Since I wrote last month, it can’t have escaped anyone’s notice that Britain has had a change of prime minister.
I’d like to thank Sir Keir Starmer for his public service.
He made the Labour Party electable again and quickly rooted out antisemitism after the party suffered its worst ever defeat since 1935.
The burden placed on any prime minister and their family is enormous, but he laid the foundations for the future and began to change Britain for the better.
Andy Burnham has made an impressive and purposeful start and, unlike Nigel Farage, hasn’t spent much of his summer arguing with a bin in Clacton.
Instead, he is going round the country talking and listening to real people.
Opinion polls are showing that his communication style and policy announcements are going down well.
He is seen as a breath of fresh air, with Reform UK increasingly mired in the stench of sleaze.
The cost of living remains people’s top priority.
I was out on the doorsteps last week where it came up.
Andy gets it, but things have been made more difficult by Donald Trump’s war on Iran, which has pushed up oil prices, causing inflationary pressures.
Andy is removing VAT on household electricity bills this autumn and through the winter until March, providing some help, and his £2 universal bus fare starts in January.
He’s also been quick out of the blocks and announced a 20% reduction in business rates for pubs, clubs, and music venues.
The need for this is another hangover from 14 years of the Tories’ failure.
Nationally, as in Watford, it remains between Labour and Reform.
When the chips are down, there’s something distinctly fishy about Farage and his £5 million.
We can all smell it.
- Matt Turmaine is Labour MP for Watford.
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