The Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused Liz Truss’s government of “losing control of the economy” and, in reference to election victories of the past, he said, “Like in 1945, 1964, and 1997, this is a Labour moment.”
Starmer also quoted former Prime Minister Tony Blair in his keynote speech to the party conference in Liverpool.
Although he did not mention Blair by name, he said the party was back “in the centre ground” and said Labour was “once again the political wing of the British people,” echoing a speech Blair made shortly before the 1997 election.
The 60-year-old, who replaced Jeremy Corbyn after a heavy defeat in the December 2019 general election, said he intended to “turn the UK into a clean energy superpower” with a “green prosperity plan” which he said would create a million new jobs in towns and cities across Britain.
The Labour leader also said he would bring down energy bills, raise living standards, and tackle the climate crisis, all within his first 100 days in power.
The Government ‘Has Crashed the Pound’
The Labour leader said: “What we’ve seen from the government in the past few days has no precedent. The government has lost control of the British economy—and for what? They’ve crashed the pound. And for what? Higher interest rates and borrowing. And for what? For tax cuts for the richest 1 percent in our society. Don’t forget and don’t forgive. The only way to stop this is with a Labour government.”He said Britain needed to get “out of this endless cycle of crisis with a fresh start, a new set of priorities, and a new way of governing.”
“We should never be left cowering in a brace position, worrying about how to get through a winter. It’s time for Britain to stand tall again,” Starmer added.
He said doctors in his local hospital had told him the NHS was not just “on its knees” but was “face down on the floor,” and he promised a Labour government would take on 7,500 medical students a year, create 10,000 new nursing placements, and hire 5,000 more health visitors.
Starmer said Britain needed “a different way of working” and he called for “the biggest partnership between government, business, and communities this country has ever seen.”
He also ruled out going into coalition with the Scottish National Party (SNP) and said: “We can’t work with them. We won’t work with them. No deal under any circumstances.”
Starmer has sought to position Labour in the centre, after four years under Corbyn in which the party moved to the left.
Corbyn is currently sitting as an independent MP, after he was suspended for his refusal to accept criticism of the party’s handling of anti-Semitism allegations under his leadership.
In his speech Starmer said the party had “ripped out anti-Semitism by the roots”—a comment which got a standing ovation—and had shown Labour “can win again.”
But shortly before he made the speech, Starmer faced calls to withdraw the whip from Labour MP Rupa Huq after she said at a fringe event that the Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, was only “superficially black.”
Conservative MP Jake Berry wrote on Twitter: “Keir Starmer must act over Rupa Huq’s disgusting comments at #LPC22 about the Chancellor. ‘Superficially he is a black man’ because he’s Conservative is a vile thing to say.”
He also pledged to create an Office of Value for Money, which would assess whether public investments were in the national interest.
He also told the audience in Liverpool there must be “justice for the 97” victims of the Hillsborough disaster.
Starmer promised a “Hillsborough Law,” introducing a statutory duty of candour on public servants during all forms of public inquiry and criminal investigation.
