Reports of divisions in the Labour Party have been swirling following Keir Starmer’s refusal to back scrapping the two-child benefits cap. But last night (17 July), at a New Statesman and Labour Together reception, Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, attempted to show the crowd of hacks, politicians and aides that the shadow cabinet is united.
Reeves, who alongside Starmer is facing criticism from MPs and activists over the benefits cap, insisted that maintaining it was vital to “rebuild the trust” of the electorate. She said that Labour needed both “creative Rachel” and “cautious Rachel” to make sure “we can have creative Wes, creative Bridget [Phillipson, the shadow education secretary], and creative everyone else” in government. There would be no chance to have “policies to transform the country, whether it is on education or health, and, indeed, putting children out of poverty, unless we get a Labour government, that is now within our grasp”.
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