"On Wednesday night in the Commons after the budget, many of the cabinet did the rounds chatting to MPs, including the health secretary and the prime minister's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, a tacit declaration of peace after the fallout from a week of furious briefing about Streeting's leadership ambitions from allies of Starmer. Those close to Starmer were adamant he would never have walked away had the budget fuelled more criticism of his leadership."
"MPs said they had been love bombed in the run-up to the budget when Rachel Reeves met more than 100 MPs individually, name-checking many of them in her budget speech. Everyone is getting photo ops and invites to Chequers, said one MP. The budget doesn't change the fundamentals that they are one crap decision away from catastrophe."
"A number of MPs on the party's right, however, said they were deeply unnerved by the budget, with one calling it focused on the bond markets and the backbenches and not on ordinary voters, who would feel their incomes considerably squeezed in order to pay for additional headroom, the welfare U-turn and the two-child benefit cap."
Labour MPs broadly expect Keir Starmer's leadership to remain secure until the May elections after a budget that avoided major damaging measures. Many MPs believe the budget will not alter the fundamentals required to beat Reform and will only delay difficult choices. Cabinet ministers circulated among backbenchers after the budget, providing a short-term calm following intense internal briefings. Rachel Reeves held numerous one-to-one meetings with MPs and offered visible gestures to shore up support. Right-leaning MPs expressed deep unease, warning the budget prioritises markets and backbench optics over ordinary voters and risks squeezing incomes to fund policy reversals.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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