‘Who can we tax so we can pay more benefits?’: What Starmer’s former aide said was discussed at every Labour meeting

A senior Cabinet minister admitted in the Mandelson Files that every Labor meeting was about ‘who we can tax to benefit others’.

In a scathing assessment of his government, Sir Keir Starmer’s former Cabinet enforcer Pat McFadden said it was asking the ‘wrong questions’.

His remark echoes that of former Labor Treasury secretary Liam Byrne, who left a note for his successor in 2010: ‘No money I’m afraid… Good luck!’

The Conservatives branded Labor the ‘welfare party’ as McFadden’s 1,500-page statement on Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador came to light yesterday.

Mr McFadden also revealed ministers were considering a ‘massive bank levy’ to cover the cost of the winter fuel allowance and the removal of the two-child allowance limit.

The then-Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told his long-time friend Mandelson that such a move would mean “abandoning long-term growth for short-term growth”. [party] to manage’.

The lengthy discussions between the pair provide an embarrassing insight into the failings of Sir Keir’s government.

Mr McFadden, who is now Work and Pensions Secretary, was previously a minister in Gordon Brown’s government under then Business Secretary Mandelson.

Joke: Peter Mandelson in the Oval Office with Donald Trump when he was ambassador

In May 2025, Mandelson said: ‘I spoke to Morgan [McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief of staff] So much this week and I spoke to him directly last night; Keir is not leading from the front and Morgan is not organizing the center as he should. . .

‘Is that it? [the Prime Minister] are you aware? PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] I understand he is in a state of rebellion.’ Mr McFadden replied: ‘Yes, in every meeting I have I deal with the issue of ‘who can we tax to benefit others’? ‘They’re asking the wrong questions.’

Offering his views on where Labor has gone wrong, Mandelson says: ‘This situation comes from the top and Keir, like the whole of the Cabinet, lacks enthusiasm.’ He adds: ‘There is a need’ [to be] More dynamism and optimism about what can be done is expected from the government. ‘More panache.’

And New Labour’s disgraced architect says Sir Keir’s visit to the US last year was planned to avoid ‘any confrontation with journalists that might require him to answer a question’.

Referring to Gordon Brown, Mandelson said the former prime minister had “a voice for Keir (and Rachel)”. [Reeves, the Chancellor]) big time. Angela doesn’t really believe this. [Rayner] an alternative but a tool of destabilization. I doubt you’re thinking about Ed [Miliband] ‘It is fit for purpose.’

He was responding to Mr McFadden, who said there had been ‘a lot of maneuvering here this week’. Angela, Gordon. ‘I don’t feel good about Keir.’

Mr McFadden said: ‘I don’t know what Keir thinks about all this. “He didn’t talk to me about any of this.”

The pair discuss No 10’s failed welfare bill, which proposed cuts to benefits but led to a backtrack that forced Sir Keir into a U-turn. Mr McFadden said there was no good outcome: ‘Beat Bill, draw him or eviscerate him; All of these will destroy his life.’ [the PM’s] authority.”

Mr Mandelson says Mr McSweeney’s plan to amend the bill will not work, saying: ‘If it goes to a vote and it disappears, I’m not sure Keir can survive it.’

He revealed that Mr McSweeney, who had to leave after persuading Sir Keir to send Mandelson to Washington, had sent him a document ‘that appeared to say’. . . ‘Keir has no belief he can change No 10.’

Mandelson also said of the other key figures in No 10: ‘None of them really know what Keir thinks or wants. In fact most of them don’t think Keir knows what he wants.’ Elsewhere, following last year’s spring announcement and Donald Trump’s imposition of global tariffs, Mandelson said he was “very concerned about the economy”. Trust is disappearing.’

Speaking of Labour’s disastrous local election results last year, Mandelson said: ‘The problem is that when you say ‘stay the course’ people are not clear on what the course is. Mantra is the Change Plan. So what’s the plan?

‘The key to return is economic, but Rachel’s [Reeves] He was on a mission to grow here, but there was no discussion of where and how the growth would come from.’

Mandelson said of No. 10: ‘It’s a besieged and abandoned place. It requires a complete renovation.’

Last night a spokesman for Mr McFadden said: ‘Pat has said publicly on many occasions that the question we should be asking is not what you are entitled to, but how can we change your life?’

Last night, former Scottish Tory leader Baroness Davidson said: ‘In today’s Mandelson broadcast, Pat McFadden says: ‘Every meeting I have had is ‘Who can we tax to benefit others?’ ‘This should serve as the epitaph of the Labor government.’