𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are set for another U-turn – this time over massive increases in business rates for pubs, which threaten to close the nation’s drinking dens down. But this is only the latest in a series of humiliating climbdowns by the Prime Minister and his team.

Despite winning an election just 18 months ago with a huge majority, Labour struggles to make decisions and stick to them. Here are eight of the most blatant examples:

Winter fuel payments

One of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s first announcements after winning power was a plan to means-test winter fuel payments of up to £300, so that only those on pension credit were eligible.

But after an outcry and a campaign led by the Express, she backed down and announced that payments would be offered to pensioners with a yearly income of less than £35,000, meaning the vast majority remain eligible.

Disability benefits

The Government tried to limit eligibility for benefits such as Personal Independence Payments, both to slow down the huge increase in the welfare bill and to encourage people to seek work. But it scrapped the plan following opposition from MPs, and instead is holding a lengthy review.

Inheritance tax on family farms

The Chancellor said she would start imposing a 20% tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1million from April 2026, ending the 100% tax relief that had been in place since the 1980s. What that meant in practice was a massive increase in inheritance tax on family farms.

She thought it would be an easy way to bring in extra revenue for the Treasury, but farmers warned it would force agricultural families to break up their businesses or sell them to corporations when somebody died, as that would be the only way to pay the bill.

Once again, following a campaign backed by the Express, the Government backed down and announced in December that the planned threshold would increase from £1million to £2.5million.

Two-child benefit cap

Sir Keir Starmer suspended seven Labour MPs in 2024 after they voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Their offence wasn’t just to disagree with the Government’s welfare policy – they were also being disciplined for voting with the SNP. But the Government’s policy was clear – the cap was here to stay.

Now, as part of an attempt to appease Labour backbenchers who have grown increasingly angry with the leadership, the cap is to be axed after all.

Compensation for WASPI women

Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary at the time, said in December 2024 that there would be no compensation for women who say they were unfairly affected by changes to the state pension age, or so-called WASPI women.

Now, the Government is reconsidering that decision as part of an agreement to avert legal action.

Employment rights on day one

Giving workers the right to claim unfair dismissal from their very first day in a new job was a key feature of Labour’s Employment Rights Bill. But businesses warned it would make it even harder to employ new staff, on top of extra burdens already placed on them, including National Insurance increases.

The Government stuck to its guns and ensured Labour MPs in the Commons voted for the legislation, before caving in once the Bill was in the House of Lords and removing this day one employment right after all.

Tax rises

There’s a difference between a U-turn and a broken promise. Politicians do sometimes say one thing when they are in opposition and do something else once they get into power, but it’s only a U-turn if the change of policy takes place in government.

So we won’t count Labour’s manifesto promise not to increase National Insurance as a U-turn, even though it did put it up for businesses.

But we will include Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s promise in November 2024, when she was in government, that she was “not coming back with more borrowing or more taxes”. In last year’s Budget, she put taxes up anyway, admitting she is “asking ordinary people to pay a little bit more”.

Grooming gangs inquiry

Keir Starmer opposed calls for a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal, saying in January 2025 that those who wanted one were “jumping on a bandwagon” and “amplifying” the demands of the far-Right.

In June 2025, he changed his mind. At least this time, he made the right decision.

Trial by jury?

That’s eight U-turns, but a ninth may be on its way. So far, the Government is standing firm on its plan to limit trial by jury, so that more criminal cases are decided by judges.

But a lot of Labour MPs are very unhappy about this. It won’t come as a surprise if Sir Keir, and Justice Secretary David Lammy, are forced into yet another change of heart before long.