing has been announced, the prime minister is privately said to be in favour of lifting the cap. He has refused to commit to anything until the child poverty strategy is published in the autumn but has insisted he is 'absolutely determined' to 'drive down' child poverty and has repeatedly sidestepped questions on the issue when pressed on it. Waspi women In a 2022 interview, Sir Keir said: 'All your working life you've got in mind the date on which you can retire and get your pension, and just as you get towards it, the goalposts are moved and you don't get it, and it's a real injustice. 'We need to do something about it. That wasn't the basis on which you paid in or the basis on which you were working.' But, in a familiar change of tune since becoming prime minister, Sir Keir last year sent his work and pensions secretary out to tell Women Against State Pension Inequality, Waspi women, they would not be getting any compensation. £28bn green investment pledge As shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves announced the party's plans for an extra £28bn a year in green investment at Labour's conference in September 2021. But before the election, Sir Keir ditched the £28bn a year target and said instead that he would spend a far smaller sum on Great British Energy, a national wealth fund for clean investment and pledges on energy efficiency. National insurance Labour's pre-election manifesto promised not to increase national insurance. It stated: 'Labour will not increase taxes on working people, which is why we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT.' But, Sir Keir and Chancellor Ms Reeves used the ambiguity around whether they meant employer or employee national insurance contributions to steamroll the pledge at Labour's first Budget in power. The pair argue that they only promised to keep employee contributions frozen and instead landed firms with a 2 per cent increase to employer national insurance contributions. Tractor tax Farmers have also said they feel betrayed by the PM, after a 2023 National Farmers Union (NFU) speech in which he promised to have 'a new relationship with the countryside and farmers'. Sir Keir claimed to be concerned that 'each day brings a new existential risk to British farming. He added: 'Losing a farm is not like losing any other business, it can't come back.' Going even further, then shadow environment secretary Steve Reed said it was 'desperate nonsense' to suggest he would scrap tax breaks for farmers, just weeks before the July 4 poll. But, in another hugely unpopular Budget bombshell, Sir Keir slashed agricultural property relief, meaning previously exempt farms will be his with a 20 per cent levy on farming assets worth more than £1m. Critics have said it will see family farmers forced to sell up, ripping the heart out of countryside communities. Bankers' bonuses Strict regulations on bonuses, which limit annual payouts to twice a banker's salary, were introduced by the EU in 2014 in a bid to avoid excessive risk-taking after the 2008 financial crisis. Former prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng scrapped the cap in 2022, in a bid to encourage more investment in the UK. Sir Keir had previously vowed to reinstate the cap, saying in 2022 that lifting it 'shows the Tories are absolutely tone deaf to what so many people are going through'. But in another major U-turn, Ms Reeves announced before the election that the party 'does not have any intention of bringing that back'. 10 pledges Sir Keir's bid to become leader of the Labour Party was based on 10 pledges, now infamous for having almost all been summarily dumped since. They included promises to increase income tax for top earners, abolish tuition fees, support public ownership of energy and water firms, give voting rights to EU nationals and defend freedom of movement. He has said a tougher economic backdrop means the promises are now no longer deliverable. But many Labour members who backed Sir Keir's leadership bid feel betrayed, arguing that he posed as a left-winger to win over Corbynistas before pivoting sharply to the right. After figures showed an exodus of millionaires from the UK had accelerated since Labour took office, chancellor Ms Reeves offered a concession to the super-rich and hinted Labour would row back on its non-dom tax raid. The planned changes will see Labour expand the temporary repatriation facility, which lets non-doms bring income and capital gains into the UK with a minimal tax bill.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
UK politics live: Starmer accused of chaos over winter fuel U-turn as he clashes with Badenoch at PMQs
Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch have clashed over the government's U-turn on winter fuel payments during PMQs. The prime minister has insisted an economic turnaround under him and Rachel Reeves means they can make the payments available for more pensioners this winter. But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said there are still unanswered questions about who will be eligible and how the U-turn will be paid for. 'Three weeks ago the policy was set in stone, two weeks ago the prime minister U-turned, today the chancellor is rushing through her plans because she just realised when winter is,' Ms Badenoch said. Sir Keir is facing questions in the Commons after the earlier announcement that the government's cuts to winter fuel payments would be reversed 'this coming winter'. Ms Reeves confirmed the move as she unveiled a £15 billion package of investment in public transport in the North and Midlands. He is also answering questions on concerns that Donald Trump's tariff exemption on British metal is only temporary, as the nation was spared a 50 per cent levy. Tories: 'Is there any low to which Starmer won't sink?' The Independent's Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports: An unusually fiery PMQs has ended with the Conservatives asking 'is there any low to which Keir Starmer won't sink?'. After the prime minister read out a social media post from the Russian embassy praising Kemi Badenoch, a Conservative Party spokesman said it was a 'truly astonishing' moment. The spokesman accused him of 'reading out a tweet written in the Kremlin, designed to divide the western alliance on Ukraine'. The Tories said: 'Is there any low to which Keir Starmer won't sink to distract from his political problems? 'This was the first time a Labour leader has repeated Kremlin propaganda in Parliament since Jeremy Corbyn and the Salisbury poisonings.' Athena Stavrou4 June 2025 12:45 'Not every department will get what they want', says Reeves Earlier, the Chancellor has admitted not every sector will 'get everything they want' in the government's spending review next week. Rachel Reeves has been involved in wrangles with Cabinet colleagues over departmental budgets and insisted her self-imposed 'fiscal rules' were 'non-negotiable'. The Chancellor said the combination of tax hikes she has already unveiled and the changes to the way borrowing for investment is accounted for meant £300 billion extra was available over the coming years. But she acknowledged this was not enough to meet the demands made by ministers. She said: 'Not every department will get everything that they want next week and I have had to say no to things that I want to do too.' But, she added: 'That's not because of my fiscal rules. It is a result of 14 years of Conservative maltreatment of our public services, our public realm and of our economy.' She said there were 'good things I've had to say no to' but 'the reason for that is because it is important to have control of the public finances'. Athena Stavrou4 June 2025 12:43 PMQs finished This week's PMQs has now finished. The session began with Sir Keir Starmer facing tough questions on the government's winter fuel payment U-turn. He also answered questions on Gaza and the government's new investment announcement for public transport in the North and Midlands. Athena Stavrou4 June 2025 12:41 Reform UK's new MP gets dressing down from Starmer The Independent's Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports: Sir Keir Starmer has attacked Reform UK's newest MP Sarah Pochin - a former Conservative party member - after she popped up to ask him about his EU reset deal at PMQs. The prime minister said: 'Now she is here and safely in her place, perhaps she could tell her new party leader that his latest plan to bet on £80 billion of unfunded tax cuts with no idea how he is going to pay for it is Liz Truss all over again?' He added: 'Although, considering I think she was a Conservative member when Liz Truss was leader, she probably won't.' Athena Stavrou4 June 2025 12:37 Watch: Starmer refuses to say whether government will scrap two child benefit cap Athena Stavrou4 June 2025 12:34 PMQs: Important by-election claxon The Independent's Political Editor David Maddox reports: For those paying careful attention there are a number of planted questions from Scottish Labour MPs in PMQs today directly attacking the SNP. This is because there is an important Scottish Parliament by-election in Hamilton tomorrow which some are tagging as an indicator of the health of the Labour government in Westminster. While the SNP are clear favourites to win, Labour are not second place in a constituency which they should be winning easily. Instead Nigel Farage's Reform are second favourite and some believe they could even win it. The seat is the Scottish Parliament version of the Westminster seat of Imogen Walker, the wife of Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney. If Labour comes third tomorrow the alarm bells are going to be ringing in the party where there is already a lot of unhappiness at the direction of a government which is cutting welfare and spending more on defence. Athena Stavrou4 June 2025 12:30 Starmer: US trade deal will be implemented in 'a couple of weeks' The Independent's Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports: Sir Keir Starmer has said the provisions of the UK-US trade deal will be implemented in 'a couple of weeks'. After Donald Trump set a five-week deadline for the trade deal to be put in place, the prime minister indicated it would be completed well before that. The consequence of not implementing it in full would be Britain's steel and aluminium exporters being hit with a 50 per cent levy on sales into the US. But, pressed on Mr Trump's latest comments, Sir Keir said: 'We have a deal. We're implementing it within a very short time. I'm very confident we will get those tariffs down in accordance with the deal, and I'll come back to him and update the house in due course. 'Let's come back to this in just a couple of weeks when we've implemented it.' 4 June 2025 12:26 Keir Starmer kicks the can down the road on the two child benefit cap The Independent's Political Correspondent Millie Cooke reports: Sir Keir Starmer has once again refused to say whether his government will scrap the two child benefit cap, kicking the can down the road until the child poverty strategy is published in Autumn. Kemi Badenoch asked him to give a 'simple answer' on whether or not he would keep the cap, to which the prime minister responded: 'I'm absolutely determined that we will drive down child poverty. 'That's one of the proudest things of the last government. That's why we've got a task force, that's why we've got a strategy. We'll set out that strategy in due course. Under them, child poverty always goes up.' Athena Stavrou4 June 2025 12:23 Starmer: Situation in Gaza is 'appalling and intolerable' The Independent's Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports: Sir Keir Starmer has described the situation in Gaza as 'appalling and intolerable', calling for a fresh ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages. The prime minister was asked by SDLP MP Claire Hanna about the tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza and the 'generation of Gazans stunted by hunger and trauma'. She asked: 'When will Britain be ready for peace? When will it help to stop this genocide? When will it hold the Israeli government to account? And when will it recognise the state of Palestine?' Sir Keir said: 'She's absolutely right to describe this as dark days. Israel's recent action is appalling and, in my view, counterproductive and intolerable, and we have strongly opposed the expansion of military operations and settler violence and the blocking of humanitarian aid.' He added: 'We will keep looking at further action, along with our allies, including sanctions. But let me be absolutely clear, we need to get back to a ceasefire. We need the hostages who have been held for a very long time to be released, and we desperately need more aid at speed and at volume into Gaza, because it's an appalling and intolerable situation.' Athena Stavrou4 June 2025 12:19 Starmer: 'There is only one party leader being praised by Russia' The Independent's Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports: Sir Keir Starmer has said there is 'only one leader being praised by the Russian embassy', after one of Kemi Badenoch's interviews was shared on its social media accounts. The prime minister said if the Tory leader 'carries on echoing Kremlin talking points like this, Reform are going to be sending her an application form for membership'. Attacking Reform over Nigel Farage's past pro-Putin comments is one of Sir Keir's favourite talking points. He went on to read Ms Badenoch's entire Sky News interview quote, where she said: 'Israel is fighting a proxy war on behalf of the United Kingdom, just like Ukraine is on behalf of Western Europe against Russia.' Sir Keir added: 'Well, that was certainly noticed in the Russian embassy.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Winter fuel payments to be reinstated this year, Rachel Reeves confirms
Rachel Reeves has confirmed that winter fuel payments will be reinstated in time for this winter after weeks of uncertainty over the government's decision to U-turn on scrapping the benefit. The chancellor said that ministers would be announcing details of the changes to the £11,500 threshold over which pensioners are no longer eligible for the allowance 'as soon as we possibly can'. However, the pensions minister, Torsten Bell, categorically ruled out a return to a universal winter fuel payment to all pensioners, reflecting a view in government that it would be unfair for the richest pensioners to receive it. Keir Starmer confirmed last month that he wanted more pensioners to be eligible for winter fuel payments after a backlash against one of the most unpopular policies of the Labour government. However, No 10 was unable to confirm whether the U-turn would come into effect by this winter if announced in the autumn budget – or how many of the approximately 10 million pensioners who lost it would have it restored. The chancellor could announce the new threshold at next week's spending review despite Downing Street not regarding this as a fiscal event. At a speech in Rochdale, Reeves told reporters: 'We have listened to the concerns that people had about the level of the means test, and so we will be making changes to that; they will be in place so that pensioners are paid this coming winter. 'We'll announce the detail of that and the level of that as soon as we possibly can. But people should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get a winter fuel payment this winter.' Ministers are looking at restoring winter fuel as a universal benefit and then recouping the money when high income pensioners fill in their tax returns, the Guardian understands, as creating a new means test would be a highly complex option. A similar approach was taken by former Tory chancellor George Osborne when he reduced the eligibility to child benefit for better-off parents. Treasury officials are still working on what level the new threshold should be set at. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Speaking to the work and pensions committee, Bell said: 'Is there any prospect of a universal winter fuel payment? The answer is no. 'The principle I think most people, 95% of people agree, that it's not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and so we're not going to be continuing with that. But we will be looking at making more pensioners eligible.' The government's reversal came despite Downing Street ruling out making changes to winter fuel payments after the Guardian revealed that it was rethinking the cut amid anxiety at the top of government that the policy could wreak serious electoral damage.
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Is there anything Keir Starmer won't U-turn on? If voters don't like his principles, no problem, he just changes them
SO taxes are going up then . . . After a week of dithering from Downing Street, that was the only clear message sent out by our Groucho Marx Prime Minister. 3 3 'Those are my principles, and if you don't like them . . . well, I have others.' Farewell, then, cuts to winter fuel payments, blowing yet another hole in Rachel Reeves' sums and diminishing credibility as Chancellor. In a spectacular self-sabotage, the Government has taken the hit, upset everyone, burnt its trust with the public and now won't even get the savings and the confidence from the markets that were meant to see responsible grown-ups in charge. But should we really be surprised any more? The U-turn can be added to a very long and rapidly growing list of Sir Keir Starmer's flip-floppery. And it won't be the last. He was going to abolish university tuition fees, until he didn't. Same for Universal Credit and the House of Lords, along with nationalising water and energy and mail. Causing carnage All detention centres were going to be shut and deportation flights injuncted by his lawyer mates — now hardman Keir boasts how many foreigners he's kicked out. Women could have a willy, until a court made clear of course they bleedin' can't. There was £28billion for green investment, until that was put on the bonfire. The Waspi women were going to get billions in compensation, until they didn't. Meanwhile, employers' National Insurance wasn't going up and farmers were not going to be ruined by tax hikes, until it did and they were. Don't even get me started on the PM's years of Remainer sabotage, second referendum baiting and heartfelt longing to rejoin the EU, only to insist that there would be no unpicking of the referendum result and we're all Team Brexit now. And lo, last week he hands Brussels the crown jewels in return for a non-binding watery bit of paper announced with great fanfare that would see the UK become an EU rule taker and open up our borders and wallets again in return for, well, not very much. Keep up! With the winter fuel climbdown banked, panicking Labour MPs now have the two-child benefit cap on their U-turn shopping list. Add to that their militant organising to soften No10's already fairly menial cuts to the benefits bill (on course to hit £100billion a year by the end of the decade) and you have what Labour love to call a giant black hole in the public finances. With every humiliating forced backtrack, Rachel Reeves' job gets harder and harder. Borrow more or raise taxes? Probably both if her last Budget was anything to go by. It's pretty clear now why the PM conducted another, much quieter, U-turn behind the scenes in recent weeks and delayed a reshuffle mooted for this side of the summer hols. It's far from clear how he is going to have a Chancellor by Christmas. Having staked her reputation in No11 on keeping to her fiscal rules not to increase borrowing for day-to-day spending, and having already hiked taxes to their highest burden in history, Reeves is running out of road. 'A Prime Minister just making it up as he goes along . . . they have lurched from crisis to crisis, U-turn to U-turn.' Not my words, but the words of Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs a few years ago You wonder how long Starmer will continue to insist you cannot get a cigarette paper between the two of them, and force the most humiliating U-turn yet. Few in Westminster believe Reeves could scrap those 'iron' rules and credibly keep that job. However, given Starmer has effectively outsourced his entire economic policy to her, the blow back will be on him too. No wonder butter-wouldn't- melt-in-her-mouth Deputy PM Angela Rayner is causing carnage behind the scenes. Mystery memos showing ankle to the Labour left and doe-eyed denials on TV that she ever wants to be PM . . . right on cue. So with all this chaos, you would have thought the Tories would be delighted. Only the Shadow Cabinet spent their Bank Holiday Weekend texting each other and half of Westminster loudly wondering if they might have to do something sooner rather than later about Kemi Badenoch. Big barn door Ironically, she could well be collateral damage in the winter fuel mess, after managing to miss the announcement at the top of Prime Minister's Questions last week, only to ask whether the PM would U-turn ten minutes later. Tory MPs are incandescent that she missed such a big barn door. Some very senior Conservatives say Badenoch's fate was sealed in that bungle, and it's now when not if they join in the U-turn action and have another go at choosing a leader after just nine months. 'A Prime Minister just making it up as he goes along . . . they have lurched from crisis to crisis, U-turn to U-turn.' Not my words, but the words of Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs a few years ago when he was the one asking the questions. A nimble, canny and competent Leader of the Opposition would have had that quote up her sleeve for a moment just like Wednesday's winter fuel mess. Sadly, we are not blessed as a nation with one of those. THE House of Lords is not a happy ship. Old timers complain that the usually genial upper chamber has been so stuffed with bruiser ex-MPs it's killing the vibe. Meanwhile, Labour's plan to boot out anyone over 80 is causing major disquiet in their own ranks as experts such as celeb scientist Robert Winston face the axe. And I hear a deal may be done with the last remaining hereditary peers, who want to be slowly abolished one at a time by nature's pruning shears rather than forced to retire all in one go. Tea cups rattling all round. KEMI Badenoch's curious private chauffeur contract as a Cabinet minister is under the spotlight as her enemies circle. But relations with the famously tight-knit Government Car Service have not improved since she left office. One of the few perks of being Leader of the Opposition is a driver from the official ministerial pool and £65,000 blacked-out Land Rover Discovery Sport on the taxpayer. Assigned a popular female member of the chauffeuring team when she got the job, mysteriously a replacement was quickly sought after just a matter of weeks. And according to my peak cap-wearing mole, Badenoch has now asked for a vehicle 'more befitting a future PM'. The Cabinet Office, which runs the service, declined to comment on whether they would be granting her an upgrade. A Conservative spokesman insisted they 'do not recognise these claims'.
The Independent
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
U-turns on controversial policies won't win back lost voters, Starmer warned
Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that announcing U-turns on controversial policies may not be enough to turn around his dwindling approval ratings or win back lost voters. Polling experts say last week's climbdown on winter fuel payment cuts — as well as a potential reversal on the Tories' two-child benefit cap — run the risk of making him look 'insecure' and could trigger yet more talk of a leadership challenge. The warning comes as the prime minister scrambles to win over voters who have turned their back on Labour since the party's historic general election victory ten months ago. The PM is also facing a rebellion from his own MPs over controversial welfare cuts and a growing unease over the direction of the party. Polling guru Sir John Curtice warned that any policy reversals — even if deemed popular by MPs and the public — may not be enough to assuage concerns over his leadership, adding that 'doubts have crept in' for Labour MPs over whether Sir Keir is the right person to lead the party to victory in 2029. Referring to the recent U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts, he told The Independent: 'These things stick in the memory — so you can change the policy now and you can probably reduce the damage, but it's difficult to erase some people's memory.' Fellow pollster Lord Hayward, a Tory peer, also warned that too many U-turns could paint a picture of insecurity for the prime minister. 'The big risk is that any government that reverses a headline policy — which clearly they have done on winter fuel allowance — immediately does two things. 'One, it leaves itself open for more bids for the reversals of policy, and secondly, it is a display of insecurity which automatically gives rise to talk about the replacement of a leader.' He added of Sir Keir: 'In relation to putting him back in a strong position, he has to be consistent. You can afford to reverse the odd policy, but you can't afford to reverse lots of them. So he has to be clear about where he goes from here.' On Wednesday, the prime minister announced plans to row back on last year's controversial decision to means test the winter fuel payment, telling the Commons he would look at increasing the thresholds at which people start to receive the benefit. Sir Keir is also now reportedly considering scrapping the two-child benefit cap — a policy that restricts parents from claiming certain benefits for more than two of their children — because it is 'the right thing to do'. Critics of the policy say removing the cap would be the most effective way of reducing child poverty across the UK amid warnings that as many as 100 children are pulled into poverty every day by the limit. Labour backbenchers have also been urging ministers to axe the cap over recent months as disquiet grows against Sir Keir's wider welfare reforms, with more than 150 MPs now preparing to vote against them. However, Sir John pointed out that the decision is a complex one for Sir Keir because the two-child benefit cap is relatively popular among voters, adding that reversing it is 'not what you would choose to do if you were really focused on why you were behind in the opinion polls." It would also be seen as a significant backtrack for the prime minister, after he last year stripped seven MPs of the Labour whip for rebelling against the government over an SNP-led motion to scrap the cap. The reported change in approach was revealed as it emerged that Nigel Farage is preparing to outflank Sir Keir on benefits by committing to scrapping the cap and fully reinstating the winter fuel payment – piling pressure on the prime minister to do the same. The PM has been attempting to tackle the threat posed by Reform UK after they won a massive 677 council seats at the local elections and overturned the Labour-held Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary seat. Sir Keir's party lost two-thirds of the council seats they won in 2021 and are continuing to lag behind Reform in the polls. Asked on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg about whether the cap would be abolished, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner refused to be drawn on the reports. "I'm not going to speculate on what our government is going to do,' she said. Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister was forced to deny having ambitions to become the leader of the Labour Party, amid growing rumours that she is seeking to challenge Sir Keir. Quizzed about a potential leadership challenge, Ms Rayner categorically ruled out wanting to hold the position at any point in the future, saying she would 'never' consider putting herself forward as prime minister. The Independent revealed that a large number of MPs from the so-called 'soft left' of the party are organising to try to force a change of direction, with allies of Ms Rayner urging her to organise a leadership contest. But Ms Rayner told Sky News: 'I don't want to be leader of the Labour Party.' Sir John warned that the questions over Sir Keir's leadership reflects the 'nervousness that has now got into the Labour party about Starmer and the character of his government, and certainly the party's standing in the polls'. "The authority of prime ministers rest very heavily on their being thought to be a winner for their party,' he said. 'The problem that Starmer now has is that doubts have crept in to [Labour MPs'] minds as to whether or is going to be a winner in 2029.' Lord Hayward said the questions over a possible leadership challenge from Ms Rayner are a 'real reflection of the difficulties that Labour are in at this point.' It comes after a leaked memo, thought to be part of a briefing campaign against the deputy prime minister from rivals within the government, revealed that Ms Rayner backed plans to force middle-class families to lose their child benefit in a bid to avoid welfare cuts for the disabled and a squeeze on public spending. Meanwhile, Ms Rayner piled further pressure on the prime minister over his plan to water down the winter fuel cut, saying details could be revealed within weeks. Downing Street last week insisted that the first opportunity to unveil the changes would be at October's budget, raising questions over whether that would allow enough time to have the changes in force for next winter. Indicating a shift in position, Ms Rayner said on Sunday: 'Well, I think that the we've got the upcoming Spending Review, and I'm sure that the chancellor will set it out when we've got the opportunity. At the first opportunity, she will set out what we'll be able to do.'
