Reed: Voters not going to give PM benefit of the doubt until they feel change

Voters “are not going to give this Government the benefit of the doubt until there is change they can feel”, a Cabinet minister has said amid questions over Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.

Steve Reed on Tuesday said the Prime Minister was “obliged” to answer a question by a journalist when he insisted he would lead Labour into the next general election.

Sir Keir used a Monday Mirror interview to attempt to silence doubts about his position, after the extraordinary briefing war last week over suggestions Health Secretary Wes Streeting was plotting a leadership challenge.

Asked why the Prime Minister was choosing to defend his premiership, Housing Secretary Mr Reed told LBC Radio: “I think the journalist asked him the question so he was answering it.

“The reason he was being asked it is that politics, as we all know, is very volatile.

“At the moment, people have been experiencing a cost-of-living crisis for years. The previous government left all of our public services broken.

“I think it’s understandable the public are not going to give this Government the benefit of the doubt until there is change they can feel.

“We’re starting to see that happening. We’re cutting the NHS waiting lists. Here I am on your show today talking about how we’re going to end the housing crisis and get the country building.

“But people want to see hard evidence of that and it will take time. We’ll keep on focusing on dealing with the cost-of-living crisis, fixing our public services. When we get to the next election, the British public will take a choice.”

Asked about a poll suggesting only a third of Labour voters want Sir Keir to lead the party at the next election, Mr Reed reiterated that “people are desperate for change” but it takes time to bring about.

In his Mirror interview, Sir Keir said he was “utterly focused” on tackling the cost of living, as he warned Labour against wasting time on leadership rows.

Asked if he would lead Labour into the next general election, Sir Keir said: “Yes, I will. Let me be really clear – every minute that’s not spent talking about and dealing with the cost of living is a minute wasted of the political work of this Government.

“That’s my response to last week. I remain utterly focused on what matters to me most, which is bearing down on the cost of living and making people feel better off.”

He said people want to “give their kids a treat, go out for a meal, have a holiday, get on and progress, and feel safe and secure”.

Sir Keir said he understood “cost of living is the number one issue” for many voters and the Budget on November 26 would have “Labour values right through it”.

The £9.90 prescription charge in England is to be frozen, Sir Keir indicated.

“We’ve had a freeze in place, which is really important, and you can expect more on that in the coming days,” he said.

“But I think I’d hope you’ve got a strong sense of where I’m coming from on this. For families across the country, this (the cost of living) is the single most important issue.”

The Prime Minister’s assertion that he will lead Labour into the next election came as a YouGov poll of 2,100 people for the Times suggested 23% of the party’s voters think he should quit now.

A further 22% think he should stand down before the next election, due in 2029 at the latest, while only 34% think he should lead Labour then.