Helen Whately is the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
The resignations started. The ‘King in the North’ is on the march. The chatter in Westminster is no longer ‘will Keir Starmer survive?’ but ‘when will he go?’
How did it all go so wrong for Sir Keir? Less than two years ago Labour won a massive majority on a promise of “change”.
People are sick of broken promises from politicians – but in fact there has been change. The country has changed for the worse.
Taxes are up, as are borrowing, inflation, unemployment and government spending. People feel poorer, because they are.
Labour MPs point to the war in the Middle East. But in truth these figures were heading in the wrong direction well before Trump bombed Iran.
Governing is hard. Governing the UK right now is especially hard. We’ve had years of sluggish growth. Inflation surged after Covid and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The pandemic has left us with higher debt, along with an appetite for generous state support irrespective of people’s contributions.
None of this was a secret in the run up to the last election. But Labour did nothing to prepare for it. Except for Ed Miliband’s Net Zero mission and a bonanza of trade-union drafted red tape, they had no plan for Government – nor a mandate to make any of the tough choices that governing requires.
Most Labour MPs hold a principled belief that spending more of other people’s money is the answer to every problem. Even if Keir Starmer held a different view, he doesn’t have what it takes to win his MPs over.
So what now? In the days, weeks or months ahead, Labour MPs need to pick someone who can make a decent fist of being Prime Minister. The country hopes they succeed.
Because beyond Westminster, people are despairing. Family breadwinners are losing their jobs, homes are being sold to pay the bills, and young people are losing hope of getting on the career ladder. Millions have drifted out of work altogether; claiming benefits makes more sense. Businesses are struggling with rising costs and regulation, while inflation has quietly hollowed out living standards.
Threats are growing more serious too. Russian vessels are probing our critical infrastructure. Government borrowing costs are rising by the hour. And still the welfare bill goes on up.
More of the same is not the answer. Government spending must come down, along with taxes and borrowing. Swathes of red tape must go. Only then will we get the growth and jobs needed to start turning things around.
To me it seems obvious. But to the Labour MPs choosing their next leader? I doubt it.
The problem isn’t just Starmer; it’s also the MPs behind him. They clamoured for more welfare spending and the lifting of the two-child cap. They cheered taxes on farmers, family businesses and schools. And though some pay lip service to defence investment, the will to find the money simply isn’t there.
With his back against the wall, it’s no surprise that Keir Starmer’s King’s Speech contained no welfare savings, no succour for businesses drowning in red tape, no lightening of the tax burden and no serious plan for funding defence. What it did promise was the so-called ‘Regulation for Growth Bill’ – a contradiction in terms if ever there was one.
In anticipation, we set out our Alternative King’s Speech outlining 16 bills to deliver our plan for the country. It covers all those gaps: £23 billion of welfare savings, a list of business regulations we would repeal, cuts to business taxes, the end of stamp duty, investment in defence – along with tougher measures on crime, leaving the ECHR and drilling in the North Sea.
To govern, a plan is necessary – but it’s not sufficient. You also need principles, conviction and courage. In Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party has a leader with those qualities in spades.
The country is fed up. Fed up with politicians promising but not delivering. Fed up with seeing their taxes spent on things they don’t want – from far flung aid projects to hand-outs to migrants. Fed up with working all hours and having nothing left at the end of the month.
Kemi articulated this mood in her response to the King’s Speech in Parliament on Wednesday. A Labour Minister foolishly criticised her for being rude. Not so; she was telling the truth, but it’s a truth they don’t want to hear.
And this is the nub of it. They came to power on empty promises, having failed to understand the country’s problems. They were not even listening. So, they were totally unprepared.
As I said in Parliament as we debated the King’s Speech, being in power is not an end in itself: what matters is what you do with the power voters trust you with.
We have learnt from our mistakes, and we are also learning from theirs. Read our Alternative King’s Speech and you will see what I mean.
Helen Whately is the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
The resignations started. The ‘King in the North’ is on the march. The chatter in Westminster is no longer ‘will Keir Starmer survive?’ but ‘when will he go?’
How did it all go so wrong for Sir Keir? Less than two years ago Labour won a massive majority on a promise of “change”.
People are sick of broken promises from politicians – but in fact there has been change. The country has changed for the worse.
Taxes are up, as are borrowing, inflation, unemployment and government spending. People feel poorer, because they are.
Labour MPs point to the war in the Middle East. But in truth these figures were heading in the wrong direction well before Trump bombed Iran.
Governing is hard. Governing the UK right now is especially hard. We’ve had years of sluggish growth. Inflation surged after Covid and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The pandemic has left us with higher debt, along with an appetite for generous state support irrespective of people’s contributions.
None of this was a secret in the run up to the last election. But Labour did nothing to prepare for it. Except for Ed Miliband’s Net Zero mission and a bonanza of trade-union drafted red tape, they had no plan for Government – nor a mandate to make any of the tough choices that governing requires.
Most Labour MPs hold a principled belief that spending more of other people’s money is the answer to every problem. Even if Keir Starmer held a different view, he doesn’t have what it takes to win his MPs over.
So what now? In the days, weeks or months ahead, Labour MPs need to pick someone who can make a decent fist of being Prime Minister. The country hopes they succeed.
Because beyond Westminster, people are despairing. Family breadwinners are losing their jobs, homes are being sold to pay the bills, and young people are losing hope of getting on the career ladder. Millions have drifted out of work altogether; claiming benefits makes more sense. Businesses are struggling with rising costs and regulation, while inflation has quietly hollowed out living standards.
Threats are growing more serious too. Russian vessels are probing our critical infrastructure. Government borrowing costs are rising by the hour. And still the welfare bill goes on up.
More of the same is not the answer. Government spending must come down, along with taxes and borrowing. Swathes of red tape must go. Only then will we get the growth and jobs needed to start turning things around.
To me it seems obvious. But to the Labour MPs choosing their next leader? I doubt it.
The problem isn’t just Starmer; it’s also the MPs behind him. They clamoured for more welfare spending and the lifting of the two-child cap. They cheered taxes on farmers, family businesses and schools. And though some pay lip service to defence investment, the will to find the money simply isn’t there.
With his back against the wall, it’s no surprise that Keir Starmer’s King’s Speech contained no welfare savings, no succour for businesses drowning in red tape, no lightening of the tax burden and no serious plan for funding defence. What it did promise was the so-called ‘Regulation for Growth Bill’ – a contradiction in terms if ever there was one.
In anticipation, we set out our Alternative King’s Speech outlining 16 bills to deliver our plan for the country. It covers all those gaps: £23 billion of welfare savings, a list of business regulations we would repeal, cuts to business taxes, the end of stamp duty, investment in defence – along with tougher measures on crime, leaving the ECHR and drilling in the North Sea.
To govern, a plan is necessary – but it’s not sufficient. You also need principles, conviction and courage. In Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party has a leader with those qualities in spades.
The country is fed up. Fed up with politicians promising but not delivering. Fed up with seeing their taxes spent on things they don’t want – from far flung aid projects to hand-outs to migrants. Fed up with working all hours and having nothing left at the end of the month.
Kemi articulated this mood in her response to the King’s Speech in Parliament on Wednesday. A Labour Minister foolishly criticised her for being rude. Not so; she was telling the truth, but it’s a truth they don’t want to hear.
And this is the nub of it. They came to power on empty promises, having failed to understand the country’s problems. They were not even listening. So, they were totally unprepared.
As I said in Parliament as we debated the King’s Speech, being in power is not an end in itself: what matters is what you do with the power voters trust you with.
We have learnt from our mistakes, and we are also learning from theirs. Read our Alternative King’s Speech and you will see what I mean.