Lindsey German on an already benighted Labour government

It hasn’t taken long for Keir Starmer’s already inauspicious poll ratings to plummet. That’s unusual for a new government elected with a huge majority. But relief at seeing the back of the hated and despised Tory government hasn’t translated into positive enthusiasm for Starmer’s Labour.

No wonder. Every move by his government has reinforced the view that his is a deeply authoritarian, anti-working class, politician who protects the rich while penalising the poor. His support for higher arms spending and his propensity to place himself in front of a huge union jack underlines his total commitment to war and militarism.

Talk of ‘tough choices’ has not included ways to increase taxation on the rich or to raise tax on unearned income. Instead he preaches ‘reform’ – for which read privatisation – of the NHS and has at a stroke made millions of pensioners worse off by cutting the winter fuel allowance. This is on top of his refusal to lift the two-child cap on benefit. All of these policies will worsen working class life, make people poorer and in some cases cost lives.

These policies are disgusting in themselves as they deliberately target the poor. But worse is Starmer’s completely different attitude to protecting the rich and powerful. Take the scandal of the clothes, glasses, and accommodation gifted to him and his wife from Lord Alli, who after the election was given a pass to Downing Street for no apparent reason. Labour may shrug this off as a Tory press attack story, but it will cut through to those facing the choice of heating or eating again this winter.

There is something particularly emblematic about this kind of corruption, where the rich feel entitled to receive freebies simply because they are rich and powerful, while insisting that the poor are entitled to nothing. The idea that Sir Keir and Lady Starmer can’t afford to buy their own clothes is of course ridiculous but it is also insulting to the millions of those who struggle to buy winter coats and shoes and who earn far less in a week than the cost of one designer handbag.

The juxtaposition of these handouts to the rich (and who needs to spend over £2000 on glasses?) with the meanness to pensioners and those on benefits will mark Starmer’s time in office. The Tories suffered a humiliating defeat in July but there was a record low vote for a landslide Labour government. And the Tories must feel more than a little encouraged by the huge mistakes already made and the threat of more.

Every party in parliament opposed the cuts in winter fuel payment. Labour’s spineless MPs either voted for it or abstained – only Jon Trickett and five of those who already had the whip suspended voted against. It will come back to haunt Labour as the Tory tabloids pursue stories about pensioners fearful to heat their homes or even dying from hypothermia. And so it should – it is a shameless attack on the old and if the Tories and Reform gain from championing their cause then Labour MPs have only themselves to blame.

We should reject the argument here that pensioners ‘don’t need’ the fuel allowance or that somehow they are all well off ‘boomers’ – an argument we sometimes hear from the left as well as the right. Actually, pensioners’ income from state and private pensions has fallen in real terms since 2019 – and income from employment has grown, suggesting many pensioners need to work to supplement their income. The average for all pensioners was £387 a week – but much less for single pensioners. Women and ethnic minorities tend to fare worse, and women have had six years of pension stolen from them.

That means most pensioners will struggle to pay extortionate heating bills. And as with the whole population, class makes a huge difference to retirement income. So let’s not fall for the argument that most of those on pensions are wealthy. It’s a lie, and another form of divide and rule.

Meanwhile, Starmer is defiant about spending more on ‘defence’ and never makes any ‘tough choices’ about cutting back on weapons and war. Indeed he flew to Washington to get Biden’s approval for Ukraine’s use of British Storm Shadow missiles to target inside Russia. Although no public statement has been made, it is clear that the Nato powers are not prepared to let Russia win the war so they are prepared to let it escalate, despite the huge dangers of conflict where Britain will definitely be a target.

Those supporting this escalation dismiss the idea that Putin might retaliate as just rhetoric, while at the same time casting him as uniquely evil. This doesn’t make sense – he may well be pushed into retaliating, especially if there are Russian civilian casualties resulting from airstrikes by British missiles.

Meanwhile the amount of money already sent to Ukraine for military aid since the war began stands at £7.8 billion – and this comes out of the Treasury reserve, not Ministry of Defence spending. Foreign secretary David Lammy has just announced a further £600 million support for Ukraine.

No tough choices there then.

Palestine is still the issue

Important steps forward at the TUC last week where two resolutions were passed opposing what Israel is doing, supporting an arms embargo and against involvement in a widening Middle East war. This was despite some prevarication from some unions, who in the end had to come in behind them. Well done to all those who moved them and spoke on them and to NEU and UCU who tabled them.

We can’t expect too much from the TUC general council in terms of action, but this reflects the very great anger from below and the strong sense of solidarity among working class people. We need to turn it into action, with the upcoming national demonstrations in Liverpool next weekend and on October 5th in London, and with the national trade union day of action, called by Stop the War but now backed by the TUC, on October 10th.

The complicity with genocide by our rulers is truly horrific and we have to step up our efforts to keep the cause of the Palestinians in the forefront of politics.

This week: I’m off to Liverpool for the demo on Palestine at Labour Party conference on Saturday, the Stop the War fringe meeting on Sunday, and the People’s Assembly protest at austerity also on Sunday. Please join us at one or all of these events and send Starmer the message that we’re not going to put up with it. I also managed a quick outing at the weekend to the Van Gogh exhibition at London’s National Gallery. Well worth a visit.