Tory peer tells Lords that policies have been changed ‘Swift-ly by Taylor’ under Labor

A Conservative colleague has suggested that policies are being edited “Swift-ly by Taylor” under the new Labor Government following changes to the ministerial code.

As upper house members debated the Chancellor’s Budget, Lord Dobbs suggested some workers were “luckier than others”.

“Some may find a useful brochure, the odd football ticket, the occasional concert ticket, even a friendly local clothes bank,” he added.

Ministerial regulations were updated last week and the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser can now launch investigations into corruption committed without the consent of ministers.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer and some Cabinet ministers were embroiled in a donation row for accepting gifts including free Taylor Swift concert tickets and clothes paid for by a donor.

During the debate, the House of Cards author argued there would be “fewer” workers covering the Budget, adding: “You can’t raise £40bn without affecting ordinary people.”

Opening his contribution on Monday, Lord Dobbs admitted: “I thought some of our budgets were pretty ridiculous over the years.”

He continued: “Labour is of course the party of the workers, ‘above the workers’ for the workers. The problem is that there will be fewer workers as a result of this Budget.

“You can’t raise £40bn without affecting ordinary people. Whatever the Chancellor proposes, the increase in national insurance will be passed on to employees.

“In ordinary English, this means lower wages, slower hiring, fewer jobs and fewer workers. It’s sad, I’m sure it’s unintentional, but it’s inevitable.

“But this is a government of change, they said; maybe they will change this?

“They ended up changing the chiefs of staff pretty quickly.”

He added: “Some workers are luckier than others, of course; some may find a useful handout, the odd football ticket, the occasional concert ticket, even a friendly local clothes bank.

“That was another thing that changed of course, another policy when everything was made public, how shall I put it, it seems Taylor-ed Swift-ly so far.”

The referee also criticized the Government’s plans for free ports, saying: “Have you noticed that they have changed their policy on free ports?

“Two days before the budget, the Prime Minister announced that they would create five new free ports, I personally thought it was a good idea, but then that policy also changed.

“There are no new free ports of any kind. A No 10 official explained what happened: They had misread the email from the next room, which he quoted was ‘complete nonsense’, so there’s no change in that.”