Starmer pleads for government to unite in fightback after difficult week

"Keir Starmer has warned senior ministers and officials to stop briefing against one another and leaking details of the budget as he pleaded for his embattled government to unite. The prime minister told his weekly cabinet meeting that last week's political turmoil had distracted from voters' priorities, and ministers needed to work together and start delivering rather than talking about the government itself."

"He said distractions meant our focus shifted from where it mattered most, working every day in the service of the British people. The prime minister said next week's budget would prioritise rebuilding the economy, showing what the government stands for. [He] said people were rightly impatient for change, and we had to deliver that rather than talk about ourselves. That meant working as one team, delivering opportunity and security and delivering on our mandate."

"The first part came on Tuesday morning, when the Mirror published an interview with the prime minister in which he promised to fight the next election, despite growing speculation about his political future. He told the newspaper: Let me be really clear every minute that's not spent talking about and dealing with the cost of living is a minute wasted of the political work of this government."

Keir Starmer warned senior ministers and officials to stop briefing against one another and leaking budget details, urging the government to unite. Political turmoil last week distracted from voters' priorities and hindered delivery on key policies. Accusations of briefings against health secretary Wes Streeting and reports of a pre-budget U-turn intensified the instability. The prime minister emphasized that distractions shifted focus away from serving the British people and said the upcoming budget would prioritise rebuilding the economy. He insisted on working as one team to deliver opportunity, security and progress on cost-of-living challenges.

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