The Guardian

Keir Starmer tells unions need for ‘tough decisions’ on spending will include public sector pay – UK politics live

By Andrew Sparrow,

4 hours ago

12.57pm BST

Early release of 1,700 inmates start of 'rescue effort' for prison system, says justice secretary Shabana Mahmood

Around 1,700 prisoners are being released early from jails in England and Wales today , because the overcrowding crisis means they need to go to free up space for new people being sent to jail. These releases are in addition to the 1,000 or so inmates released every week anyway.

During justice question in the Commons, Shabana Mahmood , the justice secretary, said this was the start of a “rescue effort” for the prison system. She said:

On taking office two months ago, it was immediately clear that we had inherited a prison system at the point of collapse.
That is why our emergency action, which will see certain offenders leave prison a few weeks or months early, has proved necessary. This measure takes effect today …
This marks the beginning of a rescue effort, one which will, in time allow us to rebuild and reform our justice system in the years ahead.

The BBC is running a good live blog covering the releases in detail.

12.41pm BST

The University and College Union has accused the Labour government of allowing universities to “decay” by not removing restrictions on international students imposed by the previous government.

Following Keir Starmer’s TUC speech, the UCU general secretary Jo Grady said:

We welcome the prime minister’s acknowledgement that universities are crumbling, but Labour is allowing them to decay. UCU has been raising the alarm about the precarious state of university finances for many months. Yet, Labour still refuses to lift Tory visa restrictions on international staff and students.
The government must do much more to protect our world-leading institutions, including providing emergency funding to protect jobs and prevent any university from going under.

12.32pm BST

As Jim Pickard from the Financial Times points out, Keir Starmer received a standing ovation from most, but not all, of the delegates at the TUC.

And Lizzy Buchan from the Mirror says that there were a couple of heckles during the speech.

Standing ovation for Starmer’s speech but two heckles during it on wealth tax and pensioners.

12.29pm BST

Paul Nowak , the TUC general secretary, has welcomed what Keir Starmer said in his speech to its confererence. He said:

The prime minister set out an ambitious and very different vision for Britain to the chaos and division of the last 14 years.
A Britain where unions, business and government work together to deliver for working people and the common good. A Britain where everyone is treated with dignity and respect at work. A Britain where work pays for all.
Unions stand ready to roll up our sleeves to help repair and rebuild this country.

12.21pm BST

After justice questions in the Commons, there is a statement on Ukraine. That means the debate on winter fuel payments will not start until around 1.30pm, with the vote likely at around 3pm.

12.19pm BST

Starmer says child poverty 'far too high' and scrapping two-child benefit cap on its own would not solve problem

This is what Keir Starmer said in full when he was asked in the Q&A (see 11.33am ) about child poverty, and the government failure’s to get rid of the two-child poverty cap, the Tory welfare policy which is a major cause of child poverty.

Although he did not have anything to announce, he spoke with a level of seriousness and conviction that seemed to go down quite well in the hall.

He said child poverty was “far too high” and that he was determined to bring it down. (It is 30%, meaning 4.3 million children grow up in relative poverty, according to the most recent figures .)

But he also implied that simply getting rid of the two-child benefit rule would not be enough to solve the problem on its own, because the underlying causes had to be addressed.

He said:

Alan, thank you for raising the question of child poverty. It is a really important issue, as you know, as the whole of congress knows, and it matters to this government.
Obviously we’ve had to take difficult decisions given the economic circumstances we’re in, for reasons that I have explained.
But that does not diminish, to answer your question directly, our absolute determination in relation to child poverty. It’s far too high. It is our responsibility to bring it down.
We’ve already obviously set up a task force, but that has to get to the underlying causes as well. This isn’t an issue that can be solved just by one adjustment in welfare, frankly. It’s about housing, it’s about education, it’s about wages, it’s about conditions in which people live, health, mental health. All of that has to be addressed, and we are determined to address it, and are already addressing it.
Because just as the last Labour government brought child poverty right down, so will this government. We’ll will work with you and others and everybody in the room to make sure that we make good on that commitment because it is so important to us.

11.37am BST

Jane Jones , president of Usdaw, asks what the government will do to ensure that shopworkers feel safe at work.

Starmer says the extent of violence against shop workers is shocking. He says Paddy Lillis, the Usdaw general secretary, raises it with him almost every time they meet, “rightly”. It is unacceptable and demoralising. That is why it is right to make that a specific offence, he says.

And that’s the end of the Q&A.

11.33am BST

Alan Crosbie , a teacher who is national president of The Educational Institute of Scotland, says Labour has not scrapped the two-child benefit cap, which is pushing children into poverty. What is the government doing to tackle child poverty.

Starmer says he has an “absolute determination” to reduce child poverty.

11.31am BST

Helen , from the Prospect union, who works in defence, asks what the government will do to make the workplace safe for women. She says a survey of civilian women working in the Ministry of Defence found 60% of them had suffered sexual harassment.

Starmer says that is a shocking figure. Reducing sexual harassment and violence against women and girls is one of his mission priorities, he says.

11.27am BST

Sonia , a school support worker from the GMB, says she welcomes Labour’s plan to reinstate the negotiating body for school support body. Will the government end the scandal of term-time only contracts.

Starmer says reinstating the negotiating body is really important. He wants every child to get a first-class education, and that includes support staff.

11.26am BST

David , a Unite worker in the health sector, says Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said in her speech yesterday investment rates in UK industry are the lowest in the G7. How can Britain get good quality jobs without more investment?

Starmer says this is an important issue. It is why the government wants stability – because that will encourage investment. He says he wants growth, but in every part of the country.

He says he does not just want growth in some parts of the country, with redistribution as the means to help other parts. He wants growth everywhere.

11.25am BST

Starmer is now taking questions.

Paul Nowak , the TUC general secretary, says he will take six questions, in batches of three.

Julia, a Unison care workers, says social care has suffered terribly under the Tories. Far-reaching reform cannot happen overnight. But will the PM restate his commitment to a national care service? And will he made sure this happens more quickly?

Starmer says his sister is a care worker. It is hugely important to make a commitment to a national care service. That starts with the staff, he says. Many people are leaving care because they don’t like the conditions. That is why Labour will impose a far pay agreement starting in the care sector.

11.19am BST

Starmer is now using the passage about the politics of partnership. (See 10.59am .)

And he ends by saying there are no easy answers.

The crisis we have inherited means we must go deep into the marrow of our institutions, rewrite the rules of our economy and fix the foundations so we can build a new home. A country where growth not only comes from the enterprise of working people, but where growth serves the interests of working people. Living standards rising, not just because we are redistributing from prosperous parts of the country but because we are growing the economy in every community. That is our mission.

Because economic rules written in the ink of partnership will be more durable and long-lasting – whoever is in power. So it is time to turn the page, business and unions, the private and public sector, united by a common cause to rebuild our public services and grow our economy in a new way. Higher growth, higher wages, higher productivity. The shared purpose of partnership as the path through the mess the Tories made, and onwards to national renewal.

We will keep to the course of change, reject the snake oil of easy answers, fix the foundations of our economy and build a new Britain. More secure, more prosperous, more dynamic, and fairer. A country renewed and returned, calmly but with confidence, to the service of working people.

11.18am BST

Starmer says need for 'tough decisions' on spending will include public sector pay

Starmer suggests the government’s commitment to financial stability means future sector pay rises won’t be over-generous. He says:

I do have to make clear, from a place of respect, that this government will not risk its mandate for economic stability, under any circumstances.
And, with tough decisions on the horizon, pay will inevitably be shaped by that.
I owe you that candour because – as was so painfully exposed by the last government - when you lose control of the economy it’s working people who pay the price.

11.15am BST

Starmer says he ran for election a leader of a changed Labour party, and will govern as a changed Labour party.

And that is why he makes “no apologies” for taking difficult decisons. Britain needs “a new path on growth”, he says. He goes on:

Let me tell you what is anti growth – an economy where real wages stagnated for 15 years, that’s anti growth.
An economy where productivity keeps on flatlining, that’s anti growth.
An economy where the state of our public services prevents people going to work because they’re ill, that’s anti growth.
And so I won’t take lectures from the Tories … who complain every time this government tries to undo the damage that they have done, clinging desperately to the failed model of the past.
And nor will I take seriously the complaints of people who … faced with the same difficult problems, chose to run away from the responsibility of fixing them, a party that allowed the politics of easy answers and distraction to become their comfort zone.

11.11am BST

Starmer says Labour planning 'biggest levelling up of workers' rights in generation'

Starmer says the service of working people will be the government’s “anchor”. They will be the people he holds in his “mind’s eye” as he makes decisions. He goes on:

That is why we have already reformed the remit of the Low Pay Commission to take account of the cost of living and deliver a real living wage. It is why we have launched a new national wealth fund to invest in the critical infrastructure our industries need and drive growth into every community.
It’s why we’ve unlocked solar and onshore wind, started bringing rail back into public ownership, committed to a proper industrial strategy, switched on Great British energy, and begun, in partnership with you and business, the biggest levelling up of workers’ rights in a generation.

11.07am BST

Starmer says he has to be honest with people about how hard it will be to sort out the problems left by the last government.

I have to level with you, as I did on the steps of Downing Street just over two months ago, this will take a while. It will be hard. But just as we had to do the hard graft of change in our party now we have to roll up our sleeves and change our country.

When we finally saw the books, and with trust in politics so low, I had to be honest with the British people when standing in the full sunlight of democracy, I owed it to them to promise only what we knew we could deliver.
And yet even in our worst fears we didn’t think it would be this bad. The pollution in our rivers, the overcrowding in our prisons, so much of our crumbling public realm - universities, councils, the care system, all even worse than we expected. Millions of pounds wasted on a Rwanda scheme that they knew would never work. Politics reduced to an expensive, divisive, noisy performance, a game to be played and not the force that can fundamentally change the lives of those we represent.

11.05am BST

Starmer thanks working people and trade unionists for holding 'social fabric' of UK together during 14 years of Tories

Starmer says Tory leaders used to lecture Labour MPs about “what working people want”, without having the “common decency” to come to the TUC and hear what unions had to say.

That era is over, he says.

He thinks trade unionists for their contribution to Labour’s election victory.

But he says he also wants to thank them for holding the “social fabric” of Britain together.

Even more importantly, I’d like to thank every one of you who held the social fabric of this country together through 14 years where it came under relentless attack – the cleaners, the carers, the nurses, physios, shop workers, drivers, builders, cooks … farmers, retailers, warehouse workers, technicians, teachers and teaching assistants, I could go on the working people – who got us through the pandemic and so much more, the backbone of this country.

11.01am BST

Starmer is speaking now.

He says he is the first PM to address the TUC conference since 2009 (when Gordon Brown was prime minister).

Updated at 12.12pm BST

10.59am BST

Keir Starmer to promise 'politics of partnership' in speech to TUC, saying that's what public want

Keir Starmer is about to give his speech to the TUC conference.

According to an extract released in advance, he will promise a “politics of partnership”, saying that is what voters want. He will say:

I call now, as before the election, for the politics of partnership. With us in government, with business, and most importantly of all, with working people … the mood is for partnership. And not just on pay - on everything. To turn around our NHS, give our children the start in life they deserve, make our public services fit for the future, unlock the potential of clean energy. A new era of investment and reform. The common cause of national renewal.

Partnership is a more difficult way of doing politics. I know there’s clarity in the old ways, the zero-sum ways: business versus worker, management versus union, public versus private. That kind of politics is not what the British people want.

We have the chance to deliver for working people: young people, vulnerable people, the poorest in society, because we changed the Labour party. So when I say ‘country first, party second’ – that isn’t a slogan. It’s the guiding principle of everything this government will do. We ran as a changed Labour party and we will govern as a changed Labour party. So I make no apologies to those, still stuck in the 1980s, who believe that unions and business can only stand at odds, leaving working people stuck in the middle.

“nd when I say to the public our policies will be pro-business and pro-worker, they don’t look at me as if I’m deluded, they see it as the most ordinary, sensible thing in the world. And I know there will always be disputes, but there is a mood of change in the business world, a growing understanding of the importance of good work and the shared self-interest that comes from treating the workforce with respect and dignity. The productivity gain of fairness which is an opportunity to be grasped.

10.56am BST

Voters are split on whether or not the government is right to means-test the winter fuel allowance, according to polling from Ipsos . Some 39% of Britons are in favour, and 42% opposed, the results suggest.

Gideon Skinner, the UK politics senior director at Ipsos, said:

Our new polling reveals a divided British public on Labour’s plan to means test the winter fuel allowance, which also suggests that support for the policy can still be swayed by arguments from both sides.
There are also clear differences by generation and political partisanship. While younger Britons are more likely to support the proposal (although still not a majority), older generations, who of course are more likely to directly benefit from the current system, are far less convinced.

10.37am BST

4% rise in state pension won't compensate for loss of winter fuel payments, says former pensions minister Steve Webb

Ministers have not explicitly said that the increase in the state pension will more than compensate for the withdrawal of the winter fuel payments – but they have sometimes implied this, in briefing last week ahead of the publication of today’s Q2 earnings figurds, and again today. (See 9.17am .)

But Steve Webb, the former Lib Dem pension minister, says the rise in the state pension will not compensate pensioners for the loss of winter fuel payments. He explains:

Part of next April’s increase is simply to keep pace with rising prices.
Based on the current inflation figure of 2.2%, the new state pension would need to rise by just over £250 simply for pensioners to stand still.
Whilst an above-inflation increase of £460 will be welcomed, only the further £210 represents a real increase.
And this is before allowing for the income tax which most pensioners will pay on their state pension rise.
Those who lose £200 or £300 in winter fuel payments will therefore still be worse off in real terms next April.

10.28am BST

Tory members think Kemi Badenoch easily best-performing shadow cabinet minister, survey suggests

Kemi Badenoch, the shadow housing secretary, is the clear winner in the latest ConservativeHome survey of Tory members into how well they think shadow cabinet ministers are peforming. She has a net approval rating of +49.9, well ahead of two of her rivals in the leadership contest, James Cleverly on +25.9 and Tom Tugendhat on +25.7.

Robert Jenrick, who is now the bookmakers’ favourite in the Tory leadership contest, is not included, because he is not in the shadow cabinet. But other surveys suggest Badenoch is more popular with Tory members than he is.

10.02am BST

Andy Burnham backs reform of winter fuel payments, but suggests means-testing should be more generous

In an interview with the Today programme this morning Andy Burnham , the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, said he accepted there was a case for reform of the winter fuel allowance. But he suggested the means-testing scheme should be made more generous. He said:

I would just ask the government not to rule out the possibility of a higher threshold, or indeed a taper of winter fuel allowance.
Because our experience in Greater Manchester is that pensioners are often reluctant to apply for the pension credit [which they will have to, under the government’s plan, to continue to receive the winter fuel payment] for a number of reasons.
And, actually, the threshold at which you get it is pretty low anyway.
And so … I would ask them not to rule out that possible extra help for pensioners who are right at that cliff edge.

The government has said it is not considering how to make the winter fuel payments means-testing mechanism more generous.

Updated at 10.04am BST

9.51am BST

Reynolds claims reports suggesting Labour might remove free bus passes for some pensioners causing 'undue concern'

In his LBC interview Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, also refused to guarantee that the government would not try to limit bus passes for free travel for pensioners.

He said there were “no plans” to get rid of freedom passes for pensioners in London.

When the presenter, Nick Ferrari , put it to him that he was not guaranteeing that national bus passes for pensioners would stay, Reynolds replied:

I’d say, please don’t speculate on any of this, wait til [the budget] …
You have to wait to a budget for all the decisions within that. But I think, frankly, at the minute what we’re seeing is people causing undue concern, just literally saying anything they know the answer from the government will be. You’ve got a budget in a few weeks time, we don’t comment on what will be [in it].

Reynolds seemed to be referring to a Telegraph story saying Labour was refusing to rule out scrapping bus passes for some pensioners. It says:

Lord Hendy , the rail minister, was asked on Monday to promise the benefit would not be restricted to the poorest pensioners.
He played down the likelihood of a change but said given the state of the public finances he could not offer a “concrete commitment for all time”.
The comments are likely to fuel speculation that the government could at some point decide that not all pensioners should get free bus passes …
Helen Whateley , the shadow transport secretary, said: “Not content with cutting pensioners’ winter fuel payments, Labour have now thrown doubt on the status of their bus passes too.”

9.39am BST

At the TUC conference yesterday Mick Lynch , the general secretary of the RMT transport secretary, warned that Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was at risk of being a Grinch because of her spending cuts. He asked:

Why do you want to get off on the wrong foot in the first budget by appearing to be the Grinch at Christmas?

Asked about the comparison on LBC, Jonathan Reynolds , the business secretary, said it was not accurate. He told the station:

I really don’t think that is fair in any way … the first line of the Labour manifesto was, you can trust us with the public finances, even when it is difficult, and people can.

9.31am BST

Reynolds rejects suggestions some pensioners will die of cold due to winter fuel payments cut

In an interview with Sky News this morning Jonathan Reynolds , the business secretary, was slightly evasive when asked if he could guarantee that no pensioner would die of cold as a result of the cut to winter fuel payments.

When Kay Burley first asked the question, Reynolds replied: “No-one should die of cold in this country.”

Burley claimed he had not answered her question, and she asked again for a guarantee. Reynolds replied:

I can guarantee we’re doing everything we can to make sure that not only the state pension is higher and everyone is better off but that support is targeted where it needs to be.

An hour or so later, when Nick Robinson tried a version of the same question on the Today programme, asking if Reynolds accepted there was a real danger of some pensioners dying of cold this winter under Labour, the minister was more robust. Reynolds replied:

No. We are making sure, first of all, that we can reassure people by saying that the state pension this year is higher than last winter, and energy bills are lower than last winter, and our commitment to the triple lock means that throughout this parliament pensions will be better off. [See 9.17am .]
And also, alongside that, we’re targeting support at the people who need it the most, not just making sure people who are eligible for pension credit continue to receive winter fuel payments, but the people who are eligible for pension credit itself, and they’re not getting it, are going to get it under our plans to drive that up.
And then there are other things, the household support fund, the warm homes discount as part of that.

Yesterday the Daily Mail splashed on a report pointing out that, when the Tories proposed means-testing the winter fuel payments in their 2017 manifesto, Labour claimed that would increase excess pensioner winter deaths by 4,000 a year.

9.17am BST

State pension set to rise by 4% next year under triple lock after ONS publishes Q2 earnings figures

This morning the Office for National Statistics has published a slew of labour market figures , including the figures showing the rate at which average earnings rose in the three months to July (Q2, the second quarter of the year). This is the figure that will be used to set the state pension increase next year, because under the triple lock the rise is indexed to earnings, prices or 2.5%, whichever is highest, and this year the earnings figure is the highest.

Graeme Wearden has more on the business live blog. He explains:

The latest UK labour market statistics, just released, show that total pay (including bonuses) rose by 4% in the May-July quarter.
And under the UK’s triple-lock pension pledge, that indicates that the new state pension should also rise by 4% next year.
That would lift the new state pension – currently £221.20 per week – up to around £230 per week, an increase of almost £9 a week from next April.
On an annual basis, it would increase the new state pension from £11,502.40 per year to £11,962 per year, an increase of £460 a year.
The final decision on the state pension will be taken by the secretary of state for work and pensions, Liz Kendall, before October’s budget. But chancellor Rachel Reeves has already pledged the government’s backing of the triple lock until the end of this parliament.

The Telegraph has headlined this as “ State pension to rise by just £8.85 per week” , which is a good example of a ‘glass half empty’ take, but which also illustrates the extent to which pensioners are doing a lot better than they were in 1999, when the weekly pension went up by just 75p per week.

Rachel Reeves , the chancellor, has argued that the penion increases delivered by the triple lock are one reason why it’s acceptable to remove the winter fuel allowance (worth up to £300 per household) from most pensioners. In her Telegraph article today, she says:

We are delivering our manifesto promise to protect the triple lock, so we can put more money in pensioners’ pockets each and every year. The full state pension alone will be worth around £1,700 more by the time of the next election.

8.58am BST

Jonathan Reynolds, business secretary, defends government's decision over winter fuel allowance payments

Good morning. Today will be a difficult day for the Labour party, which is asking its MPs to vote this afternoon to means-test the winter fuel payment, but it is important to keep a sense of proportion, and a good indicator of that is the way lobby journalists are having to redefine the word “rebel”. In the Tory Brexit days, and before, a rebel was an MP voting against their government. But today very, very few Labour MPs are expected to do that (the unusually harsh sanctions imposed on the seven Labour backbenchers who voted against the king’s speech have not gone unnoticed), and reporters on rebel count today will largely being trying to work out how many Labour MPs are deliberately abstaining.

Jonathan Reynolds , the business secretary, has been doing a media round this morning defending the government’s decision. Speaking on Sky News this morning, he claimed the government had “no choice”. He told the programme:

We have no choice … The nature of what we’ve inherited and the challenges that that presented required some immediate decisions.

It is clear what he meant (he was blaming the decision on the budget legacy left by the Tories), but “no choice” is not technically right, and it clashes with the language Rachel Reeves , the chancellor, is using in a Daily Telegraph article today about the move. She describes it as the “right choice”. She explains:

This Labour government was elected on a clear mandate of change. That change can only happen by fixing the foundations of our economy. That is why economic stability was the first step in our manifesto, because I know, like every family and business knows, prosperity can only happen on the bedrock of strong public finances.
Delivering that change means difficult decisions, including cancelling road projects that were not properly funded, reviewing the new hospital programme to deliver a realistic plan, and targeting winter fuel payments to the most in need. These were not choices I wanted to make nor expected to make, but they were the right choice to deliver our promise of economic stability. And with that stability we can deliver a Britain that is better off. That is what drives my politics and the decisions I take in government every single day.

I will post more from Reynolds’ interview round shortly.

The vote on winter fuel payments will come at around 2pm, or later if there are urgent questions or statements in the Commons. There is another vote this afternoon which is far less consequential, and perhaps irrelevant to most pensioners, but of some interest to those of us following the Tory leadership contest. And Keir Starmer is speaking to the TUC this morning, so it’s a busy news day.

Here is the agenda.

11am: Keir Starmer speaks at the TUC conference.

11.30am: Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

Noon: David Lammy, the foreign secretary, holds a press conference with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, who is visiting London.

After 12.30pm: MPs begin the debate on means-testing the winter fuel payment. The debate will last 90 minutes, with the vote immediately afterwards.

2.30pm: Tim Davie, the BBC director general, and Samir Shah, the BBC chair, give evidence to the Lords communications and digital committee.

5pm: The results of the second round of voting in the Tory leadership contest are due to be announced.

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