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Keir Starmer Union members have been warned that they are turning Nigel Farage Because he was too obsessed with the polls to pay proper attention to the cost of living.
Paul NovakSecretary General Trade Union Congress (TUC)He spoke to The Independent ahead of his New Year’s message, as shocking polling by Survation revealed the extent of the crisis facing many families.
The union president once said Prime Minister His cabinet needs to stop playing games and focus on dealing with the cost-of-living crisis in 2026.
One in five people (21%) skip meals every day or most of the time because they cannot afford meals or make sacrifices for their children, according to the poll commissioned by the TUC and campaign group 38 Degrees.
More than a third (36%) of people are using less heating every day or most of the time.
Four in five (79%) say their financial situation has either stagnated or gotten worse
“The government needs to keep a relentless focus on the cost of living, and then the polls will take care of themselves,” Novak warned.
Noting that Downing Street’s weekly polls receive too much attention, he added: “Politicians focus on the minutiae of the polls, while ordinary people focus on the minutiae of their bank accounts.”
The union leader praised the workers’ rights package passed before Christmas, adding that it was unions who forced a “reluctant” Labor government to abandon the two-child benefit cap.
But he insisted “more needs to be done”.
He also warned that the failure to “deliver the most important ‘change’ in Labour’s manifesto” meant people were turning to reform and that he was wrong to assume Mr Farage would solve their problems.
The Reform UK leader flirted with left-wing voters by promising to nationalize steel production and water companies and scrap the two-child benefit cap before Labor softened on the issue.
Mr Novak said: “Many of our [union] Member voting reform. But we shouldn’t go around calling them racists. “
Instead, he wants a Labor government to reveal what a Farage-led government will really do when it comes to dealing with the day-to-day problems people actually face.
He said: “A Farage-led government would be a disaster for workers. Those new rights we’ve just gained will be under attack and our NHS will be reverted to austerity, privatization and, you know, his big economic reset speech in the City of London and talking about the need to deregulate the financial sector because the last round worked so well.
“It’s clearly damaging to our relationship with our closest trading partner in the EU. So, you know, I mean, we have no doubt that reform is going to be a dead end.”
But instead he, like many others in the trade union movement, is concerned about infighting within the cabinet and attempts by rivals to replace Sir Keir.
He said: “When a government is far behind in the opinion polls and the Prime Minister’s personal approval ratings are low, there is always some kind of speculation.
“I think it’s the responsibility of everyone, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Labor Government, the whole parliamentary Labor Party, that you can’t take your eyes off the day-to-day work of raising living standards and get caught up in the internal naval gaze of who’s up and who’s down in the Cabinet.”
He added: “I think some people see politics as a game. I don’t think politics is a game for our members.
“I mean, it’s, it’s, you know, the difference for some people is whether they’re taking care of the heating or, you know, God forbid, missing a meal because, you know, they’d rather the kids have tea than, you know, them.”
While unions remain Labour’s biggest donors, many of the larger unions are now questioning their ongoing relationship with the party under Sir Keir.
Unison, the largest union, has just elected Corbynista Andrea Egan, who wants to reduce his support for Labor, while Unite, the second largest union, is discussing breaking away from the Labor Party.
Mr Novak said: “Our job is not to passively stand on the sidelines and applaud everything the government does. I think our job is to work with the government on the issues that really matter to our members and their families and communities and to call out the government to point out what they are doing wrong.”