It’s spooky season in SW1, and not just because of Halloween.
Read all about it below!
Top – Rhun ap Iorwerth
It’s been a historic week for Plaid Cymru as Labour suffered its first defeat in Caerphilly in over a century, a result whose ripples have been felt all the way across the valleys to Westminster. A crushing defeat in one of Labour’s safest devolved seats is more than just a local upset: it speaks to the growing discontent with a party that promised change but has so far delivered only continuity.
The result was a double blow for Labour. The contest was a two-horse race, but not in the traditional sense. It was Plaid Cymru versus Reform, leaving Labour a distant spectator. The bookies backed Reform, and for a moment, Nigel Farage looked poised to claim the trophy. But as soon as it became clear Plaid would prevail, Farage was nowhere to be seen. Talk about a Nigel Mirage.
The contest was a clear lesson for Westminster: voters are increasingly shopping off-brand. The age of the “big two” might finally be giving way to a pick-and-mix politics where “smaller” parties can land the biggest punches.
However, the real battle for Wales won’t be in Caerphilly, it will come next year, when the entire Senedd is up for grabs, and with increased representation. But for now, Plaid’s riding high with the SNP on the phone to talk about a potential collab and Westminster’s finally remembered there’s politics beyond the M4.
Middle – Lucy Powell
Seven weeks ago, the Prime Minister sacked Lucy Powell from his Cabinet. This week, she became his Deputy Leader. Powell’s political resurrection shows that nothing really stays dead in Westminster for long.
Her election comes at a gloomy time for the party following the Caerphilly defeat, and an even gloomier turnout. Although Powell will have no direct policy portfolio, she’ll attend cabinet meetings and, if Starmer is wise, he will welcome her reappearance as an opportunity to reset relations with the wider party, rather than see her as a threat.
Unlike Angela Rayner, Powell won’t enjoy the dual titles of Deputy Leader and Deputy Prime Minister. Instead, she’ll have to tread carefully: play the loyal lieutenant too earnestly, and she looks like part of the problem; push too hard as a critical friend, and the headlines write themselves.
Still, Powell’s call for a bolder Labour voice, one that takes on Reform head-on instead of letting it dictate issues like the immigration debate, is exactly what the government needs to hear. Whether she becomes the spark Labour’s missing or just another voice in the echo chamber remains to be seen.
Not – Rachel Reeves
Rachel Reeves is gearing up to face the spookiest thing of all… the Budget. And just in time for Halloween, the Chancellor’s found herself haunted by a licensing nightmare all of her own making.
Reeves hit the headlines this week after it emerged that she’d failed to obtain a required selective licence for her London home, which was let out after Labour’s election win. She insists it was an “inadvertent error”, but the Tories are howling for her to get the chop. She’s had a lucky escape — no official investigation will be launched, but the saga stirs up memories of the Angela Rayner property fiasco and WTWN can’t help but wonder if Starmer’s playing favourites.
To make matters worse, Reeves is reportedly toying with a 2p rise in income tax, a move that would break Labour’s manifesto pledge and risk turning the party’s economic credibility into a bit of a ghost story. Treasury sources say the plan would see income tax rates rise to 22%, 42% and 47%, while National Insurance would fall. Labour could technically claim most workers wouldn’t pay more overall, but critics argue it’s still a stealthy tax hike.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of “breaking promises” while even some Labour MPs warn that meddling with manifesto pledges could leave voters feeling tricked rather than treated.
Reeves may have dodged one investigation, but the shadows are lengthening. With angry MPs, spooked voters, and the Treasury’s skeletons rattling in the cupboard, this Halloween she’s learning the first rule of politics: when the ghosts of past scandals come knocking, there’s nowhere to hide…not even behind the balance sheet.