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  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on the Budget

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on the Budget

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 3 March 2021.

    Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker.

    After 11 months in this job it’s nice finally to be standing opposite the person actually making decisions in this Government.

    The trouble is, the trouble is, it’s those decisions that have left us with the mess we find today. The worst economic crisis of any major economy in the last 12 months, unemployment at five per cent and as the Chancellor said, forecast to rise to 6.5 per cent, debt at over £2 trillion.

    I’m sure this Budget will look better on Instagram.

    In fact, this week’s PR video cost the taxpayer so much, I was half expecting to see a line in the OBR forecast for it.

    But even the Chancellor’s film crew will struggle to put a positive spin on this. After the decisions of the last year and the decade of neglect, we needed a Budget to fix the foundations of our economy, to reward our key workers, to protect the NHS and to build a more secure and prosperous economy for the future.

    Instead, what we got was a Budget that papered over the cracks, rather than rebuilding the foundations. A Budget that shows the Government doesn’t understand what went wrong in the last decade or what’s needed in the next.

    The Chancellor may think that this is the time for a victory lap but I’m afraid this Budget won’t feel so good for the millions of key workers who are having their pay frozen, for the businesses swamped by debt and the families paying more in council tax and the millions of people who are out of work or worried about losing their job.

    And although the Chancellor spoke for almost an hour, we heard nothing about a long-term plan to fix social care.

    The Chancellor might have forgotten about it, but the Labour Party never will.

    The British people will rightly ask: why has Britain suffered a worse economic crisis than any major economy? The answer is staring us in the face.

    First, the Chancellor’s decisions in the last year.

    This is the Chancellor who blocked a circuit break in September, ignoring the science he told the British people to “live with coronavirus and live without fear.”

    A few weeks later, we were forced into an even longer and more painful lockdown. Whatever spin the Chancellor tries to put on the figures today, as a result of his decisions, we’ve suffered deeper economic damage and much worse outcomes.

    And Madam Deputy Speaker, that is nothing compared with a decade of political choices that meant Britain went into this crisis with an economy built on insecurity and inequality.

    The Chancellor referred to the last 10 years, we’ve got an economy as a result of those 10 years with 3.6 million people in insecure work; where wages stagnated for a decade; over four million children living in poverty and, critically, we went into this crisis with 100,000 unfilled posts in the NHS and where social care was ignored and underfunded for a decade. Members Opposite voted for all of that. Today’s Budget doesn’t even recognise that – let alone rectify it.

    It’s clear that the Chancellor is now betting on a recovery fuelled by a consumer spending blitz.

    In fairness, if my next door neighbour was spending tens of thousands of pounds redecorating their flat, I’d probably do the same.

    But the central problem in our economy is a deep-rooted insecurity and inequality and this Budget isn’t the answer to that. The Chancellor barely mentioned inequality – let alone tried to address it.

    So rather than the big, transformative Budget we needed this Budget simply papers over the cracks. If this had been a Budget for the long-term it would have had a plan.

    A plan to protect our NHS, a plan to fix social care.

    But I can tell you this, a Labour Budget would have had the NHS and care homes front and centre.

    But this Budget is almost silent on those questions.

    If this had been a Budget to rebuild the foundations, it would have fixed our broken social security system.

    Instead, the Chancellor has been dragged – kicking and screaming – to extend the £20 uplift in Universal Credit – but only for a few months.

    Once again deferring the problem. As a result, insecurity and the threat of losing ÂŁ1,000 a year still hang over six million families.

    They ask what would we do, we would keep the uplift until a new, fairer system can be put in place.

    If this Budget was serious about rebuilding our shattered economy, it would have included a credible plan to tackle unemployment.

    The Chancellor said very little about the Kickstart scheme that’s no doubt because the Kickstart is only helping one in every 100 eligible young people.

    In six months it supported just 2,000 young people, yet youth unemployment is set to reach one million. Like so much of this Budget – the Chancellor’s offer is nowhere near the scale of the task.

    And of course the biggest challenge to this country is the climate emergency.

    The Chancellor just talked up his green credentials, but his Budget stops way short of what was needed or what’s happening in other countries.

    This Budget should have included a major green stimulus – bringing forward billions of pounds of investment to create new jobs and new green infrastructure.

    Instead, the Government is trying to build a new coal mine which we now learn might not even work for British steel. If anything sums up this Government’s commitment to a green recovery and jobs of the future, it’s building a coal mine we can’t even use.

    If the Government was serious about tackling insecurity and those most at risk from Covid, this Budget would have fixed the broken system of statutory sick pay and at the very least filled the glaring holes in isolation payments.

    This isn’t difficult to fix – the Government should just make the £500 isolation payment available to everyone who needs it. That would be money well spent. And a year into the pandemic, it’s a disgrace that it’s not.

    If the Government were serious about fixing the broken housing market, it would have announced plans for a new generation of genuinely affordable council houses.

    Instead, 230,000 council homes have been lost since 2010.

    Yet the Chancellor focused today on returning to subsiding 95 per cent mortgages.

    Now, I know what you’re thinking, I’ve heard that somewhere before. I’ve heard that somewhere before. Maybe it was because the Prime Minister announced it five months ago in his conference speech.

    No, I don’t think anybody heard that. I remember now, I remember now – it’s what Osborne and Cameron came up with in 2013. And what did that do? What did that do?

    It fuelled a housing bubble, it pushed up prices, and made owning a home more difficult.

    So much for “generation buy.”

    I’ve been saying for weeks that this budget will go back.

    I didn’t expect the Chancellor to lift a failed policy from eight years ago. This Budget fell far short of the transformative change we needed to turbocharge our recovery for the decades to come.

    There was no credible plan to ease the burden of debt hanging over so many businesses. This is estimated at ÂŁ70bn.

    This Budget asks businesses to start paying this money back whether they’re profitable or not.

    That affects millions of businesses, it will hold back growth because businesses will have to pay back money they never wanted to borrow instead of being able to invest in their futures and create jobs in their local areas.

    It’s both unfair and economically illiterate.

    This Budget also fell far short of what was needed to support the self-employed and freelancers, unless, of course, you’re one of the Chancellor’s photographers.

    After a year of inaction, we’ll look at the details of what the Chancellor announced, but it certainly looks like, from the figure of 600,000 that he mentioned, that millions will still be left out in the cold.

    The Chancellor’s one nominally long-term policy was his references to “levelling up.”

    But what does this actually look like? It’s not the transformative shift in power, wealth and resources we need to rebalance our economy.

    It’s not the bold, long-term plan we need to upskill our economy, to tackle educational attainment or to raise life-expectancy.

    It certainly isn’t a plan to focus government’s resources on preventative services and early years. For the Chancellor “levelling up” seems to mean moving some parts of the Treasury to Darlington, creating a few freeports and re-announcing funding.

    That isn’t levelling up: it’s giving up.

    And instead of putting blind faith in freeports, the Chancellor would be better served making sure the Government’s Brexit deal actually works for Britain’s manufacturers, who now face more red-tape when they were promised less.

    For our financial services – still waiting for the Chancellor to make good on his promises.

    For the small businesses and fishing communities whose goods and produce are now left unsold in warehouses. And for our artists and performers who just want to be able to tour.

    Turning to other parts of the Statement, we’ll wait for the detail about the so-called super-deduction, but it’s unlikely to make up for the last 10 years, when the levels of private investment growth have trailed so many other countries.

    Of course, we welcome the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank. Something we’ve called for, for years.

    Although it would have been better if the Government hadn’t sold off the Green Investment Bank in the first place.

    We also welcome the introduction of green savings bonds. I have to say: What a good idea it is to introduce a new set of recovery bonds.

    The trouble is that the scale of what the Chancellor announced today is nowhere near ambitious enough.

    And the long-overdue commitments to extend furlough, business rate relief and the VAT cut on hospitality are welcome. But there is no excuse for holding the announcement of this support back until today – and, of course, we will look at the detail.

    But Madam Deputy Speaker, there are very few silver linings in this Budget.

    The IMF and the OECD have said now isn’t the time for tax rises. We’re in the middle of a once in 300-year crisis. Our economy is still shut. Our businesses are on life-support.

    So it’s right that corporation tax isn’t rising this year or next.

    Of course, in the long-run corporation tax should go up.

    The decade long corporation tax experiment by this government has failed.

    But no taxes should have been raised in the teeth of this economic crisis.

    So it’s extraordinary that the Chancellor is ploughing ahead with the £2bn council tax rise – affecting households across the country.

    So why is he doing that? Why is he doing that when every economist would tell him not to do it.

    Perhaps we find an answer in this weekend’s Sunday Times: “Rishi’s argument was, ‘Let’s do all this now as far away from the election as possible.’”

    Or the Telegraph on 27 January: “Raising taxes now means they can be reduced ahead of the next election, Sunak tells MPs.”

    Or the Mail in September: “Sunak to hike taxes and lower them before the election.”

    Let me be crystal clear. The proper basis for making tax decisions is the economic cycle, not the electoral cycle.

    Madam Deputy Speaker, behind the spin, the videos and the photo ops, we all know the Chancellor doesn’t believe in an active and enterprising government.

    We know, we know he’s itching to get back to his free market principles and to pull away support as quickly as he can.

    One day these restrictions will end.

    One day we’ll all be able to take our masks off – and so will the Chancellor.

    And then you’ll see who he really is – and this Budget sets it up perfectly.

    Because this is a Budget that didn’t even attempt to rebuild the foundations of our economy.

    Or to secure the country’s long-term prosperity. Instead it did the job the Chancellor always intended: a quick fix.

    Papering over the cracks.

    The Party opposite spent a decade weakening the foundations of our economy. Now they pretend they can rebuild it.

    But the truth is: they won’t confront what went wrong in the past and they have no plan for the future.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech on a New Chapter for Britain

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech on a New Chapter for Britain

    The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 18 February 2021.

    When I went to one of our brilliant vaccine centres a few weeks ago I saw something extraordinary.

    People arriving – by the dozen – with anxiety etched across their face.

    Many hadn’t been out of the house for months, but as our brilliant NHS vaccinated them, I saw their anxiety drain away.

    And they left with smiles – broad smiles – on their faces.

    It’s that spirit of hope and optimism that I want to start with today.

    A spirit we’ve seen too little in the last year.

    The dedication of our frontline workers, the skill of our NHS, the brilliance of our scientists and the solidarity of the British people now point the way to a better future for our country and allow us to glimpse how we can thrive again as a nation.

    Covid has shown us the best of Britain, but it’s shown our fragilities too.

    This virus has a deadly ability to find the most vulnerable and to expose deep inequalities and injustices.

    We have to seize this moment to address them.

    I believe there’s a mood in the air which we don’t detect often in Britain.

    It was there in 1945, after the sacrifice of war, and it’s there again now.

    It’s the determination that our collective sacrifice must lead to a better future.

    In a few weeks’ time, we’ll have a Budget that will offer a simple choice:

    A fork in the road.

    We can go back to the same insecure and unequal economy that’s been so cruelly exposed by the virus, or we can seize this moment, and go forward to a future that’s going to look utterly unlike the past.

    That choice will define the Budget

    That choice will define the next election.

    We know what the Conservatives say they want to do to:

    They want to Build Back.

    But I don’t want to go back.

    We can’t return to business as usual.

    And certainly not to an economy rooted in insecurity and inequality.

    I want our country to go forward, to embrace the change that’s coming – in science, technology and work – and be ready to face the future

    Today I want to set out how we can build that future together.

    Covid is not only the worst health crisis in memory, it’s the biggest economic convulsion in 300 years.

    We have the worst death toll in Europe and the worst economic crisis of any major economy.

    I’ve said a lot about the incompetence of the government in handling the pandemic and I make no apology for that.

    They’ve been slow at every stage. They’ve ignored advice. They haven’t learnt from their mistakes.

    Yet a government out of its depth is not even half the story.

    The terrible damage caused by the virus to health and prosperity has been made all the worse because the foundations of our society have been weakened over a decade.

    Ten years ago, at the start of this period of Conservative government, Professor Michael Marmot published a report on the state of England’s health.

    In February of last year he updated it and he’s done so again in the shadow of Covid.

    It shows that even before the pandemic:

    • Life expectancy had stalled – for the first time in a century.

    • Child poverty had shot up to over 4 million

    • And that a child growing up in a deprived area in the North East can expect to live for 5 years less… than a child growing up in a deprived area in London.

    What sort of legacy is that, for a party that’s been in government for a decade?

    That life itself has got cheaper.

    And shorter.

    In his most recent report, Marmot set out the costs of inequality.

    That Covid got into the cracks and crevices of our society and forced them open with tragic consequences.

    During the last year, my thoughts have returned time and again to the wartime generation; those who suffered through the horrors of World War Two; who rebuilt Britain from the rubble of the Blitz; created the NHS and built millions of homes fit for heroes and I contrast that with how so many of them were let down in their time of need – exposed to Covid in underfunded care homes, unable to say goodbye to families and loved ones.

    How can the Prime Minister now look those families in the eye and say: “We did everything we could?”

    When the truth is that the Conservatives promised to fix social care for a decade, but never got round to it.

    The problem is even bigger than the serial failures of this government:

    It’s about an ideology that’s failed.

    An ideology that’s proved incapable of providing security for the long-term, that’s indifferent to the moral and economic necessity of tackling inequality, and that left Britain unprepared when we were tested most.

    Our care homes are perhaps the clearest example of this

    But we see the same tragic story in overstretched hospitals and GP surgeries, in schools with ever-growing class sizes, in our once proud town centres and high streets, in an economy so insecure that millions of people can’t afford to isolate and where the lowest paid have been amongst the most exposed.

    These are the inevitable consequences of a decade of decisions guided by the notion that government can’t interfere with the market.

    That you can strip back public services, ignore inequalities and take money out of the pockets of those who need it most, only to look the other way when the consequences of those choices became clear.

    This pandemic has pulled back the curtain on that way of doing things.

    This must now be a moment to think again about the country that we want to be.

    A call to arms – like the Beveridge Report was in the 1940s.

    A chance to diagnose the condition of Britain… and to start the process of putting it right.

    That’s the path I would take in the March Budget.

    To begin a new chapter in the history of our country – and to equip Britain for the opportunities of the future.

    But I fear that the Conservatives are incapable of seizing this moment.

    That what we get on March 3 will be short-term and it won’t even be a fix.

    Successive Conservative Prime Ministers have used the rhetoric of change: of ‘northern powerhouses’, ‘burning injustices’ or ‘levelling up’

    But all it ever adds up to is a few soundbites and the odd photo opportunity.

    The truth is, whoever their Prime Minister is, the Conservatives simply don’t believe that it’s the role of government to tackle inequality or insecurity.

    They believe a good government is one that gets out of the way, rather than builds the path to a more secure future.

    You can get away with that in the short-term.

    Perhaps even for a few years, but after a decade the results are obvious.

    And so the mistakes the Conservatives are making today are the mistakes they always make.

    They try to pretend this is a different Conservative Party, you could have fooled me

    If you can’t decide whether to plunge hundreds of thousands of children into poverty by cutting Universal Credit, you have no chance of mending our broken system.

    If you vote against children getting free school meals, you’re not going to find the solution to millions of children growing up in poverty

    If you can’t support three million self-employed people, but you can spray billions on contracts that don’t deliver for our NHS, you’re not going to be able to build the economy of the future

    And if you freeze pay for millions of key workers you’re hardly going to build the high wage, high standards Britain that we so desperately need.

    That’s why, despite the scale of the moment, all we can expect from this government is more of the same:

    A roadmap to yesterday.

    Another decade of insecurity and inequality.

    Labour would choose a different path.

    A path that is focused on the long-term.

    That tackles inequality, invests in the future and builds a more secure and prosperous economy.

    That journey starts with the responsible steps that are necessary now to protect family incomes and to support businesses.

    As the OECD, the IMF and the IFS have all indicated, the public finances must be returned to sustainability over the medium to long-term not in the short-term.

    So this is no time for a second wave of austerity.

    And this is no time for tax rises on businesses and families either.

    That would waste the sacrifices of the last year.

    And it would choke off our recovery.

    That’s why a Labour Budget would protect families.

    • We wouldn’t cut the £20 uplift in Universal Credit, benefiting 6 million families by £1,000 a year….
    • We’d provide local councils with the funding they need to prevent huge rises in council tax
    • And we’d end the insult of a pay freeze for our key workers after they’ve given so much.

    A Labour Budget would also back British business.

    • By extending business rate relief and the VAT cut for hospitality and leisure.

    • By easing the burden of debt that weighs down so many businesses.

    • And by extending and updating the furlough scheme so it’s better able to help people back into work.

    We’d also fix the gaping holes in the government’s Kickstart jobs scheme.

    It shows how badly this Government has let down young people that on average 292 young people have become unemployed every day but the government’s flagship scheme only supports 13 jobs a day.

    That’s 1 job supported for every 22 jobs lost by young people.

    We also need to use this Budget to build a more sustainable, secure economy for the long-term.

    The Chancellor is pinning his hopes for recovery on short-term consumer spending.

    But as the Bank of England have said, the vast majority of savings built up during the pandemic won’t be spent.

    That’s understandable. But it won’t help rebuild our country and it won’t do much to help savers.

    There’s an opportunity here to think creatively.

    To build on the spirit of solidarity we’ve seen in the last year.

    And to forge a new contract with the British people:

    The British people invest in rebuilding an economy that’s more secure

    And the government provides financial security for millions of people – many of whom have saved for the first time.

    If I were Prime Minister, I would introduce a new British Recovery Bond.

    This could raise billions to invest in local communities, jobs and businesses.

    It could help build the infrastructure of the future – investing in science, skills, technology and British manufacturing.

    It would also provide security for savers.

    And give millions of people a proper stake in Britain’s future.

    This is bold, it’s innovative.

    And it’s an example of the active, empowering government I believe is needed if we’re to build a more secure economy.

    The March Budget is a pivotal moment.

    But I also want to lift our sights, to talk about the decade to come.

    Under my leadership Labour’s priority will always be financial responsibility.

    I know the value of people’s hard-earned money – I take that incredibly seriously.

    I know that people rightly expect the government to look after it too.

    To invest wisely and not to spend money we can’t afford.

    Those are my guiding principles.

    But I think that Covid has shifted the axis on economic policy.

    Both what is necessary and what is possible have changed.

    The age in which government did little but collect and distribute revenue is over.

    The mistakes of the last decade have made sure of that.

    I believe people are now looking for more from their government – like they were after the Second World War.

    They’re looking for government to help them through difficult times, to provide security, and to build a better future for them and for their families.

    A government that knows the value of public services, not just the price in the market.

    A government that invests in British skills, science, universities and manufacturing, that provides world-class education for all of our children, and whose driving mission is to tackle inequalities from birth.

    A government that can ensure people don’t have to leave their home town to have a chance of getting a good job and won’t leave university with crippling debt.

    That can build a new generation of affordable homes – and not stand idly by while millions are denied the dream of homeownership.

    A government that can work with trade unions and businesses to shape the future of work, and harness the opportunities of new technology.

    A government that will ensure care homes are places of dignity.

    A government that reflects our values on the world stage.

    And that puts tackling the climate emergency at the centre of everything we do.

    That’s what I mean when I talk of a future where Britain can be the best place to grow up in and the best place to grow old in.

    But none of this is possible if you don’t believe in the power of good government.

    And the need to create a new partnership between an active government, enterprising business and the British people.

    The Conservatives are incapable of this:

    They simply don’t believe it’s the duty of government to deliver social justice and equality – that’s why they’ll always fall back on the short-term demands of the market.

    But, if we’re honest, for too long Labour has failed to realise that the only way to deliver social justice and equality is through a strong partnership with business.

    Under my leadership, that mind-set will change.

    I believe in the power of active, enterprising government working alongside British business.

    Not because I believe business is something just to be tolerated or taxed, but because I know that government can’t do this on its own.

    And that a new partnership with British businesses is the only way to build a secure economy, strong families and a prosperous country.

    The vast majority of businesses know this too.

    They know the days of ignoring their social and climate responsibilities are long gone.

    In fact, many businesses are waiting for politicians to catch up.

    A new partnership with business – one where we have high expectations of business and where business can have high expectations of Labour – is pivotal to my leadership.

    And to my vision of the future.

    It’s also personal to me.

    My dad worked on the factory floor his entire life.

    A steady, secure job allowed him to build a better life for his family.

    That’s why, when I think about business I see a source of pride, dignity and prosperity.

    And I know there’s no vision of a future where Britain fulfils its potential in which business does not thrive.

    That’s why, if I was Prime Minister, I’d back a new generation of British entrepreneurs.

    By providing start-up loans for 100,000 new businesses across every region of the UK.

    For too long, businesses have been concentrated in too few parts of our country.

    This doesn’t reflect where our talent lies and it stifles potential.

    This is just a start in addressing that.

    But we can’t afford to ignore it any longer.

    People often ask me why I want this job.

    The answer is simple:

    To change people’s lives.

    Because when I see an injustice, I want to put it right.

    That’s not just about policy choices: it’s an utter determination that pulses through my veins.

    That’s why I went into law It’s why I spent two decades fighting human rights cases.

    It’s why I served as Director of Public Prosecutions – to fight against injustice and to help keep our country safe.

    It’s why I’m so proud to lead the Party I love.

    And why I want to lead the country I love.

    The last decade of failed Conservative ideology and the last year of our collective suffering

    Demand we now create a new, more secure future.

    For me, this isn’t just a political question.

    It’s an economic question too, because if Britain is to succeed in the world if we’re going to be ready to face the challenges of the 2020s and the 2030s.

    We can’t waste anyone’s talents.

    We can’t accept that some regions of our country are being held back.

    We can’t accept that if you’re born into a deprived background, you’ll have worse life chances.

    Or that if you’re from Black, Asian or minority ethnic communities you’ll face structural racism and discrimination at every stage of your life.

    The Britain of the future, the Britain I want to build is going to need the talents of everyone.

    Inequality is not only morally bankrupt, it’s economic stupidity too.

    A fair society will lead to a more prosperous economy.

    It’s not the choice of one or the other, as the Conservatives would have you believe.

    We either have both or we have neither.

    Harold Wilson once said that the Labour party is a moral crusade or it is nothing.

    He was right.

    Our moral crusade now is to address the inequalities and injustices that this crisis has so brutally exposed – and to build a better, more secure future.

    Thank you.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech to the LGA Labour Conference

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech to the LGA Labour Conference

    The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 6 February 2021.

    Thank you for that introduction, Nick.

    And for everything you’re doing for the people of Newcastle, for the Labour Party and for local government.

    Thanks also to the LGA Labour group and the ALC for making this conference such a success – even in the most difficult of circumstances.

    I have to say it’s a bit odd that I’m giving a speech on localism into a camera – rather than surrounded by you and our fantastic team of Labour councillors, mayors and candidates.

    I hope it gives you a sense of how important I think my relationship is with you that my first visit as Labour leader – just after the first lockdown – was to Stevenage with our amazing council leader, Sharon Taylor.

    When I was running to be Labour leader I said we needed to close the gap between the Labour Leadership in Westminster and the Labour Leadership across the country.

    That’s why over the last ten months we’ve worked so hard to strengthen the bond between you and me.

    I feel passionately about this – our party has a huge amount to learn from what you’re doing and we should champion much more than we do all of your achievements.

    And I’ll be out with you again – fighting for every seat in the elections in May.

    Those elections will be difficult – and given the pandemic they will be unique.

    But there is no doubting that they are incredibly important elections.

    Because every vote for Labour this May is a vote to secure our economy, to protect our NHS and to rebuild Britain.

    Every council seat we can win is a chance to support our local communities, to deliver social justice and to make a difference to people’s lives.

    That’s why I got into politics. Its why you did too: To change lives, to build stronger communities and to make this the country we know it can be.

    During this pandemic, the absence of good government in Westminster has reminded us how much it matters.

    And we’ve also seen that local government matters more than ever.

    Because it’s been you – in local government – who have kept our communities safe.

    Whether by pioneering local test and trace services – as Preston, Sandwell, Blackburn and many other Councils did.

    We all know that test and trace was really struggling until the Government finally accepted the argument to hand much more control to our local authorities.

    You also brought together local charities, volunteers and businesses to provide emergency food and support for those at risk – Gedling Borough Council and Nottingham City Council are examples of this, but there are many others I could choose.

    You also set up growth hubs and dedicated support for local businesses, as we’ve seen with Rossendale, Basildon and many other councils.

    And, of course, Mark Drakeford and the Welsh Council leaders have shown the huge benefits of working hand in hand to tackle the pandemic.

    You’ve held communities together. You’ve made a difference.

    So today I want to start simply by saying: thank you.

    And then I want to talk about what you’re owed in return.

    Because for too long, the work of local government has not been sufficiently recognised.

    For too long, the demand to our local leaders has been: do more, with less.

    For too long, Westminster has held onto powers that would be far better exercised closer to home.

    It’s time that changed.

    It’s time that power was pushed out from Westminster to the British people.

    This pandemic has exposed how hard governing locally has become.

    Budgets are tighter than they have ever been. The demand for services is greater.

    A national crisis on this scale should have been a time for central government to work with and empower local communities.

    But too often this Government’s approach has been to keep local government at arm’s length.

    To hold back services that would have been far better in local hands, such as track and trace.

    And to talk over local leaders on decisions that have huge consequences on people’s jobs and lives.

    This Government likes to talk the language of localism.

    But that rhetoric needs a reality check.

    Because over the last decade, councils in England have seen their core funding cut by ÂŁ15 bn.

    Local government across the country is now facing a huge funding gap.

    It’s a shameful story – but sadly not a new one.

    In fact, we’re living through the latest chapter of a story that stretches back over a hundred years.

    That story is about the long retreat of local government power in this country.

    It’s a story of centralization and continuous cuts.

    It’s a story of a slow but steady erosion of local control.

    In the last decades of the 19th century, local authorities raised money and spent it locally.

    They built houses, parks, hospitals, museums, libraries and swimming pools.

    Think of the great monuments of civic pride.

    The great George Square in Huddersfield.

    The proud town halls of Bradford, Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Wakefield.

    And, of course, local government has produced some of our great pioneers and public servants.

    Just as it does today.

    But for a century now, local government has been in retreat.

    Sometimes social justice required this.

    For example, the Lloyd George reforms and the response to The Great Depression of the 1930’s. Equally the two World Wars demanded it.

    And the Labour Governments of Attlee, Wilson and Blair carried out vital reforms on a national scale.

    But even the new Labour Government of 1997 – while delivering historic devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – made less progress in delivering devolution across England.

    And that’s as nothing when compared to the record of Conservative governments.

    Thatcher, of course, wanted to turn back the post-war welfare state – but she didn’t want to return any power to local authorities.

    On the contrary, she wanted to crush local government, and cut funding even further.

    That was bad enough.

    But it was just a prelude to the assault on local government that occurred after 2010.

    Central government grants to local councils were slashed by over a third.

    One by one, local institutions have disappeared.

    In the last decade, local spending on youth services in England fell by 73%.

    Nearly 800 youth centres closed.

    700 libraries.

    In 2010, there were around 3,600 Sure Start centres in the UK.

    1,000 of those have since closed.

    This government promised a new start.

    But what use is talk of levelling up, if our local services are shut down?

    The Government said it would do “whatever it takes” to support local government.

    But local budgets are under strain like never before.

    And as you know better than anyone: one of the main reasons is that despite years of promising to fix Social Care.

    The Tories have spent years cutting social care budgets.

    The way the Tories have neglected social care in this country and failed to protect our care homes is a national disgrace.

    We will never let them forget it.

    I know that the government’s failure to fund councils properly will leave many councils with no choice but to put council tax up.

    That’s why Labour forced a vote on this in the House of Commons two weeks ago.

    And we’ll keep pushing the Chancellor to provide the funding councils need – and were promised.

    But funding is only part of the story.

    It’s time for some new thinking too.

    To end the long retreat of local government.

    And to empower our local leaders and local communities like never before.

    Because I believe that power, resources and decision-making should lie as close to people as possible.

    My view is simple: power should be exercised locally unless it has to be exercised centrally.

    Lots of leaders say this.

    I actually mean it.

    Britain today is one of the most centralised countries in Europe.

    And it’s holding us back.

    Economic devolution, done right, reduces regional inequalities and delivers social justice

    Push power down, and you spread prosperity out.

    Empower local leaders…. and local communities thrive.

    For over a century, successive governments have failed to understand this….

    It is time to rebalance. To deliver real devolution and real social justice. To ensure that local people are in charge of the resources – and the opportunities – to improve their own communities.

    And to push power out beyond our town halls and city centres

    That’s what we aim to achieve with our constitutional commission.

    Now, I know this can sound dry!

    But it is utterly central to the UK-wide project of empowerment and localism that I want the next Labour government to deliver.

    That won’t be about shifting powers from one place to another….or moving a few government departments or civil servants across the country.

    It will seek fundamentally to change the balance of power, wealth and opportunity across the United Kingdom.

    Because I believe there’s a desire across the country for politics and power to be much closer to people.

    And unless we answer that now – and finally deliver real devolution in England – we wont be able to deliver better services

    Build stronger communities

    Or realise the potential in all corners of the country.

    I want all of you – our councillors, mayors, the LGA and our local government leaders – to play a key role in the Commission

    To shape its thinking.

    Because there could be nothing worse than drawing up a blueprint for localism in a room in Westminster, We’ve had enough of that!

    This needs to be shaped by the experiences of those at the sharp-end of local government across England….and across the UK.

    In the last year local government has done so much for all of us.

    You deserve a government in Westminster that recognises that.

    But with Johnson and Jenrick, I suspect it’s going to get harder before it gets easier for local government.

    A story that started a hundred years ago has some time to run yet.

    But looking to the future, I believe that we can close the book on the long story of the retreat of local government….the tale of centralization and cuts.

    And that starts with the elections in May.

    It starts with you.

    We often hear that people don’t trust politicians.

    I think the bigger problem is that politicians don’t trust the people.

    I do.

    We do

    And when the people return Labour to power, Labour will return power to the people.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on the Death of Sir Tom Moore

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on the Death of Sir Tom Moore

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 2 February 2021.

    This is incredibly sad news.

    Captain Tom Moore put others first at a time of national crisis and was a beacon of hope for millions.

    Britain has lost a hero.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Cladding

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Cladding

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 1 February 2021.

    Today needs to be a turning point for those affected by the cladding scandal. Millions of people have been sucked into this crisis due to years of dither, delay and half-baked solutions from the Government.

    For many leaseholders, the dream of home ownership has become a nightmare. They feel abandoned, locked down in flammable homes and facing ruinous costs for repair work and interim safety measures.

    I urge Conservative MPs to vote with us in Parliament today and put their constituents’ safety and security first. And I urge the Government to get a grip of this crisis through a national taskforce and by implementing Labour’s six demands.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Novavax Vaccine

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Novavax Vaccine

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 28 January 2021.

    Fantastic news about the Novavax vaccine.

    This is one more step towards getting Britain vaccinated. Thank you to everyone involved in this national effort.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech on Covid-19 in the House of Commons

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech on Covid-19 in the House of Commons

    The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, in the House of Commons on 27 January 2021.

    I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement. To lose 100,000 people to this virus is nothing short of a national tragedy. It is a stark number: an empty chair at the kitchen table; a person obviously taken before their time. Today, we should remember that, and we should mark the moment by learning the lessons of the last year to make sure that the same mistakes are not made again.

    Of course, any Government would have struggled with this pandemic—I get that and the British people get that—but the reality is that Britain is the first country in Europe to suffer 100,000 deaths, and we have one of the highest death rates in the world. The Prime Minister often says that he has been balancing the health restrictions against economic risks, but that simply does not wash, because alongside that high death toll we also have the deepest recession of any major economy and the lowest growth of any major economy, and we are on course to have one of the slowest recoveries of any major economy.

    So for all the contrition and sympathy that the Prime Minister expresses, and I recognise how heartfelt that is, the truth is that this was not inevitable—it was not just bad luck. It is the result of a huge number of mistakes by the Prime Minister during the course of this pandemic. We were too slow into lockdown last March, too slow to get protective equipment to the front line and, of course, too slow to protect our care homes—20% of deaths in this pandemic have come from care home residents. I really do not think that the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary understand just how offensive it was to pretend that there was a protective ring around our care homes.

    The Government had the chance over the summer to learn from those mistakes in the first wave and prepare for a second wave and a challenging winter. I put that challenge to the Prime Minister in June, but that chance was wasted. The Government then went on to fail to deliver an effective test, trace and isolate system, despite all the warnings. They failed to deliver clear and reliable public messaging, crucial in a pandemic—one minute telling people to go to work, then to do the complete opposite.

    The Prime Minister has failed on a number of occasions to follow the scientific advice that the virus was getting out of control. First, in September, when that advice was given, they failed to implement a circuit break or lockdown over half-term as we suggested. Then in December, we had the fiasco over Christmas mixing. Once again, we had the 13-day delay from 22 December, when that further medical advice was given, to when the third national lockdown was finally introduced. As a result, we have seen a third wave more deadly than the first and second waves. Fifty thousand people have died since 11 November. That is 50,000 deaths in 77 days. That is a scarcely believable toll on the British people.

    In isolation, any of these mistakes are perhaps understandable. Taken together, it is a damning indictment of how the Government have handled this pandemic. The Prime Minister says, “Well, now is not the time to answer the question why.” That is the answer he gave back in the summer after the first wave. He said the same after the second wave, and he says it again now, each time repeating the mistakes over and over again. That is why now is the time to ask and answer the question why.

    The way out of this nightmare has now been provided by our amazing scientists, our NHS, our armed forces and hundreds of thousands of volunteers. The vaccine programme is making incredible progress. The British people have come together to deliver what is the largest peacetime effort in our history. Despite the Prime Minister’s constant complaining, all of us—all of us—are doing whatever we can to help the vaccine roll out as swiftly and as safely as possible.

    On schools, first I have to say that even for this Prime Minister it is quite something to open schools one day and close them the next, to call them vectors of transmission and then to challenge me to say that the schools he has closed are safe, only now to give a statement where he says that schools cannot open until 8 March at the earliest because it is not safe to do so. That is his analysis. It is the sort of nonsense that has led us to the highest death toll in Europe and the worst recession.

    We of course welcome any steps forward in reopening schools, and we will look at the detail of how the Education Secretary plans to deliver that and the plans to deliver online learning. I also hope that the Prime Minister will take seriously our proposal—echoed, incidentally, by the Children’s Commissioner and the Conservative Chair of the Education Committee, the right hon. Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon)—that once the first four categories of the most vulnerable have been vaccinated by mid-February, he should bring forward the vaccination of key workers and use that window of the February half-term to vaccinate all school staff, including every teacher and teaching assistant. There is a clear week there when that could be done, and it should be done.

    On borders, we will look at the detail—

    Mr Speaker

    Order. I hope that the right hon. and learned Gentleman’s comments are coming to an end; he is well past the five minutes allocated.

    Keir Starmer

    On borders, we will look at the Prime Minister’s statement in detail, and obviously hear what the Home Secretary has to say, but in due course there will be a public inquiry. The Prime Minister will have to answer the question. I hope that he can finally answer this very simple and direct question, because yesterday he was maintaining that the Government had done

    “everything we could to save lives.”

    Is he really saying to those grieving families that their loss was just inevitable and that none of the 100,000 deaths could have been avoided?

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Statement on Coronavirus Deaths Reaching 100,000

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Statement on Coronavirus Deaths Reaching 100,000

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 26 January 2021.

    This is a national tragedy and a terrible reminder of all that we have lost as a country. We must never become numb to these numbers or treat them as just statistics. Every death is a loved one, a friend, a neighbour, a partner or a colleague. It is an empty chair at the dinner table.

    To all those that are mourning, we must promise to learn the lessons of what went wrong and build a more resilient country. That day will come and we will get there together. But for now we must remember those that we have lost and be vigilant in the national effort to stay at home, protect our NHS and vaccinate Britain.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Universal Credit

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Universal Credit

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 18 January 2021.

    Families across the UK have spent the past year worried for their loved ones, their jobs and their family’s security.

    Millions of people have had to juggle childcare with working from home, have seen jobs or incomes cut or been excluded from self-employed support. If we don’t give a helping hand to families through this pandemic, then we are going to slow our economic recovery as we come out it.

    We began 2021 with one of the worst death tolls in Europe and the deepest recession of any major economy. Without action from Government, millions of families face a ÂŁ1,000 per year shortfall in the midst of a historic crisis.

    We urge Boris Johnson to change course and give families certainty today that their incomes will be protected.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech to the Fabian Society

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech to the Fabian Society

    The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 16 January 2021.

    Good morning.

    I think this is the fifth time that I’ve spoken at your New Year Conference. A lot has happened in that time. Two General Elections, a referendum, and a couple of Labour leadership elections too!

    In fact, this time last year I was rushing back to speak to you after the first leadership hustings in Liverpool. It seems another lifetime ago.

    Of course I wish we could all be here in person today…but I want to thank everyone at the Fabian Society for making this happen – virtually – today.

    There’s no getting away from it: 2020 was an awful year. And 2021 hasn’t started any better. We’re in the darkest moments of the pandemic – 1,000 people are dying every day. Businesses are closed. Our high streets are empty. People can’t see their families or their loved ones.

    This wasn’t inevitable. And it isn’t bad luck

    What we’re seeing now is the consequences of the PM’s decisions during those crucial days in December. When he ignored the science and was so slow to act.

    It’s a national tragedy. And we need a national effort now to get through this.

    But amid all the darkness there are two reasons to be optimistic:

    First, the vaccine. Second, in four days’ time, Trump will no longer be President.

    And it’s the second of those I want to talk about today. Because, this isn’t a normal transition of power from one President to another. The pictures on our TVs in the last few weeks make that clear. The outgoing President is in the middle of being impeached: charged with incitement to violence, no less. And the US is more divided than at any time I can remember.

    Amid all that, this is a moment of huge optimism. Of hope winning out over hate.

    And it can also be a turning point. Not just in America but also for Britain’s relationship with the US, and for global politics

    Last week I set out Labour’s immediate policy priorities for this year. And I’m going to be saying much more in the coming weeks about Britain’s role in the world. I also want to thank Lisa Nandy – who’s speaking here this afternoon – for all the work she’s doing on this.

    Today, I want to set out the principles that will drive us.

    First, Labour’s foreign policy will always be rooted in our values. We’re proudly patriotic. And we’re proudly internationalist too. I believe that after a decade of global retreat Britain needs to be a far stronger and more confident voice on the international stage.

    Because even before the pandemic we faced huge global challenges from the rise of authoritarianism whether in Russia or China; from nationalist, xenophobic populism whether in Europe, South America and the US as well as global terrorism, rising poverty, inequality and human rights abuse, plus, of course, the single biggest foreign policy challenge of our time: the climate emergency.

    Faced with that, I don’t believe Britain should step back from our international responsibilities, pull up the drawbridge, retreat. Or to break our promises to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.

    It’s why I’m so angry – and why Britain should be so ashamed – that Boris Johnson has broken his manifesto promise to keep the 0.7% target for international aid.

    That decision will harm Britain’s standing, reduce our global reach and of course it betrays our commitment to the world’s poorest. Instead, I believe Britain can – and must – be a moral force for good in the world. Self-confident, outward-looking and optimistic. Building global coalitions for social, economic and climate justice. Protecting global human rights. Championing international development. Trading with the world. And leading the fight against climate change.

    That’s the vision I have of global Britain – a country that keeps our word and defends international law.

    But of course, we can only achieve that if we work with our global partners, if we strengthen international institutions – NATO, the UN, the WHO, and if we’re clear and confident about our values.

    I care passionately about this. I was a human rights lawyer for 20 years and I worked in many countries around the world so defending human rights and international law will always be incredibly important to me. It’s also clear to me that all the major problems we face, including of course a global vaccine programme, can only be solved if countries work together.

    Britain hosts the G7 this year. That’s a huge opportunity to shape the recovery, to bring countries together, in order to secure and rebuild our economy and to repair our climate.

    Britain needs to seize this chance to lead in the world again. Just as Blair and Brown did over global poverty and the financial crisis, that’s what Britain can achieve. #

    But Boris Johnson has spent the last few years cosying up to people who don’t have Britain’s interests at heart – thumbing his nose at our friends, breaking international law and courting the idea that he’s “Britain’s Trump”.

    As a result he’s on the wrong side of the times and he’s out of step with Britain’s interests. And just when Britain needs to be leading the global recovery Johnson has left us isolated from those we have stood shoulder to shoulder with over the past century.

    Our job now is to repair that breach and to rebuild alliances. So you can see why I’m counting down the days to a new President in the White House. In particular, one who is also internationalist, multilateralist and wants to work together on tackling issues such as the climate emergency.

    In short, a President who is everything that we haven’t seen for the last four years.

    Our relationship with the US matters to me enormously. I’m anti-Trump but I’m pro-American. And I’m incredibly optimistic about the new relationship we can build with President Biden.

    America is our most important security ally, we have a shared history, we face shared challenges and so many of our citizens have families on both sides of the Atlantic.

    So it’s crucial that we also have a strong future together on everything from global security, climate change, aid and trade.

    I believe that Britain’s national interest lies in once again being the bridge between the US and the rest of Europe. I believe we’re at our strongest when we link our two closest partners together, when we are confident in our shared values and when we work as one to achieve our common goals:

    Strengthening the global economy

    Delivering social justice and

    Fighting climate change

    I know that Labour can do that, to be pro-American, pro-European and internationalist. Looking out to the world, defending our values and building strong alliances.

    But after ten years of Conservative government, after Trump, and after Brexit, it’s clear that both parts of that bridge need urgent repairs.

    First, this Government’s relationship with the incoming administration won’t be helped by how close Boris Johnson and his Cabinet were to President Trump.

    Remember in May 2018 when Boris Johnson said that Trump should be candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize? He wasn’t a backbencher then or a columnist. He was Foreign Secretary.

    Of course, Michael Gove went to Trump Towers to do a fawning interview and the Defence Secretary – Ben Wallace – gave an interview just a few weeks ago saying how he would “miss” President Trump.

    Personally, I don’t think that’s how you show how pro-American are you, stand up for our national interest or defend British values. And it is certainly isn’t my idea of how to build alliances.

    And then there’s the second part of the bridge we need to rebuild: with the rest of Europe.

    I’ve spent the last three conferences here talking about Brexit so I’m not sure you want to hear too much about it again! But I do want to say this:

    We have left the EU – that issue is now settled – but we will always be European and I, and the Labour Party, will always be an internationalist party. We can now write a new chapter with our European friends and partners and build on the deal that’s been agreed.

    I want that to be a close economic relationship rooted in our values, based on high standards and with protections for businesses, for working people and the environment.

    Of course, Boris Johnson will never do that. He wants something completely different from Brexit. To deregulate, to lower standards, to slash rights.

    And we’re already seeing that workers’ rights are at risk. The 48-hour week and the Working Time Directive could be ripped up. Of course that would break clear and repeated promises by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. But when has that stopped them?

    Labour and the trade union movement will fight this tooth and nail. We’ll always stand up for workers’ rights and environmental protections. And we’ll make the case that a strong, close relationship with Europe is still possible. Not as members, but as partners and that Labour would build that in government.

    Breaking down barriers to trade for our businesses and protecting rights for working people.

    These are incredibly turbulent times in British and global politics. But there is cause for optimism. And I know that Labour can set a new path for this country – patriotic, internationalist and rooted in our values.

    Boris Johnson has left us isolated and alienated from our allies but I know Labour can rebuild both parts of that bridge:

    Working closely with a new US President

    Building a strong relationship with Europe

    And making Britain – once again – a moral force for good in the world.