"The Panshanger Community Centre in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, was bedecked with Union flag bunting and plastic chairs. I was there as it was my turn to conduct what is known as a pool interview on behalf of all of the broadcasters. At the start of the year, Sir Keir Starmer had hoped trips like this would be a regular focus."
"Sir Keir has long been keen to talk about the cost of living, but the opportunity cost of chaos, both international and then domestic, has made that a whole lot harder. The space to be heard gets squeezed. A cabinet minister expressed this frustration to me the other day: they felt there was evidence slowly emerging of things picking up economically, but not the capacity to talk about it. Maybe, just maybe, they may get a chance now."
The prime minister appeared relieved after surviving a recent leadership threat, with his team showing signs of relief. A community centre visit included Union flag bunting and a pool interview conducted for broadcasters. Earlier planned constituency trips were disrupted by dominating international stories, reducing opportunities to focus on domestic issues such as the cost of living. Cabinet ministers reported emerging economic improvements but limited capacity to communicate them. The scale of the immediate threat led some officials to fear a resignation and provoked rapid, possibly temporary, cabinet and MP support. That support eased short-term pressure, but underlying unpopularity and unresolved catalysts keep leadership instability likely.
Read at www.bbc.com
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