Labour MPs 'Warned Against Speaking About Cost-of-Living Crisis While Country Mourns Queen'

Talk of the cost of living crisis eating away at household budgets across the UK has been put on the back burner by the death on 8 September of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch. The period of national mourning will culminate in a Bank Holiday for the late monarch’s funeral on 19 September.

Labour MPs have been warned to refrain from publicly speaking on such issues as the cost of living crisis during the period of national mourning for the Queen, The Guardian reported.

Special guidelines from Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer to the opposition party’s politicians in Westminster have reportedly instructed them to limit their statements and social media posts exclusively to those relating to the death of Queen Elizabeth II until her funeral on 19 September.

MPs were to “suspend all campaigning and party activity until further notice”, but to continue helping constituents and holding surgeries “as normal”, according to guidelines seen by the publication.

The parliamentarians have reportedly been advised to stay away from Westminster and the House of Commons building, cease political communications with constituents, including email updates and newsletters.

The Labour party guidelines also purportedly state that “you should not post anything on social media, except your own tribute or what you have been asked to share from the [Parliamentary Labour Party] office … you should make sure any posts on social media do not include political branding”.

MPs have been asked to keep a “somber” dress code, sign their local book of condolences and cancel planned events on the day of the state funeral for the Queen on Monday, which has been declared a Bank Holiday.

The House of Commons will reopen after the late monarch's state funeral.

‘Enforced Radio Silence’

The guidelines about what MPs are allowed to say has inspired stirrings of insurrection among the opposition members and shadow ministers. One Labour member is cited as questioning the “ridiculous omerta”, and another MP reportedly criticized the “enforced radio silence”. A number of Labour MPs are said to have circumvented the guidelines, as they weighed in on the cost of living issues and arrest of up to four people in Edinburgh and London for holding placards with republican slogans expressing anti-monarchy sentiments during the official mourning.

According to Labour sources, a majority of MPs have agreed to suspend political campaigning and no direct complaints had been made to Starmer’s team.

Starmer himself appeared on BBC Breakfast on 14 September to urge respect for people mourning the Queen as he addressed the protest incidents.

“Respect the fact that hundreds of thousands of people do want to come forward and have that moment. Don’t ruin it for them,” he said.

The death of the Queen has temporarily relegated the cost of living crisis from its usual place on the front page. Prices of goods and services have risen by 9.9 percent in the UK since last August, according to estimates published by the Office for National Statistics. Month-on-month, consumer prices rose 0.5 percent.

The Bank of England (BoE) predicted in August that inflation could hit 13 percent early next year. The BoE is set to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Thursday, and is expected to opt for a 75 basis point increase to interest rates to put a brake on inflation.

As pay rises fail to keep pace with inflation, the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss, in her first major policy move, announced a broad stimulus package to help households and businesses with soaring energy bills.

Truss promised a “new energy price guarantee that will give people certainty on energy bills,” as she announced a decision to cap annual household energy bills at £2,500 ($2,881.90) for the next two years, with an equivalent guarantee for businesses over the next six months.

The "fiscal event" to set out government funding for the interventions was originally set for mid-September, but was delayed because of the 10-day period of mourning for the Queen.