U.K News

UK Leader Keir Starmer Has Been In Office For 100 Days. The Journey Has Been Unpredictable.

Published

2 months ago

2024-10-13

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer observed one hundred days of rule on Saturday with little to celebrate.

Starmer’s center-left Labour Party returned to power after 14 years in a landslide on July 4. Surveys show that Keir Starmer’s popularity has declined, and Labour is just marginally more popular than a Conservative Party that was rejected by voters after years of scandal and infighting, following weeks of feuding, freebies, and financial catastrophe.

“It’s hard to imagine a worse beginning,” said Queen Mary University of London political science professor Tim Bale.

“Your first impression of Keir Starmer matters.”

Keir Starmer won the election by promising to end years of turmoil and corruption under the Conservative regime, resuscitate the dying British economy, and fix public institutions like the NHS.

His administration claims to have made a good start by ending medical and railroad worker strikes, establishing a publicly traded green energy company, shelving the Conservative plan to send asylum seekers back to Rwanda, and protecting employee and tenant rights.

After years of Brexit debate, Keir Starmer has visited Washington, the UN, and major European capitals to show that “Britain is back”. However, the UK and its allies have struggled to impact the Middle East’s rising conflicts and Ukraine’s horrific war.

The new government had to deal with far-right-fueled anti-immigrant violence in England and Northern Ireland this summer. Keir Starmer called the rioters “mindless thugs” and pledged to arrest them. Out of over 800 court appearances, around 400 have been imprisoned.

The British economy, plagued by rising public debt and sluggish growth—0.2% in August, according to official statistics—is Starmer’s biggest challenge.

Before things improve, Keir Starmer warns they will be “tough in the short term.” He argues the Conservatives’ 22 billion pound ($29 billion) “black hole” in the public budget will curtail spending.

One of the government’s first measures was to eliminate a stipend to help millions of retirees stay warm in winter. Labour members and the public reacted strongly to it, even though it was designed to indicate that the administration was ready to make tough economic decisions.

Keir Starmer stole costly eyewear and apparel from a wealthy Labour donor.

Keir Starmer agreed to reimburse the guests for 6,000 pounds (nearly $8,000) in gifts and hospitality, including Taylor Swift tickets, despite her assurance that the presents were legal.

Advisors and government officials have blamed Downing Street Chief of Staff Sue Gray and her apparent conflicts with Labour campaign strategist Morgan McSweeney for the rocky start.

Gray resigned on Sunday after media attention revealed that she earned more than the prime minister. The information regarding her “had the potential to serve as a source of distraction.”

McSweeney succeeded her as Keir Starmer director of staff.

On the U.K. in a Changing Europe website, director Anand Menon said the administration made “avoidable mistakes” that propagated a “perception of incompetence and dysfunction.”

Treasury Chief Rachel Reeves’ first budget, due October 30, is now the government’s focus. The government hopes public and private investment will encourage economic growth, but billions are needed to complete the project. Reeves has refrained from hiking corporation, sales, or income taxes but has ruled out a “return to austerity”—a tricky balance. She may raise inheritance and capital gains taxes.

The administration hopes a strong economy and growing living standards will allow it to make tough decisions early and turn things around. Another election won’t be needed until 2029.

On his 100th day in office, Keir Starmer maintained his position at 10 Downing Street and refused to be “knocked off course.”

“There’s no avoiding these days and weeks when things are choppy,” he said. Governments work that way.

“It has significantly improved, but it’s also considerably more challenging than any prior experience.”

Bale believes the administration can regain trust by showing “not only that it has a plan to improve the country, but that it has a pretty dire inheritance.”

“In certain aspects, the vision has been deficient,” he stated. “I believe there is a lack of understanding among people regarding Keir Starmer or Labour.” Corrective action must be taken immediately.

SOURCE: CNBC

U.K News

Keir Starmer Rejects Meeting With WW2 Veteran Over Her Frozen Pension

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-12-04

Geoff Brown

Anne Puckridge, orld War Two veteran, state pension

"It's the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected a request from a 99-year-old WW2 for a meeting to discuss the frozen state pension policy for citizens living abroad. Starmer declined the meeting but offered an alternative meeting with Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds.

Anne Puckridge, who turns 100 this month, went from her home in Canada to agitate Keir Starmer’s Labour government over the state pension freeze.

The World War II veteran told the BBC that she is “angry” and “heartbroken” following a meeting with the pensions minister, who led her to believe that the government will not reconsider its policy of freezing the state pensions of some British people living abroad.

Anne Puckridge is one of approximately 453,000 British retirees living overseas who do not receive an annual increase in their state pension.

Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds agreed to a meeting after Sir Keir Starmer’s request to meet was denied owing to purported “pressures on his diary.”

Ms. Puckridge stated that the meeting in Parliament left her feeling “bitterly disappointed” and “disgusted”.

She stated that she had the idea Reynolds had been “polite enough and kind enough to come in and spend her time with her,” but that her mind had already been made up before the meeting began.

Ms Puckridge stated that she and her other campaigners would have to think carefully about what they could do from now on, but she assured them that they would take action.

State Pension Minister Reynolds thanked Ms Puckridge for the meeting and for sharing her insights.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) representative stated that the government recognizes that “people move abroad for various reasons, and we provide clear information on how this can affect their pensions.”

The policy of increasing the UK state pension for recipients living abroad has existed for many years.

Since she relocated to Canada in 2001 at the age of 76 to live closer to her daughter, Ms Puckridge has received £72.50 (C$129.00) per week.

Her state pension is now less than half the £169.50 (C$302.00) paid to seniors still residing in the United Kingdom. She told the BBC that frozen pensions touch all aspects of life.

“You’ve got to be careful about entertainment,” she told me. “You must realize that you cannot be as kind to your grandkids as you would like.

“You feel you’ve lost all sense of dignity, the government has thrown you away, you know, out of sight out of mind.”

Ms. Puckridge stated that when she alerted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that she was moving to Canada, “they never said a word about [my] pension being frozen”.

“The first I knew about it was when my first rise was due,” she recalled.

“I didn’t understand it. So I wrote and enquired about it, and I was told no… you will not receive any additional pension rises when you leave the UK.” She said, “It’s the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned.”

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U.K News

Air Force Drones Spotted Over UK Military Bases

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-29

Geoff Brown

Air Force Drones Spotted Over UK Military Bases

The drones were not considered hostile, the USAF said,

British military expertise has been brought in to assist in identifying persons responsible for flying Air Force drones near US military locations. According to the BBC, 60 RAF troops have been dispatched to assist the US Air Force with its probe.

The Air Force drones were not deemed hostile, according to the USAF, who added that the sightings “fluctuated and varied between the bases” and “ranged in sizes and configurations”.

According to the Ministry of Defence, “We are supporting the US Air Force response.”

The announcement follows several recent reports of unmanned aerial vehicles sighted near RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in adjacent Norfolk.

There have been other reports of drone activity overnight. According to the USAF, the vehicles were few in number and modest in size.

A representative for the US Air Forces in Europe stated, “We can confirm that there were sightings yesterday during nighttime hours, but the number fluctuated and varied between the bases throughout the night.”

The official stated that since the first sightings on November 20th, there has been “no impact on residents or infrastructure, and they have not been identified as hostile.”

However, the Air Force drones remained under surveillance “to ensure the safety and security of the installations.”

They said, “We request individuals in the area to contact either local police or security forces if they see anything suspicious.”

‘Treat threats seriously’

Officials in the United States and the United Kingdom have not said who is responsible for the recent drone activity.

However, the BBC understands there were worries that a state actor could be involved.

In recent months, intelligence officials have warned of increasing Russian sabotage operations against Western countries supporting Ukraine.

RAF Mildenhall is primarily home to the USAF’s 100th Air Refuelling Wing; RAF Lakenheath is home to USAF F-35A and F-15E fighter jets; and RAF Feltwell is mainly concerned with logistics and provides housing for military personnel.

A spokesman for the MoD, which owns the bases, said: “We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites.

“We are supporting the US Air Force response.”

The USAF has not said who it believed to be behind the incidents.

US Military Shoots Down Missiles And Drones

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U.K News

General Election Petition in UK Hits 2 Million Signatures

Published

4 weeks ago

2024-11-26

Geoff Brown

Starmer has ruled out an general election after a petition reached two million signatures

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out holding an early general election after a petition calling for a second vote garnered two million signatures.

Over the weekend, a petition calling for another general election was started on the UK Parliament website. It cited Starmer’s failure to keep all his pledges made in the run-up to the previous election. By Monday mid-morning, it had surpassed two million signatures.

When asked about the petition, Starmer said he was “not surprised” that some individuals who did not vote for Labour in the previous election want a “re-run” of the poll.

He claimed that he had “inherited a lot of problems” from the previous administration and had resolved to “take the hard decisions first.”

Starmer ruled out an early general election, stating that only the Prime Minister can request that the King call a general election; it simply will not happen, he said.

This petition, started last week and sponsored by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, calls on the government to schedule a new general election.
To sign a petition, you must verify that you are a British citizen or resident and provide a postcode.

The petition states, “I would prefer there to be another general election. I believe the present Labour government has broken the pledges they made before the last election.”

The petition comes only five months after Labour won the July general election with 9.7 million votes and 412 seats in the House of Commons.

However, the Labour Party garnered only 35% of the vote, the lowest percentage gained by a single-party administration since the conclusion of WWII.

Some of the policies implemented by Starmer and his Labour government have received significant criticism, including an inheritance tax on farms, a reduction in winter heating payments, an increase in employers’ national insurance, and applying VAT to private school fees.

According to the most recent Ipsos political pulse poll, the Labour Party is unpopular, with 28% of the public favoring it and 49% opposing it.