Keir Starmer says Labour now has ‘credible programme’ to win next general election

Published

3 years ago

September 30, 2021

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Sir Keir Starmer has said the Labour conference this week was a turning point for the party and it now has a “credible programme” to win the next general election.

The Labour leader, speaking the morning after his 90-minute keynote speech, said if voters do not want to support the plans put forward at conference then he does not know what their problem is.

Sir Keir told Sky News’ Kay Burley: “It’s a broad church, there is something now to unite behind, which is the programme we’re setting out – a credible programme for government.

“We can unite around a programme that is credible and that will put us into a position to go into government.

“If you dissent, if you don’t like affordable housing which is was what we unveiled on Friday, if you don’t like employment rights, including statutory sick pay, which was so desperately needed during the pandemic, if you don’t like the idea that children should leave school ready for life, ready for work, then I don’t really know what you’re arguing against, because it seems to me working families up and down the country are desperate for these changes to be made.”

During the five-day Labour conference in Brighton, the first in-person since Sir Keir became leader in 2020, the party made several big policy announcements on the economy, housing, employment and education.

It promised to spend an extra £28bn a year on making the UK economy more “green”, phase out business rates and ensure tech giants pay more tax, increase council and affordable housing stocks, increase the minimum wage to at least £10 an hour and end charitable status for private schools.

And Sir Keir managed to get through a change in how Labour leaders are voted for, despite much talk against it before the vote over the weekend.

Sir Keir’s speech was derided as too long by some but he said it was meant to be an hour and the extra half-an-hour was due to “applause and giving me standing ovations”.

“That is a good thing, and some heckling, yes – but if the only criticism of the speech is it was too long then I’ll take that and trim it for next time,” he said.

The Labour leader has struggled with accusations of being uncharismatic and lacking emotion but his speech on Wednesday was deeply personal as he drew on his experiences of being brought up by his toolmaker father and NHS nurse mother.

He said he did not agree that you needed to be a showman to win a general election and used the example of Labour Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, saying he is “not a showman” but has a “very reassuring, honest, open, transparent style”.

And he dismissed Boris Johnson’s style of leadership, pointing to the current fuel and energy crises and saying: “We are lurching from crisis to crisis to crisis.

“Yes, you can campaign on slogans but you absolutely can’t govern in slogans.”

Sir Keir added that he is continually compared with other leaders but he is his own man and is confident he can win the next election.

He said: “Ever since I became Labour leader people have been wanting to tattoo somebody else’s name on my head, are you this previous leader, that previous leader – all leaders are different.

“My job is not to hug a leader from the past but to do the job that leader of the Labour needs to do now, which is to get our party ready to go into the next general election and be in a position to win it – and win it.

“We are absolutely going for that next general election, I’m fed up with people saying you can’t do it.”

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Starmer hails ‘year of change’ as he delivers first New Year message as prime minister, with plan for ‘more cash in your pocket’ in 2025

Published

4 hours ago

December 31, 2024

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Starmer hails 'year of change' as he delivers first New Year message as prime minister, with plan for 'more cash in your pocket' in 2025

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed 2024 as a “year of change” as he shared his first New Year message as prime minister.

But the Labour leader, who took office after a staggering general election victory over the Conservatives in July, admitted there is “still so much more to do” in 2025.

It will include a plan to make sure there will be “more cash in your pocket”, as well as a raft of other initiatives for “change”.

Almost six months into the prime minister’s time in Downing Street, Sir Keir is battling criticisms of his party’s management of the economy and the direction in which he is taking the country.

Despite this, the Labour leader’s New Year message largely takes an optimistic tone, celebrating a “year of changing Britain for the better” and looking forward to a “fight for change” that will define “every waking hour of this government”.

The prime minister also takes a moment to joke that his mantra of “change” didn’t extend to football in 2024, lamenting “another agonisingly close shave for England” in the Euros final.

He said: “But change in politics, with the election of this Labour government in July. And more importantly, with the work of change that we have begun.

“The minimum wage will be raised by a record amount. Wages are up more broadly. Returns of foreign national criminals – up 20%. Billions of pounds worth of new projects in clean British energy making our country more secure. And over £25bn invested in our NHS starting to cut waiting lists in your local hospital.

“Now, I know there is still so much more to do. And that for many people it’s hard to think about the future when you spend all of your time fighting to get through the week.

“So I want to be clear. Until you can look forward and believe in the promise and the prosperity of Britain again, then this government will fight for you.”

The prime minister says this “fight for change” will “define this year, next year, and indeed – every waking hour of this government”.

He mentions his “Plan for Change”, vowing to focus on a “year of rebuilding” for the country – and “rediscovering the great nation that we are”.

“We have a clear plan for change: 1.5 million new homes – restoring the dream of home ownership; children starting school, ready to learn; a more secure energy system; waiting lists cut dramatically; immigration – reduced; neighbourhood police, tackling anti-social behaviour in every community; and more cash in your pocket, wherever you live,” Sir Keir explains.

“A nation that gets things done. No matter how hard or tough the circumstances.

“We will have time to reflect on that this year. A chance, with the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ day, to cherish the greatest victories of this country. And the greatest generation that achieved it.

“But that victory – and indeed the peace and the prosperity that followed – all rested on that same foundation we must rebuild today.

“The security of working people. That is the purpose of this government. The goal of our Plan for Change. And we will push it forward in 2025.”

The prime minister concludes: “Here’s to a year of changing Britain for the better.”

Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has also shared his New Year message.

He has called on Labour to “be much bolder” to deliver “real change” and tackle the challenges facing the UK in 2025.

The Lib Dem leader also used his New Year message to claim instability and insecurity around the world has been “made worse” by Donald Trump’s re-election in the US.

Sir Ed is looking forward to the next year with “genuine hope”, he will say, as the UK has “the people, the grit, the talent, the businesses – and the right values, to change things for the better”.

Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said in his message that the UK has been “appallingly led” for several decades.

He said: “We’re in societal decline, we’re in economic decline, most people are getting poorer with every year that passes, we’re losing any sense of national identity and we’re actually teaching kids at school that people like Winston Churchill – born in this palace – are bad people and that our country’s history is something to be ashamed of.”

Mr Farage said Reform’s campaigning will include calls for “proper border controls” and to reduce the cost of living.

Politics

Vitalik Buterin donates $170K to Tornado Cash developers’ legal fund

Published

6 hours ago

December 31, 2024

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Vitalik Buterin donates 0K to Tornado Cash developers’ legal fund

Many in the crypto industry have criticized US authorities for sanctioning Tornado Cash smart contract addresses and charging developers with money laundering.