Keir Starmer’s Jet-Lagged team was basking in the success of the Prime Minister’s first trip to meet Donald Trump at the White House on Friday morning.
Anneliese Dodds, the Foreign Ministry’s Development Minister, resigned four days after learning that he would oversee the £6 billion raid on the UK aid budget to pay for historic increased defence spending.
“These cuts will remove food and medical care from desperate people and seriously hurt the UK’s reputation,” she said in her resignation letter.
Dodds is one of more than 400 Labour MPs who have found themselves sharing responsibility for a string of difficult decisions by prioritizers since his party won a landslide victory in the July election.
Party officials believe her resignation is not the first crack in the dam of dissatisfaction, but an isolated incident. But as we pursue more and more tough decisions in the coming months, it reminds us that our priorities will face challenges in keeping his government and party together.
The £6 billion raid on the UK aid budget has disrupted many Labour lawmakers ©DFID
“There are (and) unfortunate people in the cabinet,” aid cut said by one Labour MP. “That doesn’t mean that we’ve reached a turning point against Kiel, but the mood is harsh, not rebellion.”
Over the past 14 years, the party has lost four consecutive general elections, but has criticised the ruling conservatives for their supposed incompetence or calmness.
Now they are leading to multiple policy moves far outside the political comfort zone on the centre left, as ministers operate in strict fiscal rules and unstable geopolitical backgrounds.
The government pursues central left-hand policies, including a major rise in business taxes, an overhaul of workers’ rights and nationalisation of railways, but has also embarked on other measures that praised Labour lawmakers.
These include maintaining two children’s benefits caps, reducing winter fuel allowances for millions of pensioners, embracing a rigorous approach to immigration, a relaxed approach to artificial intelligence, and accepting Brexit.
Keir Starmer Courting Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday © Carl Court/Getty Images
Trump’s over-course courtship, which many Labour lawmakers consider to be a dangerous right, has only been added to the roster.
A more difficult decision is down the track in the June spending review.
One minister said a massive cut in the welfare system scheduled for next month proved to be the most “toxic and painful” moment for Labour lawmakers, and could lead to the greatest rebellion of the star’s leadership to date.
“When I look at some of my new colleagues, I have a sense of alarms. They have something like winter fuel allowances around my neck,” One MP said.
Former Labour MP and commentator Tom Harris used a telegraph column to describe the current Labour administration as “at least by traditional definition, it is more right-wing than what it has done before.”
The Whips Office has strict discipline and was suspended last summer after seven lawmakers voted for two benefits caps. Only four were allowed. As a result, most lawmakers dislike criticizing record leadership.
Former Labour MP Tom Harris describes his current ancestral administration as “a more right-wing than what he previously did” ©Justin Williams/Shutterstock
However, one former front venture said that even though his colleagues understood the need to strengthen defence spending, he was “fired” by the sudden cuts of aid.
“People are angry that politics has been thought so badly, especially about people facing challenges from the greens and independents,” they said. “But people want to be loyal and are very afraid to speak up.”
Another Labour MP said that even many “nailed loyalists” had previously worked as aid charities and were upset by the decision.
“I know people will die as a result, but I agree with defense spending as well, because that’s a political reality,” he said. He predicted that many colleagues would dodge Congressional debates on the issue.
Expressing quiet despair, one MP accepted cuts in aid, saying “may be politically popular.”
One new MP said they didn’t deliver leaflets to hundreds of doors just to make “right wing” decisions on profits and aid.
“I think it’s morally backfiring. We take billions of people from dozens of the most underprivileged people on the planet,” they said. “We’ve forgotten the liberal left-wing voters who can easily lose to Lib Dems and Greens.”
But regarding all the uncertainty and “left left” of the Congressional Labour Party, other lawmakers believe the decision to aid the planet, pressured by the new Washington government, is correct. One told the Finance Times “I’m happy.”
The Starme meeting with Trump on Thursday was seen as a surprise and a passionate success for many Labour MPs. The US president praised the UK’s decision to increase defence spending.
Some of those who praised the Prime Minister’s move said he reluctantly – in a seat threatened by Nigel Farage’s right-wing reform British party.
Dan Calden: “There’s a clear attempt to pinpoint government, to be on the side of common sense, our national interests and working class values.” © Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
“The Prime Minister’s recent measures have been extremely encouraging,” said Dan Calden, who heads the “Blue Labour” group of economically left-wing yet socially conservative lawmakers. “There’s a clear attempt to pinpoint government and be on the side of common sense, our national interests, working class values,” he told FT.
Another lawmaker said most of his colleagues are “interested in the ghosts of war” rather than the cuts they support.
One of the new intakes said increased defense spending is popular.
“For many lawmakers… This is the first time we’ve put something on (social media) and we haven’t screamed,” she said.
“Everyone thinks the Prime Minister is on the rise on this opportunity. … All Tories and Farage people in the local area must admit that it is a good thing.”
One minister told the FT that the policy has cross-party and public support. “Even Kiel doesn’t think that’s a good idea,” they said. “He knows it’s the only idea.”
