“Existential threat” to Labour as Starmer defends winter fuel cuts

Last week’s local elections have “burst the bubble” as voters showed their clear disapproval of ’s policies over the last 10 months. In their first electoral test, one topic that appears to have “come up over and over again” was the winter fuel cut.

“Taking away money that elderly people use to heat their homes, that doesn't feel like a Labour policy, I don't think anyone voted for that,” Lizzy Buchan said.

“There’s an expectation that a Labour government would behave in a different way to a Conservative government.”

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Lizzy Buchan explained: “It's been bubbling for quite a long time and it's like the local election has almost burst that bubble. MPs who normally don't speak out publicly against the leadership of someone, have started doing so and the level of anger and unease is really palpable.”

Although both Labour and Conservatives lost seats to Reform on May 1, the Labour fallout has been “very public” with Lizzy pointing to the left-wing MPs who “are always quite critical of ’s leadership.”

However, Lizzy added that now there are also the “moderate, Red Wall groups of MPs who are quite a sort of new and powerful group, about 45 of them in the northern Midlands, being very, very strong on [critiquing Mr Starmer].”

The newly formed Labour Red Wall Group published as letter earlier this week, demanding a “breakaway from treasury orthodoxy” and stated “the Government has to act now before it’s too late.”

Lizzy said on The Division Bell podcast: “Jo White from Bassetlaw, who's one of Red Wall Group’s more prominent members, was saying she thinks that the threat to Labour is existential.”

“MPs are nervous…you’re going to lose your seat at the next election if you can’t show that you’re delivering for your voters.”

To hear more about the fallout from the local elections, Britain’s new trade deal with India, and what Gen Z think about VE Day listen to this week’s episode of The Division Bell.