BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told trade unions on Tuesday he would have to take unpopular public spending decisions, just hours before he faces an important parliamentary vote on his plan to cut fuel payments to some elderly people.
Starmer could face the biggest rebellion of his two-month premiership after some lawmakers in his Labour Party expressed the same concerns as trade unions and opposition parties over a decision to cut help to some older people with energy bills.
In a speech to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Starmer told delegates he was ready to take steps such as repealing anti-strike laws and abolishing zero-hour contracts to help workers, but said they would have to accept restraint on public spending.
Starmer said the previous Conservative government “salted the earth” by leaving him with a 22 billion pound ($29 billion) black hole, forcing him to take difficult decisions. That charge is disputed by the Conservatives, now in opposition.
“The bill for this performance is now in. And I’m afraid if we don’t take action – it’s a cheque that will bounce,” Starmer told union leaders
“I do have to make clear, from a place of respect, that this government will not risk its mandate for economic stability, under any circumstances.”
Elected in a landslide victory in July on a promise to rebuild Britain, Starmer has recently raised the possibility of tax rises and spending cuts to try to fix a myriad of problems he blamed on 14 years of Conservative misrule.
Labour has close links to unions, which founded the centre-left party more than a century ago to represent workers.
TENSIONS
But tensions between Labour and some of the larger unions were on display over his plan to scrap 1.5 billion pounds in winter fuel payments for the elderly.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of the Unite union, accused the government of “picking the pocket of pensioners”.
In his speech, Starmer called for unions and businesses to work together and to accept trade-offs to help the government rebuild the economy.
Starmer said the idea that unions and businesses were always at odds was an “outdated trope”.
“I make no apologies to those, still stuck in the 1980s, who believe that unions and business can only stand at odds, leaving working people stuck in the middle,” he said.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Elizabeth Piper and Gareth Jones)
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