Oh dear. It has been a pretty grim night for Sir Keir Starmer’s party. Loyalists have been out spinning desperately, with Science Secretary Peter Kyle given the thankless task of defending the indefensible on the overnight shows. One ray of sunshine which the party is citing is the North Tyneside mayoralty, where Ros Jones narrowly held off Reform’s challenge by barely 400 votes.
So it must be a shame for No. 10 then that Jones’ first act as a newly re-elected mayor was to turn her guns on her own party leader. Speaking to the BBC, she declared that ‘national government needs to look and see what people are saying.’ Asked by Laura Kuenssberg what, er, exactly she meant, Jones replied:
I’m sure they’re saying the same as I have. I wrote as soon as the winter fuel allowance was actually muted, and I said it was wrong. And therefore, I stepped in immediately and used our household support fund to ensure no one in Doncaster went cold during the winter.
Ouch. Jones than reeled off a series of other areas in which this government is failing:
I think they need to look again because actually putting up the cost of national insurance is hitting some of our smaller businesses and of course the PIP, which we know many people are worried about now, so my answer to them is get involved in the consultation and ensure you put your points over.
So, that’s the Budget and the welfare changes slammed then. Has the government done anything of which Jones does approve? You can watch the exchange below:
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