Overview
- Downing Street’s readout said the prime minister warned ministers that recent “distractions” had shifted focus from serving the public and told them to stop briefing and leaking ahead of the Budget.
- Starmer reaffirmed he will lead Labour into the next general election and said easing living costs is his priority, signalling a likely freeze of the £9.90 prescription charge and expanded primary school breakfast clubs.
- A YouGov poll for The Times found only 34% of Labour voters want him to lead into the next contest, with 23% saying he should quit now and 22% preferring he stand down before it.
- Calls for unity follow reporting that Labour abandoned a pre‑Budget plan to raise income tax, a reversal widely said to have unsettled markets as the 26 November statement approaches.
- Pressure on the party has intensified after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out sweeping asylum reforms that drew strong criticism from Labour backbenchers.