Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer’s vision ‘not bold enough’ to lead Britain out of ‘crisis’, union chiefs say

Published

2 years ago

September 11, 2023

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Union leaders have urged Sir Keir Starmer to be bolder with his vision for the country if he wants to win the next election and lead Britain out of decline.

In a message to the potential future incumbent of Downing Street, union chiefs said the Labour leader needed to offer a more positive message than simply being “better than the Conservatives”.

The choice words were delivered at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) annual conference in Liverpool, where issues like workers’ rights, the state of public services and the cost of living crisis are being hotly debated.

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Paul Novak, the new general secretary of the TUC, delivered a rousing speech on Monday, claiming the Conservatives have “broken Britain” and calling for change in the form of a Labour government.

But while Labour traditionally enjoys the support of unions, the party’s perceived move to the centre, with a focus on fiscal Conservatism, has attracted anger among the movement.

Sharon Graham, leader of Labour’s biggest union donor Unite, has accused the party of becoming a “1990s tribute act” to former prime minister Tony Blair.

Despite winning three elections, she told Sky News that Sir Keir’s leadership needs to be more radical than then because there is less money in the public coffers to spend – and options such as wealth taxes and nationalising energy should be considered to raise capital.

In a reference to the post-war Labour government of Clement Attlee, which founded the NHS, she said: “Britain is in crisis. And what we need to do now is not to look back to 1997.

“What we need to do is be more like in 1945. The country needs a reboot and Labour needs to put policies forward that give it that reboot.”

That sentiment was echoed by the leader of the PCS union that represents civil servants.

Mark Serwotka, a Labour member, said Sir Keir needs to offer a vision for people to vote for Labour “that is more than just ‘we’re better than the Conservatives'”.

He told Sky News: “Britain is in crisis. We’ve got people waiting for 15 hours in ambulances, schools being shut through crumbling concrete, a 180,000 backlog of asylum cases because of lack of staff and incredibly £45bn in uncollected tax because we don’t have enough staff in tax offices. A crisis needs urgent and radical action.”

Mr Serwotka called on Labour to offer things like free school meals, a record investment in public services and a clamp down on tax evasion.

He denied “singing from a different hymn sheet” to Mr Nowak, who urged the trade union movement to unite behind Labour “to kick this rotten government out”.

Mr Serwotka insisted: “I want to see a Labour government, but I don’t want to see a Labour government that comes in and tells people that they’ve ‘still got to live in poverty, there’s nothing much we can do about it’.

“The point of a Labour government is to offer hope to those currently in despair. And the way to do that is to say ‘we will be bold, we will invest in our communities’.”

In a direct challenge to the Labour leader, he added: “If I had the chance to talk to Keir Starmer, I would say to him, enthuse those voters who didn’t vote Labour last time. Tell them why you would make a difference to their lives and you can win an election. But if you only rely on not being a Conservative, you risk winning the election. So be bold.”

Starmer: Labour ‘absolutely focused on future’

After more than a decade out of power, Sir Keir is hoping to become the first Labour prime minister to win at the ballot box since Mr Blair – who secured two more terms after his landslide victory in 1997.

He has sought to rebuild the party focusing on a more centrist style than his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, and has stressed the need for fiscal Conservatism amid bleak warnings about the state of the UK economy.

In recent months, he has rowed back on a number of big spending commitments, arguing Labour will only get into government if they are trusted to handle the public finances.

However, he insisted there is still “a lot of common ground” with trade unions when asked about the criticism.

Speaking ahead of a dinner with union leaders in Liverpool tonight, Sir Keir said: “The Labour Party is absolutely focused on the future, not the past, and the challenges that we will inherit if we’re privileged enough to go into government.

“The central challenge will be growing the economy. Within that is dignity and respect for working people in their working environment.”

Asked how he plans to keep unions on side, he added: “The Labour Party and the trade unions have had a long relationship together and we had a big session at the beginning of the summer where we agreed policy going forward.

“So what you’ll see here is a lot of common ground as we go towards what we know will be really huge challenges.”

Politics

Europe’s new chat police: Chat Control legislation nudges forward in the EU

Published

7 hours ago

November 27, 2025

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Europe’s new chat police: Chat Control legislation nudges forward in the EU

Representatives of European Union member states reached an agreement on Wednesday in the Council of the EU to move forward with the controversial “Chat Control” child sexual abuse regulation, which paves the way for new rules targeting abusive child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on messaging apps and other online services.

“Every year, millions of files are shared that depict the sexual abuse of children… This is completely unacceptable. Therefore, I’m glad that the member states have finally agreed on a way forward that includes a number of obligations for providers of communication services,” commented Danish Minister for Justice, Peter Hummelgaard.

The deal, which follows years of division and deadlock among member states and privacy groups, allows the legislative file to move into final talks with the European Parliament on when and how platforms can be required to scan user content for suspected child sexual abuse and grooming.

The existing CSAM framework is set to expire on April 3, 2026, and is on track to be replaced by the new legislation, pending detailed negotiations with European Parliament lawmakers.

EU Chat Control laws: What’s in and what’s out

In its latest draft, the Council maintains the core CSAM framework but modifies how platforms are encouraged to act. Online services would still have to assess how their products can be abused and adopt mitigation measures.

Service providers would also have to cooperate with a newly-established EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse to support the implementation of the regulation, and face oversight from national authorities if they fall short.

While the latest Council text removes the explicit obligation of mandatory scanning of all private messages, the legal basis for “voluntary” CSAM detection is extended indefinitely. There are also calls for tougher risk obligations for platforms.

A compromise that satisfies neither side

To end the Chat Control stalemate, a team of Danish negotiators in the Council worked to remove the most contentious element: the blanket mandatory scanning requirement. Under previous provisions, end-to-end encrypted services like Signal and WhatsApp would have been required to systematically search users’ messages for illegal material.

Yet, it’s a compromise that leaves both sides feeling shortchanged. Law enforcement officials warn that abusive content will still lurk in the corners of fully encrypted services, while digital rights groups argue that the deal still paves the way for broader monitoring of private communications and potential for mass surveillance, according to a Thusday Politico report.

Lead negotiator and Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in the European Parliament, Javier Zarzalejos, urged both the Council and Parliament to enter negotiations at once. He stressed the importance of establishing a legislative framework to prevent and combat child sexual abuse online, while respecting encryption.

Law, Government, Europe, Privacy, European Union, Policy — *Source:* *Javier Zarzalejosj*

“I am committed to work with all political groups, the Commission, and member states in the Council in the coming months in order to agree on a legally sound and balanced legislative text that contributes to effectively prevent and combating child sexual abuse online,” he stated.

The Council celebrated the latest efforts to protect children from sexual abuse online; however, former Dutch Member of Parliament Rob Roos lambasted the Council for acting similarly to the “East German era, stripping 450 million EU citizens of their right to privacy.” He warned that Brussels was acting “behind closed doors,” and that “Europe risks sliding into digital authoritarianism.”

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov pointed out that EU officials were exempt from having their messages monitored. He commented in a post on X, “The EU weaponizes people’s strong emotions about child protection to push mass surveillance and censorship. Their surveillance law proposals conveniently exempted EU officials from having their own messages scanned.”

Privacy on trial in broader global crackdown

The latest movement on Chat Control lands in the middle of a broader global crackdown on privacy tools. European regulators and law‑enforcement agencies have pushed high‑profile cases against crypto privacy projects like Tornado Cash, while US authorities have targeted developers linked to Samurai Wallet over alleged money‑laundering and sanctions violations, thrusting privacy‑preserving software into the crosshairs.

In response, Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin doubled down on the right to privacy as a core value. He donated 128 ETH each (roughly $760,000) to decentralized messaging projects Session and SimpleX Chat, arguing their importance in “preserving our digital privacy.”

Session president Alexander Linton told Cointelegraph that regulatory and technical developments are “threatening the future of private messaging,” while co-founder Chris McCabe said the challenge was now about raising global awareness.

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