Sir Keir Starmer criticises PM for failing to mention cost of living crisis as families struggle to get baby formula

Published

1 year ago

October 6, 2023

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Sir Keir Starmer has criticised Rishi Sunak for failing to address the rising cost of living in his party conference speech after Sky News revealed how families are struggling to afford baby formula.

The Labour leader was asked if he would commit to more support for struggling families after the report, which found that formula milk was being rationed by baby banks to cope with a surge in demand.

Sir Keir said the development was a “terrible story” in the ongoing crisis, which he described as the “single most pressing issue of our time”.

He criticised the prime minister for failing to adequately mention the impact that the cost of living crisis has had on households across the UK.

“I’m pretty astonished that in an hour-long address yesterday, the prime minister didn’t address the cost of living crisis,” Sir Keir told reporters.

“He says that the last 30 years have been a failure and that we need change.

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“He’s right about that, but he can’t be the change because he’s been the nodding dog nodding through the decisions that he now says were part of that failure.

“The change we need is a change from the Tories, not more Tories.”

Data from First Steps Nutrition shows average prices of baby formula have risen 24% over the past two years.

The issue has become so severe that there have been calls for a price cap to help families who are struggling to feed their children.

In May, Sky News revealed the desperate measures parents are taking to feed their babies due to the rising costs – including stealing formula or watering down milk or substituting condensed milk for formula.

One mother, 23-year-old Kayla from Swindon, told Sky News “it is literally a milk crisis” as she accused the government of “not listening”.

A government spokesperson said: “We recognise the impact that rising prices are having at home, which is why halving inflation is our top priority and why we are providing significant support worth on average £3,300 per household.

“This includes uplifting benefits and delivering direct cash payments, while also delivering a record cash increase to the National Minimum Wage.”

They said the value of Health Start – a programme that entitles women who are 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four to help to buy healthy food and milk – had risen from £3.10 to £4.25 per week.

“Eligible children aged under one can each receive £8.50 in total per week, a rise from £6.20 a week,” they added.

In his conference speech, Mr Sunak made reference to the rising cost of living in the context of his desire to halve inflation.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper also criticised the prime minister’s conference speech, saying he had “nothing new to say on the big issues facing families, from the cost of living crisis to local health services that have been run into the ground”.

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Wolf Capital co-founder pleads guilty to $9.4M Ponzi, promised 547% returns

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Wolf Capital co-founder pleads guilty to .4M Ponzi, promised 547% returns

According to the US Department of Justice, Wolf Capital’s co-founder has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for luring 2,800 crypto investors into a Ponzi scheme.

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Rachel Reeves lands in China amid pressure to cancel trip over market turmoil

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Rachel Reeves lands in China amid pressure to cancel trip over market turmoil

Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.

Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.

The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.

The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.

However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.

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The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.

She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.

She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.

But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.

On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.

“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.

“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”

Read more – Ed Conway analysis: The chancellor’s gamble with China

However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.

While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.

It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.

Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.

Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.

Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.

During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.

The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.

Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”