PM launches Labour's local election campaign with focus on cost of living

As he started Labour's campaign for local elections in England, Sir Keir Starmer said his government "bears down on the cost of living.

The prime minister said the elections in Wolverhampton were held against an uncertain backdrop of continuing wars in Ukraine and Iran, according to supporters.

People were worried about how the conflicts would impact their household bills, according to him, and he argued for government policies that could mitigate the effects.

Since the US and Israel launched missile strikes against Iran a month earlier, there has been growing fear that increases in the price of oil will lead to higher energy prices.

Sir Keir said on Wednesday that as a result of the government's actions, electricity bills would decline by about £100 and remain low until the end of June, regardless of what happens in the Iran conflict.

Any green levies that will be phased out or fully funded from general taxation, as well as lowering energy bills, will be discontinued or funded from April.

However, bills are expected to increase in July as the energy price cap is reset.

In the Conservatives, Reform UK, and the Green Party, Prime Minister David Cameron wanted to compare his position on Iran with that of his political rivals.

This is not our war. We will protect British lives and British interests in the region, and we'll stay loyal allies in the Gulf region, but we are not going to get pulled in,

he said.

Sir Keir said in a veiled reference to US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly chastised the prime minister for not getting more involved in the conflict, that he would keep his position "whatever the pressure and wherever it comes from.

He accused Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK's Nigel Farage of attempting to "go straight into the war with both feet and not consider the consequences.

We'd be in a war with no strategy if they had been in government,

he said.

In the meantime, Zack Polanski, the Green Party's leader, said the UK will be left weak and exposed if he is elected to office, according to him.

Sir Keir cited an increase in the minimum wage as a way to lower the cost of living, as well as an increase in childcare services, the removal of the two-child benefit cap, and a rise in the minimum wage in other ways.

Parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children under the two-child policy.

Following backlash from Labour backbenchers, the government announced that it would lift the limit, which will go into place in April.

The hourly minimum wage for over-21s will also increase by 50p to £12.71. An 85p increase to £10 is expected for workers aged 18-20.

Since September of last year, free childcare has been expanded to enable eligible working parents to have 30 hours of childcare during term time for children aged nine months to four years old.

The Conservatives first revealed the policy, but Labour promised to implement it as soon as they took power.

Because it makes a huge difference to so many people around the country,

Sir Keir said, voters should support his party "because it makes such a difference to a great deal

Labour is riding the streets with consistently low poll results, but Sir Keir denied that his party was relishing the opportunity to engage with voters and would campaign "on the front foot.

In comparison to elections in approximately 5,000 seats in 136 local councils in England, voters in Scotland and Wales are electing representatives to their national parliaments.

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