Keir Starmer has shocked observers across the political divide after he said he has no regrets about the decisions he has made in the past six months and would do nothing differently. The Telegraph has more.
The Prime Minister made the comments as he answered questions from the liaison committee of senior MPs from all parties for the first time.
They came despite the backlash faced by his Government over recent policy decisions including the inheritance tax increase for farmers and the decision to limit the winter fuel allowance for pensioners.
Labour has also faced accusations of a “betrayal” of the Waspi women after the Government refused to pay any compensation to those who lost out over changes to the state pension age. …
Sir Keir has had a rocky few months since entering Downing Street on July 5th. His top team has been subject to internal turmoil, with Sue Gray, his Chief of Staff, ousted in favour of long-time Labour adviser Morgan McSweeney.
Asked by Dame Meg Hillier, the Labour MP, whether there was anything he would have done differently, the Prime Minister said: “No. We had to do tough stuff, we are getting on with it, and I am very pleased to be delivering – and delivering from a position of power rather than going round the division lobbies losing every night. I have had too much of that.”
Sir Keir insisted there would be no U-turn on farmers’ inheritance tax changes as he stressed the need for the Government to raise extra money.
He said he was not specifically targeting either family farms or wealthy landowners using agricultural land as a way of dodging tax, insisting the move was not “aimed at a particular group of individuals”.
Alistair Carmichael, the Chairman of the Commons Environment Committee, claimed the Prime Minister had “undermined the case” made previously by the Government that the change was about tackling alleged tax avoidance.
Worth reading in full.
The Spectator‘s Steerpike columns asks if the PM has somehow forgotten all that’s happened over the past six months:
Has Sir Keir forgotten the cronyism rows, or frockgate and the freebie fiasco, or the infighting in his top team over Sue Gray? His popularity rating has plummeted and his dissatisfaction score is the worst it has ever been while he’s been Labour leader. Overall unhappiness with the Labour Government remains rather high too, with 70% of Brits registering their dissatisfaction with the party in charge, while two thirds of those polled by Ipsos reckon the economy will get worse over the next year. Still, no regrets, eh?
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