Trouble at t’Mill: Starmer Trips, Reeves Weeps, and Labour Betrays Its Roots

Absolutely miserable…

Well, if omens mean anything, Keir Starmer should’ve gone back to bed. The Prime Minister began the day by tripping over his own doorstep, literally. And from there, things only went downhill.

By midday, the man leading what’s laughably still called the Labour Party was knee-deep in a PR disaster of his own making. His government’s flagship welfare reforms, a bill that even Iain Duncan Smith would have turned his nose up at as a nasty piece of business, limped through Parliament. A grotesque spectacle that saw Labour ministers voting to make life harder for disabled people, poorer families, and the already squeezed working class.

And just like that, Orwell’s grim prophecy played out on the green benches of Westminster. “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again…”

The transformation Orwell warned about is complete. Looking at Starmer’s Labour and the Tories, it’s impossible to say which is which. Both parties dedicated to austerity, both committed to making the poor pay for the rich’s mistakes, both utterly disconnected from the people they claim to represent.

Reeves in Tears, Starmer on the Ropes

As if the cruelty of the bill wasn’t enough, Prime Minister’s Questions descended into farce and theatre. Chancellor Rachel Reeves was spotted wiping away tears on the front bench, visibly shaken as Tory minister Kemi Badenoch jabbed:

“You look absolutely miserable.”

All of this chaos unfolded as Starmer stood at the despatch box defending a welfare bill that tears billion’s from Britain’s most vulnerable, while refusing to rule out tax rises or say whether his Chancellor would still be in post by the weekend.

“Better for the economy,” Starmer insisted about his benefits bill. Better for which economy? The one where disabled people can’t afford to live, or the one where ministers’ consciences remain intact as they hold onto the lies and buzzwords when the reality for the most venerable is much different.

The truth is when your entire economic strategy depends on taking money from disabled people, you might want to reconsider what you’re calling yourself.

Badenoch pressed him to guarantee Reeves’ job security, and Starmer couldn’t even manage that. Nothing says “full backing” like refusing to guarantee someone’s future when directly asked. The reshuffle rumours are already swirling because when you can’t even deliver cruelty competently, what use are you to this version of Labour?

Immediately after PMQs frantic spin came from No.10: “It’s a personal matter,” as to why the Chancellor sat crying in front of the nation said Starmer’s office, while rushing out reassurances that the Chancellor has the PM’s “full backing.” the official version for the tiers, an alleged bust-up with Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle before PMQs, for which Hoyle is said to have apologised. His office, of course, has no comment, well not till they are given a version that can hold a little water at least.

Meanwhile, Ellie Reeves was seen holding her sister’s hand as they exited the chamber. Solidarity? Damage control? Both?

The optics? Dismal. The reality? Even worse.

But let’s be clear while reeves cries for herself the real tears come from disabled people wondering if they’ll lose their independence. From working families facing benefit cuts while energy bills soar. From millions of people who voted Labour believing “change” meant something other than “austerity with better branding.”

Last night’s welfare bill left millions of working-class voters crying, crying to see what’s become of the Labour Party they once believed in. Crying to watch their representatives transform into a pound shop Tory Party that can’t even deliver competent cruelty.

This isn’t just a stumble at No.10’s doorstep. This is a collapse of purpose, and it won’t be forgotten at the next election.

Paul Knaggs