Who is holding Labour's moral compass?

Julian Vaughan
Jun 26, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Jul 26, 2025

*This blog, written on 26th June, has been updated on 27th June to comment on the concessions/U-Turn made by the government.

Solidarity with the 100-plus Labour MPs who are taking a stand against the government to support the most vulnerable people in our communities.

I can confirm that if I were in their position, I would have also put my name to their amendment to the ‘Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill’, which is due to have its Second Reading next Tuesday. Perhaps it is with this knowledge that I was offered the candidacy (politely declined) for the 7th safest Tory seat in the UK at the last General Election.

However, it is not just those to the ‘left’ of the party who have signed the amendment, but a cross-section of the Parliamentary Labour Party. The decision to cut Winter Fuel Payments was not just morally wrong, but also a complete disaster politically.

That those advisors in Labour’s inner circle could not see how this decision was going to play out is very concerning. While the decision has been reversed, the die has been cast and the tone of this Labour government has been set, perhaps irrevocably.

More than ever, we need people in politics who genuinely understand the lives of ordinary people, not those more comfortable in the company of corporate lobbyists.

There comes a point in any government that, no matter what good or even brilliant things they do, and the Labour government has done some good things, people stop listening. This point has come to this government very early, not helped by an electorate radicalised by apathy, distrust in the political system, and the crystal-clear messaging of the hard right.

Labour’s mantra about ‘growth’ has failed to give hope to the public, besides which its reliance on trickle-down economics is dubious at best.

I do not believe it is at all clear to the public what Labour now stands for, especially when it appears to have abandoned the values of equality and social justice it once held so dear. Its attempt to outflank the hard right on immigration is as misguided as it is ugly – people will always choose the genuine article.

Even if people disagreed with Labour, there would be a grudging respect for their principles. The seeming absence of principles is being clocked by the public and resulting in a deep lack of trust.

We need a government that has the backs of ordinary people and particularly the most vulnerable in our society. As a Labour supporter all my life, who has dedicated a fair bit of time standing up for Labour and Labour values, it is gut-wrenching that we now seek to punch down on disabled people.

Labour’s current approach is a gift to the Reform Party. The public won’t give two hoots about the railways being nationalised if it doesn’t lead to cheaper fares and decent services. After lending their vote to Labour, many will never do so again if their local councils continue to cut services to the bone and the government continues to support water companies more than people.

The hubris of Starmer’s shadowy inner circle of advisors, seemingly now devoid of any political antennae, is bad news for Labour and bad news for the UK. It’s not too late to change direction, starting with a reversal of the cuts to the benefits of disabled people. It’s time to be bold – I’ll back that 100%.

Update inserted on the 27th June…

My initial thoughts on the ‘Welfare Bill’ concessions/U-turn.

I have serious concerns that the reported co-production is just ‘consultation’ by another name? Unless disability groups are equal partners in this, with the power to veto, it’s all just a bit tick-boxy. The government has shown their hand on welfare provision – a sham consultation process will just kick the can down the road.

There is a profound difference between “voices being heard” and voices genuinely being listened to.As a trade union health and safety representative, I have first-hand experience of how consultation is viewed primarily as a process to get through, rather than an authentic opportunity for change.

The resulting ‘two-tier’ benefits system (protecting current claimants but hammering future claimants) may well temporarily stem the tide of outrage against MPs, worn down by the onslaught following the Winter Fuel Payments debacle, but it will inevitably store up trouble for the future as a rising number of people claim under the harsher new welfare regime, probably just as the next General Election looms.

There are many details and scenarios to still iron out. It’s concerning that a Bill with these hastily made alterations is being rushed through Parliament with little scrutiny.

Politics requires the art of compromise, but this is a completely self-inflicted mess.The threats to the ‘rebel’ MPs before this U-turn mean this cannot in any way be spun as a glittering example of the government’s collaborative approach to policy formation.

Someone will have to take a fall for this. It could potentially be Starmer. We really need to get our shit together.

Julian Vaughan

26th June 2025