In the wide-ranging interview in No 10’s Cabinet Room, Sir Keir also:
expressed concern about the rise of the far right after the recent riots, but denied the UK was a racist country
said he was frustrated by the pace of building safety works in the week of the final Grenfell report, promising work would be accelerated but not giving a specific date for completion
rejected a suggestion his decision to end some arms sales to Israel had made the UK unpopular with the US
said his removal of a portrait of former Tory PM Margaret Thatcher from his study wasn’t personal – he just doesn’t like people “staring down” at him
argued reform was “the only way out of” problems faced by the NHS.
On his plan for winter fuel payments, Sir Keir would not be drawn on whether Labour MPs who voted against it this week would be suspended from the parliamentary party, saying it was “a matter for the chief whip”.
But, he added, “every Labour MP was elected on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country”.
The payments of between £200 and £300 a year were paid to more than 10 million pensioners a year, but were axed for all but the poorest by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in July.
Among the public sector pay settlements reached in recent weeks were a 22% pay rise over two years for junior doctors and 4.5% for train drivers in 2024/25.
No 10 faces a potential rebellion in Parliament this week when there will be a vote on the decision to scrap the payments.
Sir Keir said the cut was necessary because of the state of the country’s finances, accusing previous governments of avoiding confronting issues like the cost of winter fuel payments.
“I’m convinced that because they’ve run away from difficult decisions, we haven’t got the change we need for the country,” he said.
He said he was “absolutely convinced we will only deliver that change, I’m absolutely determined we will, if we do the difficult things now. I know they’re unpopular, I know they’re difficult, of course they’re tough choices.”
“Popular decisions aren’t tough, they are easy,” he added.
Sir Keir’s personal ratings have fallen since he took office, with the decision to axe winter fuel payments, repeated warnings about the state of the economy, and pressure on government spending ahead of the Budget at the end of October.
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