The Budget Went Down Well With Labour MPs, But Keir Starmer's Leadership Is Still In Crisis
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.If Keir Starmer was under any illusions that the Budget would reverse the steep decline in his popularity, BBC1′s Question Time on Thursday night quickly disabused him of that notion.Asked by presenter Fiona Bruce whether Rachel Reeves’s fiscal statement would be good for them, only two members of the audience put their hands up.It was a rather different response from the one provided by Labour MPs just 24 hours before.They had cheered and waved their House of Commons order papers to show their appreciation of the chancellor’s decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap.All the talk of Starmer facing a pre-Christmas leadership challenge seemed to have been put to bed by the chancellor’s actions.But Reeves also announced that she was continuing the freeze on income tax thresholds, a move which will see 1.8 million people having over more of their wages to the Treasury. It seemed a pretty clear breach of Labour’s manifesto commitment not to put up taxes on working pepole.A Labour veteran told HuffPost UK: “All they’ve done is tell working people you’re going to pay more tax to keep people on benefits. That’s how it will be viewed in the public mind.”One senior party figure added: “Higher tax for more welfare is not a winning proposition for Labour, and it has never been throughout our history.”This observation appeared to be borne out by the initial polling on the Budget by YouGov.Patrick English, the firm’s director of political analytics, told Times Radio: “This Budget was deemed as unfair by the British public by a margin of 48% to 21%, and that is significant.“It’s not the case that we see the public simply dismissing every fiscal event by the government as unfair.“For example, the Budget in 2018 went down quite well with the public, the Covid Budgets, even the Labour government’s first Budget was rated neutral by the public.“But this one is the second most unpopular Budget that we have recorded, second to – you’ve guessed it – the Liz Truss mini-Budget.“That’s where we are in the court of public opinion with this government and its economic plans.”Party insiders believe that this weekend will be crucial, with MPs returning to their constituencies and speaking to voters about how the Budget affects them.“Things could be very different come Monday, once they’ve spoken to ordinary workers who resent having to pay more tax to fund people on the dole,” said a source.An MP said: “I do think the hyperbole about the Parliamentary Labour Party being settled down by the Budget is a bit overwritten. It’s not moved the dial really, it just hasn’t blown up yet.“There is a lot of energy from the loyalty merchants, but I think in the main, people are nervy.”One government frontbencher accused the prime minister of “riding Rachel’s coat tails” among Labour MPs.“Things could flare up again quite easily,” the MP said. “People still don’t like or trust Keir and his No.10 operation.“And people still know that for all the recent attempts to improve relations with MPs, if they got hit by a bus tomorrow, No.10 would spend 10 minutes trying to work out who they were.”The first post-Budget test of the PM’s authority came on Thursday, when the government U-turned on a key Labour manifesto commitment to strengthen workers’ rights.In a major concession to business, it was announced that employees would no longer be able to make an unfair dismissal claim from their first day in a new job.The Employment Rights Bill was being piloted through the Commons by Angela Rayner before she was forced to quit the cabinet for not paying enough council tax.Former minister Justin Madders, a close ally of Rayner, was quick out the blocks to declare: “It might be a compromise. It might even be necessary to get the Bill passed asap. But it most definitely is a manifesto breach.”Others on the left of the party – who had welcomed the Budget just the day before – were also on the warpath.Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell described it as a “sellout”, while fellow left-winger Andy McDonald said it was “a complete betrayal”.The U-turn has put No.10 back “in crisis mode”, according to a Labour source, and demonstrated that some MPs can never be satisfied.“Caving in on things like winter fuel, welfare cuts and the two-child cap only encourages them to rebel,” said one Labour peer. “They’ll think ‘we only have to breathe on them and they roll over’.“They’ll believe that by getting the government to do these things, they’ll have a better chance of holding on to their seats. “Too many of them would rather work for a charity or be social workers than actually run the country – they just don’t get how ordinary people think.”A senior Labour source described the Budget as “a post-dated cheque for May”, when the party is staring down the barrel of electoral humiliation in the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and in councils across England.“It gets them through to that, but it won’t protect Keir if those elections are really bad,” he said.A fragile peace between 10 Downing Street and the Parliamentary Labour Party is just about holding 48 hours on from the Budget.But the revolt over workers’ rights shows how precarious Starmer’s position remains both in the Commons and with the public at large.He and his team will probably be able to keep the show on the road for the next five months – but the chances of that remaining the case after May are becoming more remote with every day that passes.Related...BBC Question Time Audience Deliver Damning Verdict On Rachel Reeves's Budget'Why Won't You Apologise?': Nick Robinson Clashes With Rachel Reeves Over Tax Rises On Working PeopleAnalysis: Rachel Reeves's £26 Billion Gamble Could Be The Final Nail In Labour's Coffin
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.If Keir Starmer was under any illusions that the Budget would reverse the steep decline in his popularity, BBC1′s Question Time on Thursday night quickly disabused him of that notion.Asked by presenter Fiona Bruce whether Rachel Reeves’s fiscal statement would be good for them, only two members of the audience put their hands up.It was a rather different response from the one provided by Labour MPs just 24 hours before.They had cheered and waved their House of Commons order papers to show their appreciation of the chancellor’s decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap.All the talk of Starmer facing a pre-Christmas leadership challenge seemed to have been put to bed by the chancellor’s actions.But Reeves also announced that she was continuing the freeze on income tax thresholds, a move which will see 1.8 million people having over more of their wages to the Treasury. It seemed a pretty clear breach of Labour’s manifesto commitment not to put up taxes on working pepole.A Labour veteran told HuffPost UK: “All they’ve done is tell working people you’re going to pay more tax to keep people on benefits. That’s how it will be viewed in the public mind.”One senior party figure added: “Higher tax for more welfare is not a winning proposition for Labour, and it has never been throughout our history.”This observation appeared to be borne out by the initial polling on the Budget by YouGov.Patrick English, the firm’s director of political analytics, told Times Radio: “This Budget was deemed as unfair by the British public by a margin of 48% to 21%, and that is significant.“It’s not the case that we see the public simply dismissing every fiscal event by the government as unfair.“For example, the Budget in 2018 went down quite well with the public, the Covid Budgets, even the Labour government’s first Budget was rated neutral by the public.“But this one is the second most unpopular Budget that we have recorded, second to – you’ve guessed it – the Liz Truss mini-Budget.“That’s where we are in the court of public opinion with this government and its economic plans.”Party insiders believe that this weekend will be crucial, with MPs returning to their constituencies and speaking to voters about how the Budget affects them.“Things could be very different come Monday, once they’ve spoken to ordinary workers who resent having to pay more tax to fund people on the dole,” said a source.An MP said: “I do think the hyperbole about the Parliamentary Labour Party being settled down by the Budget is a bit overwritten. It’s not moved the dial really, it just hasn’t blown up yet.“There is a lot of energy from the loyalty merchants, but I think in the main, people are nervy.”One government frontbencher accused the prime minister of “riding Rachel’s coat tails” among Labour MPs.“Things could flare up again quite easily,” the MP said. “People still don’t like or trust Keir and his No.10 operation.“And people still know that for all the recent attempts to improve relations with MPs, if they got hit by a bus tomorrow, No.10 would spend 10 minutes trying to work out who they were.”The first post-Budget test of the PM’s authority came on Thursday, when the government U-turned on a key Labour manifesto commitment to strengthen workers’ rights.In a major concession to business, it was announced that employees would no longer be able to make an unfair dismissal claim from their first day in a new job.The Employment Rights Bill was being piloted through the Commons by Angela Rayner before she was forced to quit the cabinet for not paying enough council tax.Former minister Justin Madders, a close ally of Rayner, was quick out the blocks to declare: “It might be a compromise. It might even be necessary to get the Bill passed asap. But it most definitely is a manifesto breach.”Others on the left of the party – who had welcomed the Budget just the day before – were also on the warpath.Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell described it as a “sellout”, while fellow left-winger Andy McDonald said it was “a complete betrayal”.The U-turn has put No.10 back “in crisis mode”, according to a Labour source, and demonstrated that some MPs can never be satisfied.“Caving in on things like winter fuel, welfare cuts and the two-child cap only encourages them to rebel,” said one Labour peer. “They’ll think ‘we only have to breathe on them and they roll over’.“They’ll believe that by getting the government to do these things, they’ll have a better chance of holding on to their seats. “Too many of them would rather work for a charity or be social workers than actually run the country – they just don’t get how ordinary people think.”A senior Labour source described the Budget as “a post-dated cheque for May”, when the party is staring down the barrel of electoral humiliation in the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and in councils across England.“It gets them through to that, but it won’t protect Keir if those elections are really bad,” he said.A fragile peace between 10 Downing Street and the Parliamentary Labour Party is just about holding 48 hours on from the Budget.But the revolt over workers’ rights shows how precarious Starmer’s position remains both in the Commons and with the public at large.He and his team will probably be able to keep the show on the road for the next five months – but the chances of that remaining the case after May are becoming more remote with every day that passes.Related...BBC Question Time Audience Deliver Damning Verdict On Rachel Reeves's Budget'Why Won't You Apologise?': Nick Robinson Clashes With Rachel Reeves Over Tax Rises On Working PeopleAnalysis: Rachel Reeves's £26 Billion Gamble Could Be The Final Nail In Labour's Coffin
The Budget Went Down Well With Labour MPs, But Keir Starmer's Leadership Is Still In Crisis
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.If Keir Starmer was under any illusions that the Budget would reverse the steep decline in his popularity, BBC1′s Question Time on Thursday night quickly disabused him of that notion.Asked by presenter Fiona Bruce whether Rachel Reeves’s fiscal statement would be good for them, only two members of the audience put their hands up.It was a rather different response from the one provided by Labour MPs just 24 hours before.They had cheered and waved their House of Commons order papers to show their appreciation of the chancellor’s decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap.All the talk of Starmer facing a pre-Christmas leadership challenge seemed to have been put to bed by the chancellor’s actions.But Reeves also announced that she was continuing the freeze on income tax thresholds, a move which will see 1.8 million people having over more of their wages to the Treasury. It seemed a pretty clear breach of Labour’s manifesto commitment not to put up taxes on working pepole.A Labour veteran told HuffPost UK: “All they’ve done is tell working people you’re going to pay more tax to keep people on benefits. That’s how it will be viewed in the public mind.”One senior party figure added: “Higher tax for more welfare is not a winning proposition for Labour, and it has never been throughout our history.”This observation appeared to be borne out by the initial polling on the Budget by YouGov.Patrick English, the firm’s director of political analytics, told Times Radio: “This Budget was deemed as unfair by the British public by a margin of 48% to 21%, and that is significant.“It’s not the case that we see the public simply dismissing every fiscal event by the government as unfair.“For example, the Budget in 2018 went down quite well with the public, the Covid Budgets, even the Labour government’s first Budget was rated neutral by the public.“But this one is the second most unpopular Budget that we have recorded, second to – you’ve guessed it – the Liz Truss mini-Budget.“That’s where we are in the court of public opinion with this government and its economic plans.”Party insiders believe that this weekend will be crucial, with MPs returning to their constituencies and speaking to voters about how the Budget affects them.“Things could be very different come Monday, once they’ve spoken to ordinary workers who resent having to pay more tax to fund people on the dole,” said a source.An MP said: “I do think the hyperbole about the Parliamentary Labour Party being settled down by the Budget is a bit overwritten. It’s not moved the dial really, it just hasn’t blown up yet.“There is a lot of energy from the loyalty merchants, but I think in the main, people are nervy.”One government frontbencher accused the prime minister of “riding Rachel’s coat tails” among Labour MPs.“Things could flare up again quite easily,” the MP said. “People still don’t like or trust Keir and his No.10 operation.“And people still know that for all the recent attempts to improve relations with MPs, if they got hit by a bus tomorrow, No.10 would spend 10 minutes trying to work out who they were.”The first post-Budget test of the PM’s authority came on Thursday, when the government U-turned on a key Labour manifesto commitment to strengthen workers’ rights.In a major concession to business, it was announced that employees would no longer be able to make an unfair dismissal claim from their first day in a new job.The Employment Rights Bill was being piloted through the Commons by Angela Rayner before she was forced to quit the cabinet for not paying enough council tax.Former minister Justin Madders, a close ally of Rayner, was quick out the blocks to declare: “It might be a compromise. It might even be necessary to get the Bill passed asap. But it most definitely is a manifesto breach.”Others on the left of the party – who had welcomed the Budget just the day before – were also on the warpath.Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell described it as a “sellout”, while fellow left-winger Andy McDonald said it was “a complete betrayal”.The U-turn has put No.10 back “in crisis mode”, according to a Labour source, and demonstrated that some MPs can never be satisfied.“Caving in on things like winter fuel, welfare cuts and the two-child cap only encourages them to rebel,” said one Labour peer. “They’ll think ‘we only have to breathe on them and they roll over’.“They’ll believe that by getting the government to do these things, they’ll have a better chance of holding on to their seats. “Too many of them would rather work for a charity or be social workers than actually run the country – they just don’t get how ordinary people think.”A senior Labour source described the Budget as “a post-dated cheque for May”, when the party is staring down the barrel of electoral humiliation in the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and in councils across England.“It gets them through to that, but it won’t protect Keir if those elections are really bad,” he said.A fragile peace between 10 Downing Street and the Parliamentary Labour Party is just about holding 48 hours on from the Budget.But the revolt over workers’ rights shows how precarious Starmer’s position remains both in the Commons and with the public at large.He and his team will probably be able to keep the show on the road for the next five months – but the chances of that remaining the case after May are becoming more remote with every day that passes.Related...BBC Question Time Audience Deliver Damning Verdict On Rachel Reeves's Budget'Why Won't You Apologise?': Nick Robinson Clashes With Rachel Reeves Over Tax Rises On Working PeopleAnalysis: Rachel Reeves's £26 Billion Gamble Could Be The Final Nail In Labour's Coffin
