Ailbhe Rea: Keir Starmer Implements a Quiet Government Reset

It’s been two weeks since Keir Starmer’s government faced its moment of crisis, forced to gut its flagship welfare reforms after coming dangerously close to a staggering, almost unprecedented, defeat by its own MPs. There has been no reshuffle, no blame game, no firing spree, no reset — so quiet, in fact, that some of my government contacts have asked me if the people at the top even realise how bad that was.

My answer to them is that the man in charge does indeed seem to understand the depth of the problem. Because my sources tell me that the prime minister has, ever so quietly, made a major shift, with potentially huge implications for the direction of the government in the months ahead.