UK Labour Party’s Vision for Government Will Not Lead to Big Spending, Starmer Pledges

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a visit to UCL at Here East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, on Jan. 5, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA Media

A future Labour government will not get its “big government chequebook” out and try to spend its way out of the “mess” inherited from the Conservatives, UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has pledged.

In his first major speech in 2023, Starmer said that there is “a growing impatience for change, for real change, lasting change, national renewal,” and “the British people are turning to Labour to provide that change.”

He said his party has “restored a degree of trust” and will “build on that” this year, in a veiled reference to his effort to move the party towards the centre after the tumultuous tenure of his predecessor, the left-wing ideologue Jeremy Corbyn.

Speaking in Stratford, east London, Starmer said a future Labour administration would bring about a “new way of governing.”

Starmer, whose party continues to poll ahead of the ruling Conservatives, said Labour “understands what it means to put service to the country first,” and needs to “push forward and rise to the moment, prove we can be a bold, reforming government.”

He said Labour needs to show “not just what the Tories have done to Britain, but the Britain that Labour can build: a fairer, greener, more dynamic country with an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.”

No ‘Big Government Chequebook’

But Starmer warned that Labour would not be able to spend its way out of the current challenges facing the country.

“None of this should be taken as code for Labour getting its big government chequebook out. Of course investment is required—I can see the damage the Tories have done to our public services as plainly as anyone. But we won’t be able to spend our way out of their mess—it’s not as simple as that.”

“There is no substitute for a robust, private sector, creating wealth in every community,” he told the audience.

Answering reporter’s questions after the speech, the Labour leader said big spending will not be possible as the economy has been “badly damaged” under the Conservative government.

“That commitment in relation to the chequebook is because we know we are going to inherit a badly damaged economy and badly damaged country. Therefore we have to be absolutely clear that we can’t just spend our way out of that mess,” he said.

“Obviously we will set out our case as we go into the election and we have already set out our fiscal rules in terms of spending, only borrowing to invest, and getting debt down as a percentage of our economy.”

He added: “Everything we say we will do will be fully costed and set out, as it already has been, and we’ll do that going into the election.”

‘Take Back Control’

Starmer also promised to cede fresh powers to local communities away from the central government in Westminster.

He said his party will properly deliver on the Brexit campaign message “Take Back Control” as he promised to turn it from a “slogan to a solution.”

He said Labour will bring forward a “Take Back Control Bill” that will devolve power from London to communities across the country, granting new control over employment support, transport, energy, housing, and a host of other areas.

Labour, which has promised to abolish and replace the House of Lords, would see that local councils will have a greater say over their own finances while also giving communities a right to request more powers, he said.

“The decisions which create wealth in our communities should be taken by local people with skin in the game, and a huge power shift out of Westminster can transform our economy, our politics, and our democracy,” Starmer told the audience.

“I go back to Brexit. Yes, a whole host of issues were on that ballot. But as I went around the country, campaigning for Remain, I couldn’t disagree with the basic case so many Leave voters made to me.”

‘Sticking Plaster Politics’

During the speech, Starmer took aim at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who set out his own vision for the country just a day ago, also in Stratford.

Sunak promised to “halve inflation this year,” “grow the economy,” and make sure the UK’s national debt is falling.

He also pledged to cut National Health Service (NHS) waiting lists, so that “people will get the care they need more quickly.”

Further, the prime minister vowed to stop illegal immigration, especially via small boats in the English Channel, by passing new laws under which “if you come to this country illegally, you are detained and swiftly removed.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a major speech at Plexal, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, on Jan. 4, 2023. Stefan Rousseau/PA Media

Criticising Sunak’s speech, the Labour leader said the prime minister’s five pledges were “weak and low ambition.”

He said: “You saw it again yesterday from the prime minister—commentary without solution. More promises, more platitudes. No ambition to take us forward. No sense of what the country needs. Thirteen years of nothing but sticking plaster politics.”

Starmer also said Labour would likely repeal any anti-strike legislation brought in by the government.

Asked about the issue by Times Radio, he said he does not think legislation is going to work.

“Obviously we will look at what they bring forward, but if it is further restrictions then we would repeal it and the reason for that is I do not think that legislation is the way that you bring an end to industrial disputes.”

PA Media contributed to this report.