Tag: Keir Starmer

The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 5 May 2021.

Today’s elections are a chance to vote for a brighter, better future for you, your family and your community.

This is a changed Labour Party. Under new leadership, we are putting working people and their communities first. Your priorities will always be Labour’s priorities, with Labour councils, councillors and mayors utterly focused on delivering the secure jobs, safer streets and health services we all want to see. They are the first step of Labour’s plan to rebuild Britain, based on security and opportunities across the country.

The choice at this election is simple: a Labour Party in your community that is creating jobs, tackling crime and protecting our NHS or a Conservative Party that handing out contracts to their mates, or wasting taxpayers’ money on contracts that don’t deliver.

Vote Labour today for more jobs, more police on the streets and an NHS that is protected. Vote Labour for a Britain that works for you.

The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 19 April 2021.

The drop in business birth rates is in no way symptomatic of a drop in ideas, drive, creativity, or commitment from British entrepreneurs. But under this Conservative government, the next generation of business founders are being let down.

Business growth is the engine of our economy and it is only by backing aspiring founders that we can create jobs and rebuild a secure economy. Labour backs business and will provide start-up loans to create 100,000 new businesses across the UK over the next parliament.

The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, in the House of Commons on 12 April 2021.

In supporting the Humble Address, I would like to echo the remarks made by the Prime Minister and, on behalf of my party, to come together today in appreciation of a life well lived, a life of service and of duty, and a life that shaped modern Britain and provided much needed stability to our national story.

My thoughts, first and foremost, are with Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family. Prince Philip was a man of many titles—Duke of Edinburgh, Lord High Admiral, a royal Commander, Baron of Greenwich—but above all he was a much loved father, grandfather and great grandfather. To Her Majesty the Queen he was not only her beloved husband, but, in her words, her “strength and stay” for seven decades, so it is right that, today, this House and the country come together to pay tribute not just to a man, but to the virtues he personified, and to his ceaseless optimism about the country Britain can be and what the British people can achieve.

The life of Prince Philip was extraordinary, lived in a century on fast-forward and a time that saw world war, a cold war, the fall of empire, 20 Prime Ministers, and the invention of the television, the internet, artificial intelligence and technology so extraordinary it might have seemed to a lesser person as if from another world. Throughout that time, the monarchy has been the one institution in which the faith of the British people has never faltered. As we have seen once again in recent days, the royal family has a connection with the British people that runs as deep today as it did when Philip Mountbatten married the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947. That is not by chance; it reflects the quiet virtues, the discipline and the sacrifices we commemorate today.

My own connection to the Duke of Edinburgh began long before I entered this place. Like millions of other children, I—aged 14—started the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, or the DofE, as we called it. My first activity was to volunteer at a local mental health hospital where, unbeknown to me at the time, my late grand-dad would later be admitted. My final activity was wandering around Dartmoor in a small team, with a compass and a map in the pouring rain, frantically trying to find our way. Mr Speaker, if that doesn’t prepare you for coming into politics, nothing will.

In recent days, I have been struck by the countless stories of lives turned around by the DofE Award—young people who found their confidence and found their way. This was summed up by a 14-year-old girl who said, on passing her bronze award, that she felt:

“I can do anything now.”

The DofE Award now covers 130 countries and has helped millions of people around the world. It is perhaps the best symbol of the Duke’s global legacy. He was also patron to more than 800 charities and organisations. He was the first president of the World Wildlife Fund. He was the patron of the British Heart Foundation. He was president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and he was chancellor of the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Salford and Wales. He carried out, as has been said, a staggering total of more than 22,000 solo engagements, and countless others alongside Her Majesty the Queen.

The Duke will also be remembered for his unstinting support of our armed forces. It was in Dartmouth in 1940 that he graduated as a naval cadet. As the Prime Minister has described, he went on to a distinguished naval career. Today, the British armed forces mourn one of their greatest champions.

The Duke was a funny, engaging, warm and loving man. He loved to paint. His work has been described, characteristically, as

“totally direct, no hanging about. Strong colours, vigorous brushstrokes.”

He was also a great lover of political cartoons—not something the Prime Minister and I can say often. Although I saw a cartoon this weekend that I think captured this moment of national and personal loss perfectly. It depicted Her Majesty dressed in black, looking back at her shadow and seeing the Duke standing there, as ever at her side, attentive and holding her hand.

Britain will not be the same in the Duke’s absence. For most of us, there has never been a time when the Duke of Edinburgh was not present. At every stage of our national story for the last seven decades, he has been there, a symbol of the nation we hope to be at our best, a source of stability, a rock.

Her Majesty once said:

“Grief is the price we pay for love.”

The Duke loved this country and Britain loved him in return. That is why we grieve today. But we must also celebrate him: a life lived in vigorous brushstrokes, like his painting, and we offer up this tribute, “To the Duke of Edinburgh, for a lifetime of public service, the gold award.”

The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 9 April 2021.

The United Kingdom has lost an extraordinary public servant in Prince Philip.

Prince Philip dedicated his life to our country – from a distinguished career in the Royal Navy during the Second World War to his decades of service as the Duke of Edinburgh.

However, he will be remembered most of all for his extraordinary commitment and devotion to The Queen.

For more than seven decades, he has been at her side. Their marriage has been a symbol of strength, stability and hope, even as the world around them changed – most recently during the pandemic. It was a partnership that inspired millions in Britain and beyond.

My thoughts are with The Queen, the Royal Family and the British people as our nation comes together to mourn and remember the life of Prince Philip.

The Easter message issued by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 3 April 2021.

Happy Easter to Christians celebrating in the UK and around the world.

I am in awe of everything that you’ve done in the pandemic over the course of the last year.

The Christian community has always been there for the marginalised and for those that need support and help, but over the last year that has shone through so strong and so visible for everybody to see.

Whether that’s work in Churches with foodbanks, I’ve seen so many in our Churches supplying food to those that need it in our communities. Whether it’s vaccine centres in our Church or just the pure volunteering and looking out for people within our communities.

Thank you for everything you’ve done during this pandemic. Thank you for all that support and community spirit.

I know Easter is a special time for Christians. It’s a time for hope and renewal. And, as we come out of this pandemic, I think those values will be so important to us as a nation.

As we see the light at the end of the tunnel, Easter is a good time for us to reflect on the values and the things that really matter in our lives. So Happy Easter.

The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 11 March 2021.

Thank you so much Aneela for that introduction.

I want to start by expressing my deepest sympathies to Sarah Everard’s family and friends, who will be experiencing unspeakable grief this morning.

This awful news has shaken us all.

I’d like to say these incidents are rare, but the truth is that violence against women and girls is far too common.

No woman should walk home with fear or threat.

And we have to be clear:

It’s only by recognising the scale of violence, intimidation and misogyny that women and girls suffer on a daily basis that we can ever start to confront this.

Let me now turn to the upcoming elections.

After 11 months behind a camera lens and behind a Zoom screen, I can’t tell you how pleased I am finally to be launching this campaign!

To have the opportunity to get out across the country and to make our case for a better future under Labour.

I want to thank our great Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, and all our speakers this morning.

From Tracey Brabin – who will be an amazing mayor for West Yorkshire – from Sadiq, Mark, Anas, Simon, David and Kim.

This is just a glimpse of the Labour team that you’ll be hearing a more lot from in the weeks to come.

And despite the frustration of not being able to get out around the country in the last few months, I’m proud to have worked with our great Labour mayors, councillors and candidates.

I’ve seen the difference Labour makes in power.

In the way Mark Drakeford’s team led Wales through the pandemic.

The way that Andy Burnham, Steve Rotherham, Sadiq Khan, Dan Jarvis and Jamie Driscoll stood up for their local communities.

And how our amazing Labour councils and councillors have gone above and beyond.

Whether that’s councils like Bradford who pioneered local contact tracing, Knowsley, Newcastle and many others who secured protective equipment for our frontline workers.

And we’ll never forget the Labour councils across the country, from Durham to Plymouth, who stepped up when the Conservatives refused to provide free school meals.

I want to thank all of you – for everything you’ve done to make a very real difference.

This has been a year like none other.

When I look back, I think of our NHS staff who’ve worked under the most unimaginable pressure day in, day out.

I think about our care workers who have brought hope and compassion to the most vulnerable.

How our local communities have come together: a knock on the door, delivering food and medicines, keeping each other safe.

I think of our businesses, who’ve gone to lengths they never thought possible just to keep their heads above water.

And I think about the families who haven’t been able to see each other, or hug their loved ones for almost a year.

But I also think of the missed opportunities and mistakes the Conservatives made.

Because we mustn’t let the extraordinary achievement of the NHS in rolling out the vaccine blind us to what happened before.

The Conservatives were too slow to lockdown.

Too slow to protect care homes.

Too slow to get protective equipment to the frontline.

And too stubborn to sack Dominic Cummings when he broke the rules.

A decade of Conservative government left Britain unprepared going into the pandemic.

And they’ve now they’ve left us with the highest death toll in Europe – and the worst economic crisis of any major economy.

After everything we’ve been through, we can’t go back to business as usual.

We have to build a better future.

A more secure economy that works for everyone.

And a more prosperous and outward looking country.

That’s why these elections are so important.

Because they’re about how Britain recovers, how our communities and public services are run and how we reward our frontline.

There’s a simple choice ahead of us: to change; or to go back to more of the same.

There’s one thing we know about the Conservatives: Don’t listen to what they say, watch what they do.

A pay cut for nurses – and tax rises for families.

Nothing for social care.

No plan to cut NHS waiting lists.

And no idea how to tackle the single biggest threat Britain faces: the climate emergency.

Their masks are slipping, and we’re seeing the real face of this Conservative Party: out of touch, and out of ideas.

A Party that gives a 40 per cent pay rise to Dominic Cummings, but a pay cut for our nurses.

A party that gives billions to Serco, but nothing to our NHS.

A Party that spent a decade weakening the foundations – and now has no answers for the future.

Under my leadership, and with our great candidates across the country, Labour offers a very different route to recovery.

Labour’s changing.

And our priorities are your priorities:

Securing the economy.

Protecting the NHS.

Rebuilding Britain.

In these elections: A vote for Labour is a vote to support our nurses.

Our doctors.

Our NHS staff.

And to reward our key workers.

My mum was a nurse. My sister was a nurse. My wife works for the NHS. I know what it means to work in the NHS.

When I clapped for our carers, I meant it.

The Prime Minister clapped for carers, then he slammed the door on them.

Every vote in this election is a chance to show the Conservatives that the British people value our NHS and our key workers so much more than this government does.

It’s also the chance to show that we can’t wait any longer for the Conservatives to fix social care.

For 10 years they’ve been promising to fix this and for 10 years they’ve failed.

That’s why it’s so unforgivable that our care homes were left unprotected during this pandemic.

We simply can’t let them make the same mistakes again.

This election is also a chance to vote against the Conservatives’ tax rises on families – which will take money out of people’s pockets at the worst possible time.

The Conservatives fought the last election with a tax guarantee: the only guarantee now is that families will pay more tax.

And it’s a chance to say that after a decade of Conservative mistakes, we need a build a better future.

To rebuild the foundations of our economy.

To tackle the regional imbalance and unfairness that’s holding so many people back.

To breathe new life into our towns and our high streets.

To make sure our children can seize the opportunities of the future.

And to back British businesses to create the jobs of the future.

It’s also a chance to build safer communities.

I was Director of Public Prosecutions for five years.

That meant working with the police across the country day in, day out.

So I know first-hand that it’s only by tackling the causes of crime that we can have safer neighbourhoods and fewer victims.

Labour’s Police and Crime Commissioners will have one central focus: the safety of all our local communities.

That’s what will make a real difference.

These elections are also a chance to unite our country.

After everything we’ve been through, the last thing we need now is more division.

Yet in Scotland, the SNP are fighting among themselves rather than fighting for the Scottish people.

Their 13 years in power has seen child poverty rise and educational standards fall.

Scotland now has the lowest life expectancy in Western Europe and the highest number of drug deaths.

That’s a record of shame.

And what’s the SNP’s priority? Another divisive referendum.

Under our brilliant new leader – Anas Sarwar – Labour will focus on what unites Scotland, not what divides us.

A COVID recovery plan to protect our NHS.

A catch-up programme to tackle the SNP’s appalling failure on education.

A jobs programme to get Scotland back to work and to build the economy of the future.

That’s what Labour offers in Scotland: Social justice in a modern United Kingdom.

In Wales, it’s been Mark Drakeford’s Labour Government that’s taken the tough decisions that were needed, and that now has a plan to take Wales forward.

Mark’s shown the leadership that’s been sorely lacking from Boris Johnson.

And he’s shown the difference that Labour can make in power.

This election is the chance to give Welsh Labour the tools to finish the job and to deliver a recovery that puts jobs and the NHS first.

Since Angela and I were elected 11 months ago, Labour has changed.

We’re reconnecting with the British people – in every region and every nation of the United Kingdom.

We’re working hard to rebuild trust.

We know there’s a long way to go but I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved.

Whether that’s rooting out anti-Semitism in our Party.

Or rebuilding our relationship with British business.

This is a different Labour Party.

Under new leadership.

And we’re making a different offer to the British people.

Above all, these elections are our chance for Labour to give something back.

To offer the British people a better, more secure future for this country.

To reward those who’ve given so much in the last year.

And to put Labour values into action.

There’s 57 days to Election Day.

Let’s make every day count. Let’s get out there. Let’s fight for every vote.

And let’s bring about the change we so desperately need.

Thank you.