Thursday, September 26, 2024
Labour's growing pains
It is clear that Starmer's Parliamentary army believe that taking tough decisions and making a virtue of them is the key to demonstrating that they are fit for government. Normally, I would agree, but this only applies if they take the right decisions for the right reasons.
The cuts to the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners and the refusal to abolish the two-child cap on child benefit are demonstrably the wrong decisions, because they penalise the worst-off in our society to achieve a disputed fiscal outcome, while leaving the better-off untouched.
Now, it may well be that they plan to hit the asset-rich in the budget, but that does not excuse the undue haste to flex their governmental muscles at the expense of vulnerable groups in our society. And it seems that the wider Labour Party agree with that assessment.
The Independent reports that delegates at the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Wednesday voted to reverse the introduction of “means-testing for the winter fuel allowance” as part of a union motion.
The paper says that the vote will be seen as a blow for Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, even though motions at the party conference are non-binding and the government is not required to respond to them, as it highlights a major division within the party over the controversial policy:
The motion, which was passed by a show of hands, said: “Britain cannot wait for growth, nor turn back to failed austerity.
“We need a vision where pensioners are not the first to face a new wave of cuts and those that profited from decades of deregulation finally help to rebuild Britain.”
It also calls for an end to the “fiscal rules which prevent borrowing to invest” brought in under the previous Tory government, as well as the introduction of wealth taxes to ensure there are “no further cuts to welfare provision for working people and pensioners”.
They propose taxing the top 1 per cent, equalising capital gains tax with income tax and imposing national insurance on investment income.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has described the policy as “cruel”, urging the prime minister to admit he made a “misstep”.
She said: “The first thing Labour does is to take away the winter fuel allowance from the poorest in our society while they leave the wealthiest people pretty much untouched.”
Speaking ahead of the vote on Wednesday morning, Ms Graham said: “I do not understand how our new Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched.
“This is not what people voted for. It is the wrong decision and needs to be reversed.
The impact of these decisions is already being reflected in the polls and on the doorstep. No wonder the wider Labour Party are nervous.
Now, it may well be that they plan to hit the asset-rich in the budget, but that does not excuse the undue haste to flex their governmental muscles at the expense of vulnerable groups in our society. And it seems that the wider Labour Party agree with that assessment.
The Independent reports that delegates at the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Wednesday voted to reverse the introduction of “means-testing for the winter fuel allowance” as part of a union motion.
The paper says that the vote will be seen as a blow for Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, even though motions at the party conference are non-binding and the government is not required to respond to them, as it highlights a major division within the party over the controversial policy:
The motion, which was passed by a show of hands, said: “Britain cannot wait for growth, nor turn back to failed austerity.
“We need a vision where pensioners are not the first to face a new wave of cuts and those that profited from decades of deregulation finally help to rebuild Britain.”
It also calls for an end to the “fiscal rules which prevent borrowing to invest” brought in under the previous Tory government, as well as the introduction of wealth taxes to ensure there are “no further cuts to welfare provision for working people and pensioners”.
They propose taxing the top 1 per cent, equalising capital gains tax with income tax and imposing national insurance on investment income.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has described the policy as “cruel”, urging the prime minister to admit he made a “misstep”.
She said: “The first thing Labour does is to take away the winter fuel allowance from the poorest in our society while they leave the wealthiest people pretty much untouched.”
Speaking ahead of the vote on Wednesday morning, Ms Graham said: “I do not understand how our new Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched.
“This is not what people voted for. It is the wrong decision and needs to be reversed.
The impact of these decisions is already being reflected in the polls and on the doorstep. No wonder the wider Labour Party are nervous.
