Far right riots have given the PM his first difficult week in office - but the problems lying in wait for ministers could prove much more testing
Disputes with NHS workers and angry pensioners are among the ticking time bombs facing Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves this winter
The Local Government Association has estimated there will be a gap of £6.2bn over the next two years between current settlements and what is needed to keep all council services – including social care – going. In the wake of Ms Reeves’ statement, Age UK and other campaigners warned that older people just above the threshold for pension credit would be hardest hit by the loss of the, and that this could force more pensioners to choose between heating or eating, increase their risk of going into hospital and adding to the problem of the NHS backlog as a result.
But other problems loom. Ministers are also concerned about a fresh winter of discontent, particularly from unions representing NHS staff. On Monday the RCN issued a veiled warning to the government in response to the 22.3 per cent average pay offer to junior doctors, with the union’s general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger saying while they did not “begrudge doctors their pay rise”, “what we ask for is the same fair treatment from government”.Relations between newly minted Labour ministers and the civil service expected to implement their new policies and reforms are said to be very warm after the Government’s first month.
Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common, said: “I think the challenge is this – voters are definitely willing to give Labour the benefit of the doubt, and tend to say they have one to two years to improve things. He added: “They seem to be governing in the world they expected to be in – that is having got around 40 per cent of the vote, and facing the Tories as their only real opposition.
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