Labour MPs call on Starmer to focus on radical ideas to lower cost of living
The government must refocus on more radical ideas to help people with everyday costs such as food, energy, childcare and housing, more than 100 Labour MPs have said in a letter to Keir Starmer,They made the warning amid fears Labour could lose the next election and will bleed voters to both Reform and parties on the left unless there is a much faster pace of change that puts money directly back in people’s pockets,The letter launches the new Living Standards group of Labour MPs, which will be spearheaded by eight from the 2024 intake,Speaking to the Guardian, MPs from the group said the government also had to change the way it related to voters, speaking less about growth in the G7 and more about the cost of food,It aims to submit a slew of ideas on driving down everyday costs to government before the autumn, in an attempt to combat the threat to Labour from both leftwing parties and Reform.
The letter is the latest sign of a more activist parliamentary party ready to push its own ideas to No 10 and the Treasury after the tussle over welfare this month.In their letter to Starmer, which reiterates support for the prime minister and the government, the 104 MPs said there were welcome efforts to raise incomes via investment in industry and changes to workers rights – but said there should now be a big effort towards also lowering everyday costs.“Our constituents will ask one question at the next election: did this Labour government make me better off?” it said.“We have some of the highest electricity, housing, and childcare bills in Europe.This is because we are dependent on natural gas for our power, don’t have enough social homes and the last government failed to invest in the childcare we need … [living standards] is the most important issue to our constituents and the country.
”MPs involved in the group – four of whom sit on the Treasury select committee and most in swing seats – said they also believed a renewed focus on living standards would help rebuild faith among disillusioned voters.“It’s not just about the electoral challenge, but also about our values,” the group’s convenor, Dr Jeevun Sandher, said.“Our Labour values are about ensuring everyone can earn a decent life.It’s the difference between us and the other side and how we help people to get there.So it’s about both the political focus and providing the ideas.
What more can we do to help people feel it?”Andrew Lewin, the MP for Welwyn Hatfield, who is on the organising committee, said: “It’s also a little bit less talking about the G7, a little bit more about groceries.”Sandher, the MP for Loughborough, said the group was motivated by polling that suggested 50% of voters who described themselves as economically insecure had stopped supporting Labour since last July.“You’ve got young graduate renters going to the Greens because they find their housing costs are really expensive.And you’ve got people in post-industrial areas going to Reform because they’re finding everything else really expensive, as well as finding it difficult to find good jobs.And both sides are pulling the ‘I want radical change’ lever,” he said.
Sandher added that the party made had to make decisive and tangible progress on energy bills, housing and everyday costs.“I think if we don’t have that, then I’m not going to get re-elected.Let’s be honest about it,” he said.The group said it wanted to maintain a broad ideological composition across both new and longtime MPs, with a significant diversity of seats.Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionAlongside Sandher and Lewin, MPs on the organising committee include some of the most prominent MPs of the new intake – such as Chris Curtis (Milton Keynes North), Lola McEvoy (Darlington), Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) and Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley).
The others are Rachel Blake for the Cities of London and Westminster and Luke Murphy, the Basingstoke MP,The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know,If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods,Secure Messaging in the Guardian appThe Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories,Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs.
This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said,If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu,Select ‘Secure Messaging’,SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and postSee our guide at theguardian,com/tips for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each.
The group plans policy launches on three key areas over the coming month, starting next week on energy bills and followed by childcare and housing,It said each policy would be progressive, helping both low- and middle-class households, improve economic efficiency and increase growth and must be cost-neutral or funded by progressive taxation,“Even in constituencies which are relatively affluent like mine, there are such deep pockets of deprivation,” Yang said,“All working families across the income spectrum feel like they are being squeezed,”Lewin said it was clear many people felt they needed to see a much faster pace of change.
“There is an anxiety there because things have been so bad for the last 14 years,And even if we see wage growth … we see the savings ratio growing, which shows people do have a bit more but are keeping hold of it,” he said,McEvoy, who also co-chairs the Labour Growth group with Curtis, said bills and low wages were also taking a huge toll on people’s mental health,“They’re one bill away from crisis and it’s having a massive knock-on effect to mental health,” she said,“It’s about people’s expectations of what they thought their life would be like and.
continuously grafting but can’t seem to keep their head above water,”Curtis said he believed the focus would also help be a unifying force within the party where there had been divisions over strategy,“For years it has polled as the top issue facing voters,We can have all of these arguments in the Labour party about whether we need to care about voters we’re losing to the Greens, whether we need to care about voters we’re losing to Reform or others,“But actually right across that voter coalition when you sit down and speak to those voters, they will all say the biggest problem facing their lives is the price of food in the shops.
”
‘The Co-op won’t defeat me’: Brighton shop owners fight against eviction
For Louise Oliver, it is the work of Charles Dickens that best describes her current predicament. “It’s a tale of a woman who has her lovely old shop taken over by a nasty piece of work,” she said, evoking Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop.In this instance, the identity of this “nasty piece of work” may come as a surprise. In 1844, three years after Dickens published the tragic tale of Little Nell, the world’s first successful cooperative shop opened in Rochdale. It put power into the hands of the community, who were sick of being fleeced by the powers above
Microdosing: how ‘off-label’ use of weight loss jabs is spreading from US to UK
A slim woman standing in a kitchen injects herself in the abdomen. Another jogs. A third kneels on a yoga mat drinking water. The shots are intercut with a doctor telling the viewer: “Usually it’s for people who don’t actually have that much to lose – it’s a bit of a gentler way to get to your target weight.”The promotional video is from a private clinic in Leicester offering “microdosing”, the latest trend in the weight loss jab revolution
Louis Vuitton says UK customer data stolen in cyber-attack
Louis Vuitton has said the data of some UK customers has been stolen, as it became the latest retailer targeted by cyber hackers.The retailer, the leading brand of the French luxury group LVMH, said an unauthorised third party had accessed its UK operation’s systems and obtained information such as names, contact details and purchase history.The brand, which last week said its Korean operation had suffered a similar cyber-attack, told customers that no financial data such as bank details had been compromised.“While we have no evidence that your data has been misused to date, phishing attempts, fraud attempts, or unauthorised use of your information may occur,” the email said.The company said it had notified the relevant authorities, including the Information Commissioner’s Office
The CEO who never was: how Linda Yaccarino was set up to fail at Elon Musk’s X
In May 2023, when Linda Yaccarino, an NBC advertising executive, joined what was then still known as Twitter, she was given a tall order: repair the company’s relationship with advertisers after a chaotic year of being owned by Elon Musk. But just weeks after she became CEO, Musk posted an antisemitic tweet that drove away major brands such as Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Comcast, Lionsgate and Warner Bros Discovery to pause their advertising on the platform. Musk delivered an apology for the tweet later at a conference – which he called the worst post he’s ever done – but it came with a message to advertisers, specifically the Disney CEO Bob Iger: “Go fuck yourselves.” Yaccarino was in the audience of the conference.“I don’t want them to advertise,” he said
Tour de France 2025: stage eight, from Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Laval – live
148km to go: It’s all still very calm in the peloton. After yesterday’s bumpy stage, the riders are taking the more relaxed moments where they can – who can blame them? Intermarché-Wanty and Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) are still driving the bunch.One of the team’s has radioed its riders to say that this region is known for having lots of cows. I think that sums up the level of action right now.153km to go: According to the Tour race centre, the wind as well as the heat will make things uncomfortable for the peloton today
England v India: third men’s cricket Test, day three – live
Ben Stokes has done it again! Not with the ball this time, but in the field.65th over: India 247-3 (Rahul 97, Pant 74) Pant hooks Stokes towards fine leg, where Crawley does brilliantly to save the six by leaping backwards over the rope to take the catch and then getting rid of the ball before he hits the floor.Does that go down as a dropped catch? I guess so, but there was nothing more Crawley could have done without a stepladder.Earlier in the over Pant placed a superb cut for four. He’s getting away from England, and that means so are India
Lord’s was the scenery: art and beauty of West Indies’ historic first win 75 years ago | Barney Ronay
Third Test’s day-night format should feel like home turf for Australia in Kingston | Geoff Lemon
New Zealand 37-12 Australia: women’s rugby union Test – as it happened
Taylor outpoints Serrano to cap classic trilogy on historic all-women’s card
Katie Taylor beats Amanda Serrano by majority decision to retain undisputed title – as it happened
Dagnall try extends St Helens’ winning run over Leeds and lifts them into third