Another day, another Labour meltdown: Starmer's business

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The Business Secretary today wriggled on whether he agreed with Louise Haigh’s call for a boycott of P&O Ferries amid a Labour meltdown on the eve of a crucial global business summit.

Jonathan Reynolds merely insisted it was ‘not the government’s position’ as he was repeatedly grilled over his Cabinet colleague’s attack.

Pressed on whether he would shun the operator Mr Reynolds said he had ‘not used a ferry recently’, suggesting it would depend on whether they were committed to fair treatment of staff.

He admitted that the government needed to ‘have a conversation’ with the firm’s Dubai-based owner DP World, which threatened to pull a £1billion investment package.

Keir Starmer – who finally acknowledged this weekend that his first 100 days in power have been ‘choppy’ – desperately moved to save the deal by issuing a slapdown to Ms Haigh.

But Ms Haigh and Angela Rayner – who jointly issued the press release last week slamming P&O Ferries for firing 800 staff in 2022 – are said to be ‘hopping mad’.

In an interview on Sky News this morning, Mr Reynolds denied that Ms Haigh had ‘undermined’ the summit saying she is ‘part of the team’.

On whether he felt the same way about the need for a boycott, Mr Reynolds said: ‘That’s not the government’s position.’

Tories pointed to the row as evidence of the damage Labour’s ‘student politics’ will do to the country’s prospects.

Jonathan Reynolds merely insisted it was ‘not the government’s position’ as he was repeatedly grilled over his Cabinet colleague’s attack

Keir Starmer is struggling to contain a Labour meltdown on the eve of his global business summit after he ‘scapegoated’ Louise Haigh for attacking P&O Ferries

Although Sir Keir’s slapdown looks to have saved the deal, Ms Haigh (left) and Angela Rayner (right) – who jointly a the press release last week slamming P&O Ferries for firing 800 staff in 2022 – are said to be ‘hopping mad’

Labour MP Ian Byrne joined the backlash over Sir Keir’s public rebuke

The spat began when Ms Haigh and Ms Rayner trumpeted new legislation to protest seafarers last week, criticising P&O Ferries as a ‘rogue operator’.

The firm was slated by politicians from both main parties in March 2022 when it suddenly sacked 800 British seafarers and replaced them with cheaper, mainly overseas, staff, saying it was necessary to stave off bankruptcy.

Sir Keir said in an interview that Ms Haigh’s call for a boycott of the firm was ‘not the view of the Government’.

Officials are said to have spent hours ‘hitting the phones’ to repair the damage and re-confirm the announcement.

A source said that ‘there was a lot of engagement overnight’ – with assurances given that the Government did not support a P&O Ferries boycott.

Yesterday afternoon DP World announced it would go ahead after being given ‘the clarity we need’. The company also said its chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem would attend the summit.

It marks a frenzied start to the event, at which Ministers are launching a new industrial strategy that aims to ‘hardwire stability for investors’.

Sir Keir has finally acknowledged his government’s early travails on the BBC’s Newscast, admitting being PM was ‘much tougher than anything I’ve done before’.

He said: ‘There are always going to be choppy days, choppy moments, I’ve been through this before, you get these days and weeks when things are choppy.

‘There’s no getting around that, that is in the nature of government, you’re under there’s huge scrutiny.’

He went on to admit there had been ‘bumps and side winds, which, you know, I’d prefer we hadn’t bumped into and been pushed by’.

When pressed on what those were, he acknowledged he was referring to ‘stuff on donations, staffing issues, that sort of thing’.

The months of turbulence have seen an extraordinary plunge in Sir Keir’s personal ratings, with senior Labour figures demanding he gets a grip.

P&O Ferries was slated by politicians from both main parties in March 2022 when it suddenly sacked 800 British seafarers and replaced them with cheaper, mainly overseas, staff, saying it was necessary to stave off bankruptcy (file picture)

It’s all fine, honest! Keir Starmer pens essay hailing first 100 days… despite No10 chaos, winter fuel axe and ‘freebies’ row

Keir Starmer penned an essay listing achievements in Labour’s first 100 days – despite panic in the party about his dire start.

In an article for the Sunday Mirror, the PM insisted the government had already ‘done more than the Tories managed in the last 14 years’.

He pointed to scrapping the Rwanda policy, loosening planning rules, and ending the strikes by junior doctors – thanks to huge pay hikes.

But Sir Keir did not address the chaos that has been wracking his administration, with Sue Gray ousted as chief of staff last week amid a brutal internal power struggle.

A line about ‘hard decisions’ was the only nod to the furious backlash over axing winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners.

And there was no mention of the ‘freebies’ scandal that saw donors provide Sir Keir and senior ministers with tends thousands of pounds worth of clothes – as well as tickets to Taylor Swift and football.

The premier himself has since paid back some of the gifts, with a review under way into the rules covering ministers.

The months of turbulence have seen an extraordinary plunge in Sir Keir’s personal ratings, with senior Labour figures demanding he gets a grip.

In his piece, Sir Keir said voters had ‘put their trust in Labour’ on July 4 and the ‘work of change began immediately’.

‘In three months, we’ve done more than the Tories managed in the last 14 years,’ Sir Keir wrote.

‘On day one, we scrapped the Tories ridiculous Rwanda plan. We’ve launched a new Border Security Command to smash the criminal gangs.

‘We’ve reformed planning to get Britain building again. We’ve ended the junior doctors strikes so people can get the treatment they need. We’ve begun new solar projects and new offshore wind projects, lifted the onshore ban, and launched Great British Energy to boost our energy security and create good jobs.

‘We’ve ended one word Ofsted judgements. We’ve introduced the Renters Reform Bill to stop no fault evictions. The Railway Services Bill will bring our railways back into public ownership so passengers will be the priority once more.

‘And we’re only just getting started.’

Sir Keir said a global business summit tomorrow would ‘make the case for international companies to invest in the towns and communities of Britain’. He did not mention the spat with the owner of P&O Ferries, which threatened to pull a £1billion deal after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh urged Brits to boycott the operator.

One poll found that four in 10 voters believe the country has got worse since Labour took charge.

On the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Reynolds said it was ‘not the Government’s position’ that P&O Ferries is a rogue operator.

He was asked about calls Labour made in opposition for licences with P&O Ferries to be suspended over its fire-and-rehire practices and whether it is the case that now the party is in Government, it needs the cash so is willing to do a deal with the firm.

He said: ‘It’s now the case that, as we’re in Government, we can stop what happened with P&O Ferries happening again.’

The minister said: ‘Where companies accept that we’re not allowing that to happen anymore, and we can work with them on investments into the country, we can have a conversation with them, we will do. So it’s not the Government’s position to boycott them, but we are clear we do not want this country competing on fire and rehire.’

Insiders told the Observer that Ms Haigh and Ms Rayner were ‘hopping mad’ No10 had not protected them, amid claims they were not aware the investment was in the offing.

‘It shows the tension between the workers’ rights stuff and the investment stuff. This is going to keep happening unless we sort out the comms and the grid,’ an insider told the paper.

Labour MP Ian Byrne said last night: ‘Lou Haigh is right to refer to P&O Ferries as a rogue operator.

‘They sacked their entire workforce without notice, via video call replacing them with agency workers.

‘These are the practices of a rogue operator which should never be forgotten or forgiven by our movement.’

One Labour MP told the Telegraph that Ms Haigh had been made a ‘scapegoat’, asking why Ms Rayner had not been blamed.

A No 10 source insisted Sir Keir ‘retains confidence’ in his Transport Secretary after some Labour MPs privately said her position is ‘untenable’. ‘I can’t see how she’ll survive this,’ said one backbencher.

Former business secretary Kemi Badenoch told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Labour’s student politics was bad in Opposition. In Government it is costing us real money and real jobs.

‘To watch £1 billion and thousands of jobs nearly disappear because of Louise Haigh’s foolish comments is painful because we’ve still got five years of this, and at this rate there won’t be much of an economy left.’

Ms Badenoch, who has just been voted into the final two for the Tory Party leadership, added: ‘I led last year’s summit, which brought in £30billion of new investment. It took a year of hard graft working closely with business.’

According to Shadow Business Secretary Kevin Hollinrake, Ms Haigh’s comments ‘speak to Labour’s general attitude to the private sector’.

A Government spokesman said: ‘DP World’s investment in Britain is a vote of confidence in the stability and seriousness of the Government. We welcome the jobs and opportunities it will create.

‘By working in partnership with businesses and investors from all over the world, this Government is unlocking the UK’s potential and ambition. As our International Investment Summit will show, Britain is once again open for business.’