‘We will not go down the path of austerity’, Starmer vows after receiving winter fuel payment…

September 21, 2024, 10:17 PM | Updated: September 21, 2024, 10:26 PM

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to protect public services from future austerity cuts as he tries to appease anger over cuts to winter fuel payments and the ongoing handouts row.

Arriving at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, the Prime Minister said his government was “not on the path of austerity” like that followed by David Cameron’s administration.

Sir Keir gave a series of interviews to Labour-leaning newspapers in which he acknowledged the “harm” caused by cuts to public services. His comments could indicate the Treasury has found new ways to free up funds after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the cuts were needed to address a “£22 billion black hole in the public finances”.

He also admitted that a dispute over clothing donations and infighting at his Downing Street headquarters had a corrosive effect.

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Speaking to Sunday mirror Ahead of the conference, Sir Keir said austerity cuts had done “enormous damage to our public services”.

“We’re still feeling the damage, even now. So we’re not going down the path of austerity,” he said.

He also tried to reject suggestions that since coming to power he has only made negative statements.

Sir Keir said Observer newspaper that he now intends to present a more positive vision of the future under Labour rule.

“I want to answer the why and the what. We need to say why, explain, show and describe the better Britain that this is leading to,” he told the newspaper.

One of the first signs of optimism on this issue came when he spoke at a party in Liverpool on Saturday night, saying he wanted his government to be compared to Clement Attlee’s transformational administration after the war.

The Labour government set up the NHS (National Health Service) in 1945 and helped rebuild Britain after the devastation of World War II.

But Sir Keir now faces continued anger over his decision to cut winter fuel subsidies for some 10 million pensioners, with unions at a conference demanding the decision be reversed.

Labour’s largest union, Unite the Union, is pushing for changes at conference, including reversing cuts to the winter fuel allowance.

The union is also calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to introduce a wealth tax for the richest 1%, a tax on “excess profits”, change capital gains tax rates to match income tax and cover investment income through National Insurance.

The conference took place at a time of rising tensions in the Middle East, with hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathering on Liverpool’s waterfront on Saturday ahead of Sir Keir’s arrival at the event.

There is also uproar within the Labour movement over his and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer accepting gifts, including clothes, from prominent Labour donor and Lord Alli.

Sir Keir, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner have all said they will not accept such donations in future.

The statement comes after it was revealed that “in-kind” donations listed in publicly available person of interest registers for both Ms Reeves and Ms Rayner were also for clothing.

The dispute sparked criticism from Labour’s political opponents, who contrasted the generous gifts with the government’s decision to cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners.

But Sir Keir rejected suggestions the row would damage his popularity in the long term, saying voters would judge him on his record. “I think ultimately people will judge me on that,” he said. Mirror.

Sir Keir is also grappling with an internal dispute within his No 10 operation, following reports of tensions between chief of staff Sue Gray and senior officials.

The leak that Ms Gray earns £170,000 – around £3,000 more than the Prime Minister – has fuelled rumours of difficulties behind the scenes at No 10.

He admitted that the conflict was destabilizing, saying: Observer: “It’s my job to do something about it, and I accept that responsibility. And it just hurts everyone.”