Starmer attacks Greens, saying vote for Labour rivals puts new workers’ rights at risk

A picture


Keir Starmer has used a series of new workers rights that come into force on Monday to attack the Green party, saying a vote for Labour’s rivals puts such progress on sick pay, parental leave and zero-hours contracts at risk,The prime minister also took a swipe at business figures and opponents of what he described as the biggest strengthening of workers’ rights in a generation, dismissing “vested interests” who had warned against them,However, in a sign of how he views the threat from the populism of Zack Polanski’s Greens and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the run-up to local elections in May, Starmer said that having “a serious, credible economic strategy” set Labour apart from others,“No other party offers both the economic credibility and the political will to do this,” he wrote in an article for the Guardian,“A vote for any other party puts that progress at risk – whether through choices that would take us backwards, or approaches that simply don’t stand up to the realities of governing.

”Measures that come into force on Monday include the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, a key demand of child poverty campaigners and Labour MPs.Starmer described the move as one of the proudest moments of his government.Other measures coming into force on Monday include a 4.8% increase in the state pension to £241.30 a week and a 2.

3% rise in universal credit standard allowance.Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, statutory sick pay becomes a right from day one of becoming ill.Workers will also become entitled to paternity and unpaid parental leave from the first day of employment.Labour is eager to brandish the measures as significant achievements as it braces itself for potentially heavy losses in English council and mayoral elections on 7 May amid challenges from Reform on the right and the Greens on the left.There are also elections in Scotland and Wales to their national parliaments.

While Labour has been concerned about Reform since the general election, it has also increasingly been turning its sights on the Green party since the latter won the previously safe Labour stronghold of Gorton and Denton,The latest YouGov polling on Westminster voting intention had the Greens in joint second place, behind Reform,Polling released on Sunday by the former Tory treasurer Michael Ashcroft indicated a three-way split between the Greens, Conservatives and Reform,Each were on 21%, with Labour on 17%,A spokesperson for the Green party responded to Starmer’s comments by saying it was now the party of the working class.

“This is desperate from our caretaker prime minister, who woke up to a poll this morning showing Labour in fourth place and the Greens in first,“The truth is that Labour had to be dragged into giving new workers rights which were watered down after corporate lobbying worked on them,The disgraceful two-child cap was only ended after Starmer was finally dragged into it by pressure from Green MPs and anti-poverty campaigners,”Starmer’s comments appear to affirm a recent pivot to the left, amid pressure from potential leadership contenders including Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham,“At every stage, we faced those same voices of opposition,” the prime minister wrote of the measures, which had been met with resistance from some business leaders.

That opposition had focused on so-called “day one rights”, which give more power to workers to claim unfair dismissal and request flexible working.Starmer said: “They warned of costs, of disruptions, and said the time was not right.But once again, we made a different choice.We chose working people.“Nothing Labour has achieved came easily.

Every success was hard fought and hard won against the pull of vested interests.And each time, those warnings were proven wrong.”The prime minister presented the introduction of a series of measures in the tradition of the Blair government’s introduction of the minimum wage 27 years ago this week.At the same time, Starmer’s leadership has also continued to face trenchant criticism on the left from Unite, traditionally one of Labour’s largest trade union backers.Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, has described the Employment Rights Act as “a shell of its former self”.

Last month, the union significantly cut membership fees to Labour, mainly over the Birmingham bin strike.The scrapping of the two-child benefit cap, which was was introduced in the 2015 budget by the then Conservative chancellor, George Osborne, was criticised by the Tories, who said it would cost billions and “reward worklessness”.The party published what it said was analysis showing that at least £1bn extra every year would go to 186,000 workless households, with a family of two unemployed adults and three children standing to receive a £6,400 income increase.It added that the gains were heavily concentrated in a handful of cities, with Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bradford and Glasgow to receive more than £200m more annually.“While working people struggle with rising fuel costs and food prices, Keir Starmer is giving another handout to those on benefits,” said the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch.

Labour accused the Tories of issuing “bogus numbers” by using a family with two disabled adults as a case study and pretending they were unemployed,Both adults were listed as receiving the limited capability for work-related activity element of universal credit, meaning they had a disability or health condition limiting their ability to work,
A picture

Reese’s chocolate heir accuses Hershey of altering recipes: ‘It wasn’t real peanut butter’

The grandson of HB Reese, the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, has accused the chocolate giant Hershey of faking a pledge to investors to switch back the recipes of its popular products – including KitKat – to the original milk and dark chocolate ones.A confectionary-focused dust-up between Brad Reese and the $42bn Pennsylvania-based company began in February when Reese, 70, accused the company of “quietly replacing” the ingredients – or “architecture” – in his grandfather’s invention with cheaper “compound coatings” and “peanut-butter-style crèmes”.At a recent Hershey investor conference, the company said it would change about 3% of select products to the original recipes but maintained it had never altered the renowned Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.The company’s chief growth officer, Stacy Taffet, said Hershey was “transitioning our sweets portfolio to colors from natural sources, and ensuring that all Hershey’s and Reese’s offerings are consistent with their brand’s classic milk and dark chocolate recipes”. The changes are planned to come into effect by next year

A picture

Put away the Aperol and raise a glass to Hugo spritz, the drink of the summer

Pub gardens and bar terraces have been awash with a sea of orange in recent years as Italy’s love of Aperol spritz spread to the UK. But this year the cocktail’s cousin, a Hugo spritz, will be the drink of the summer, according to supermarkets and bars.It is already being served across the country, including at Sea Containers on the banks of the Thames and Mayfair’s swanky Claridge’s hotel in London, 20 Stories bar in Manchester and the Bridge Tavern in Newcastle. Wetherspoons has the cocktail on its menu nationwide.“In the past year, we have noted that there has been a wider shift among our guests towards drinks with lower alcohol percentages, particularly during the day – a Hugo spritz fits rather neatly into this space,” said George Raju, director of bars at Claridge’s

A picture

Helen Goh’s recipe for ricotta, rum and raisin cake | The sweet spot

This is a cake for the long, ambling tail-end of an Easter lunch. It’s gently scented with orange and vanilla, lightened by ricotta, and studded with rum-soaked raisins that bring bursts of sweetness to each slice. Ideally, they’d be soaked overnight to plump them into something luscious, but if time gets away from you, take a shortcut: put the raisins and rum in a microwave-safe bowl, zap for 20–30 seconds, then leave to cool and absorb. The chocolate glaze is optional; on days when you want something simpler (or lighter), a generous sifting of icing sugar is all this cake needs. Serve with a small glass of grappa or something similarly warming for a quietly perfect way to bring a feast to a close

A picture

Cocoa-crazy: chocolate-infused liqueurs deserve their own moment

Among my minor childhood traumas was the time my dad returned from a business trip to Belgium with a smart box of assorted chocolates (cue tiny violins). Expecting caramel, I bit into a truffle and was met by an explosion of very boozy liqueur. The box seemed to be an exciting change from the usual duty-free Toblerone, but after this incident, truffle assortments have always struck me as deeply unsafe. (I have tried liqueur-filled chocolates since, but still remain flummoxed by them.)The Guardian’s journalism is independent

A picture

Baked cheesy smoked haddock and lemon icebox pudding: Henry Harris’ alternative Easter lunch

Sometimes all you want is a hot, bubbling dish and a spoon, and for me today’s cheesy haddock is that dish – a 15-minute supper to be enjoyed in front of the telly with a salad or a large bowl of hot buttered peas. Add a lemony, biscuity iced dessert, and you have a light, very easy and enjoyable supper that’s almost the perfect close to a long Easter weekend.Choose your smoked haddock carefully: you want large, thick fillets of undyed fish. Stating the obvious, here, but a good fishmonger will have this; a supermarket never. The creme fraiche must be a French, naturally soured cream, too, becausethe cheaper English versions coagulate when heat is applied, resulting in an unpleasant, watery gunk

A picture

Rachel Roddy’s Easter cannelloni with spinach, peas, ricotta and mozzarella – recipe

Fresh sheets smelling of fresh air or fabric softener (or both) with hospital corners are one of life’s great pleasures. As are fresh sheets of egg pasta – the sort that comes in squat boxes protected by clingfilm and found in the fridge section alongside ravioli. They are also one of the most useful and certainly the most multi-talented of all the pasta shapes.That they are labelled lasagne is limiting; of course, they can be lasagne, but they could just as easily be numerous other shapes. The most easy-going of which is maltagliati, meaning badly cut, which tells you everything you need to know about the approach required as you cut them (using a knife, pizza wheel or pair of scissors) into uneven bits that are ideal in all sorts of soups, but especially those with beans