Chris Smyth

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Steven Swinford |Aubrey Allegretti |Chris Smyth |Oliver Wright

It was a brief moment of respite. At 3am on Friday the prime minister was woken by a call from an aide informing him that, against the odds, Labour had won the Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse Holyrood by-election. There may have been just 602 votes in it, but for Sir Keir Starmer at this stage of his premiership a win is a win. It was, he said, a “fantastic” victory. For one local resident it mattered more than most.

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Chris Smyth |Steven Swinford

Next week Rachel Reeves will unveil one of the government’s biggest U-turns so far — reinstating winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners. Scrapping them is widely seen as one of the chancellor’s biggest mistakes, and the government hopes the change of tack will help stem the pubic backlash over it.

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Chris Smyth |Georgia Lambert |Aubrey Allegretti

Hundreds of thousands more pupils will be given free school meals, in a £1 billion package to tackle the “stain” of child poverty. All families who claim Britain’s main benefit will now be eligible for free meals worth about £500 a year, in a move that will reduce child poverty by about 100,000. Sir Keir Starmer said that the decision was a “truly historic moment” and again pledged to reduce child poverty, as he comes under intense pressure from Labour MPs to commit to more drastic action.

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Chris Smyth |Georgia Lambert |Aubrey Allegretti

Hundreds of thousands more pupils will be given free school meals, in a £1 billion package to tackle the “stain” of child poverty. All families who claim Britain’s main benefit will now be eligible for free meals worth about £500 a year, in a move that will reduce child poverty by about 100,000. Sir Keir Starmer said that the decision was a “truly historic moment” and again pledged to reduce child poverty, as he comes under intense pressure from Labour MPs to commit to more drastic action.

3 weeks ago | thetimes.com | Steven Swinford |Aubrey Allegretti |Chris Smyth

At cabinet on Tuesday morning Sir Keir Starmer expressed his gratitude to ministers for their work before next week’s spending review. For several of those sitting round the table the prime minister’s words might have rung a little hollow as they grapple with deep cuts to their budgets. The next few days will have far-reaching implications for their departments and their political aspirations.