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Tag: Keir Starmer

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech on Supporting Families

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Speech on Supporting Families

    The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 11 January 2021.

    Good morning.

    This is a critical moment in our battle against Coronavirus.

    Yesterday, there were 55,000 new infections.

    32,000 people were in hospital with Covid.

    And tragically, over the weekend 1,600 people lost their lives to this dreadful virus.

    In the months to come I want to set out the better, fairer Britain I know we can build together.

    But between us and that better future, stands a huge national effort.

    And today I want to focus on that.

    The government’s task is clear.

    To deliver the vaccine as quickly and as safely as possible.

    And to secure the economy, by protecting family incomes and supporting businesses.

    As the vaccine is rolled out, we all have a part to play.

    We have to stay at home.

    We have to follow the guidance.

    And we have to protect our amazing NHS.

    I appreciate how hard another lockdown will be.

    For the millions who are juggling childcare and working at home.

    For young people when the school gates are closed.

    And for businesses that aren’t allowed to open.

    We all want to see our loved ones.

    We all want to reclaim our lives.

    But we have a job to do first, as a people and as a country.

    In the race between the virus and the vaccine, our task is to do everything we can to suppress the virus.

    I know the British people will rise to the challenge.

    Because this has been a time of national solidarity and heroism.

    From our care workers, our delivery drivers, our posties, our shop workers and our life savers in the NHS.

    We’ve seen extraordinary achievements from British science, British business, research and manufacturing.

    And there have been extraordinary acts of kindness and compassion.

    We’ve seen the best of the British people in the most difficult times.

    If only the British people had a government that was worthy of them.

    But I’m afraid the Prime Minister and the Government have been found wanting at every turn.

    Even in the best of times, you can’t be indecisive in government.

    In the worst of times, indecision can be fatal.

    Every time there’s a big decision to make, Boris Johnson gets there too late.

    He was too slow to lock down in March of last year.

    Too slow to protect our care homes.

    Too slow to save jobs and businesses.

    And too slow to get protective equipment to the frontline.

    In the summer, he ignored the warnings to prepare for a second wave.

    In September, he ignored the science and delayed a circuit break, only to introduce a longer lockdown a month later.

    In December there was the debacle about household mixing over Christmas.

    And then, when he was told by his scientists on 22 December that a national lockdown was needed, he delayed again for nearly two weeks.

    The indecision and delays of the Prime Minister cost lives and they cost people’s jobs.

    The British people will forgive many things.

    They know the pandemic is difficult.

    But they also know serial incompetence when they see it – and they know when a Prime Minister simply isn’t up to the job.

    The government says it’s trying to balance the health crisis with the economic crisis.

    Yet we ended 2020 with one of the worst death tolls in Europe and the deepest recession of any major economy.

    That’s not bad luck.

    That wasn’t inevitable.

    It’s the consequence of the PM’s repeated delay and incompetence.

    As we start the new year, we need a new approach.

    And a new national contract – the British people stay at home and help to get the virus under control.

    In return, the government delivers on their priorities.

    By delivering the vaccine and securing the economy to protect family incomes and support business.

    The first priority is to get Britain vaccinated.

    This is now the only way out of the darkness.

    Thanks to our brilliant scientists, we were the first country in the world to get the vaccine.

    Let’s be the first in the world to get our country vaccinated.

    This must be the focus of all our efforts.

    The biggest peacetime project in our history.

    We need a round-the-clock vaccine programme, 24-hours a day, 7 days-a-week.

    In every village and town, every high street and every GP surgery.

    We all need to play our part.

    Government, businesses, our armed forces, public services and tens of thousands of volunteers coming together like never before.

    The Government says it can deliver 2 million doses a week by the end of the month.

    I hope they do. Let’s hold them to that. And let’s help them with that.

    But then we must deliver even more and double that target in February.

    This isn’t just about Government.

    It’s about all of us.

    So, lets sign up to volunteer, let’s roll up our sleeves – quite literally – and do everything we can in a truly national effort.

    Because every day we’re stuck in this nightmare of lockdowns and closures is another day that we can’t see our families, our friends and our loved ones.

    It’s another day that we can’t enjoy everything the world has to offer.

    And it’s another day that our economy, and our country is held back.

    This pandemic has taken at least 80,000 lives.

    It’s cost the NHS £1 billion a week, the UK economy £5.3 billion a week and its seen jobs losses running at 23,000 week.

    So the quicker we can get the vaccine rolled out, the quicker we can recover and rebuild.

    Until then, the Government must secure the economy to protect family incomes and support businesses.

    Family has always been incredibly important to me.

    It meant everything to my parents that I was able to get on, to go into law and to lead a public service – the Crown Prosecution Service.

    It meant everything to me that the NHS was there to care for my mum when she desperately needed it

    And it means everything to me now that I have a loving family of my own.

    So when I think of the economy, I think about how it affects families, people worried about paying the bills, covering childcare, or coping with insecure work.

    When I think of public services, I think of families relying on our NHS or our schools and when I think of Britain, I think of the hopes and ambitions of millions of families across the country.

    So it makes no sense to me at all that when we’re asking so much of the British people, the Government is doing so little to support families.

    Working parents have been left once again to juggle childcare and work.

    It’s hard on the kids.

    It’s hard on the school staff.

    And it’s tough on every parent.

    For those who can work at home, it’s difficult.

    But for those parents who can’t work from home or don’t have a partner to share the load, it can mean the difference between keeping their job or looking after their family.

    So the Government should go further to support working parents.

    By creating a legal, enforceable and immediate right for parents to request paid flexible furlough and by promoting that to all working parents to help them get through this lockdown.

    The Government also need to do far more to protect family incomes.

    We’re in the worst recession for 300 years.

    Yet the Prime Minister and the Chancellor want to hike council tax – a £1.9bn bombshell that lands a bill of around £90 on every family.

    They plan to cut Universal Credit – taking £1,000 a year from millions of families and pulling another 200,000 children into poverty.

    And on top of that, they want to freeze pay for millions of key workers who have got us through this crisis – including our armed forces, our care workers, our teachers, our firefighters and police officers.

    This shows that the Government isn’t just incompetent but also that it has the wrong priorities.

    This is the Government that gave Dominic Cummings a £40,000 pay rise, but won’t pay our carers a decent wage.

    This is the Government that wasted £22bn of taxpayers’ money on a testing system that doesn’t work, but now can’t find the money to support families.

    And this is the Government that sprayed money on private contracts that didn’t deliver, but won’t give councils the support they need.

    That’s why I’m calling on the Government today to put families first during this lockdown.

    By backing local councils to prevent council tax rises; stopping any cut to Universal Credit; extending the ban on evictions and repossessions and giving our key workers the pay rise they deserve.

    I know this isn’t everything that’s needed.

    And that after so much suffering, we can’t go back to business as usual.

    To an economy where over half of our care workers earn less than the living wage.

    Where childcare is amongst the most expensive in Europe.

    Where our social care system is a national disgrace and where over 4 million children grow up in poverty.

    But taking these steps now would make a real difference to millions of people across the country.

    And it would put families at the heart of our recovery.

    The next major priority over the coming months is supporting businesses.

    Businesses are the engine of our economy.

    They’re not just a source of good jobs and prosperity but also of pride and dignity.

    My dad was a toolmaker, he spent his whole life on the factory floor.

    And so I know that when businesses are forced to close, to pull out of high streets or to leave communities they’ve been a part of for years.

    It doesn’t just affect profit. It affects people. It affects our communities and it affects our country.

    We should all be immensely proud of the role British businesses has played during this pandemic.

    From keeping our shelves stacked and producing protective equipment, to helping to develop and distribute the vaccine.

    And when we come out of this crisis I want Britain to be the best country to do business in – High-tech, high-skilled, high-paid and looking to the future.

    Building in Britain – and trading with the world.

    But if we’re to do that, the Government needs to protect British businesses – and to protect people’s jobs now.

    That’s why Labour’s calling for the creation of 400,000 good jobs in low carbon sectors – because this recovery has to be a green recovery.

    A High Streets Fightback Fund to protect our local shops and retail, because Britain can’t re-open if our towns and our high streets are closed.

    And for the government finally to close the huge gaps in support for the self-employed, because if we’re to rebuild our economy, we need the dynamism and creativity of everyone.

    To have excluded 3 million self-employed people last March was unfair.

    To do it again in the autumn added insult to injury. To continue now into the new lockdown, is totally unforgivable.

    The package I’ve set out today shows Labour’s priorities for the new year.

    Because in 2021 we need to write a new chapter in our national story.

    Britain shouldn’t have one of the highest death tolls in Europe, and the deepest recession

    We shouldn’t be facing the slowest recovery and we shouldn’t be suffering the tragedy of so many deaths every day from this virus.

    That we are is a mark of the serial failures of this Government, and how badly the British people have been let down.

    There will be hard months ahead.

    But the seasons will turn.

    A dark winter will give way to a brighter spring and when it does, I know that together we can build a better future: a country worthy of the sacrifices of the British people.

    Just as we did in 1945 when Attlee’s government built the welfare state from the rubble of war.

    We can restore pride and prosperity in every village, every town, every city and every part of our United Kingdom.

    We can secure our economy. Protect our NHS. And rebuild Britain.

    So that it’s the best country to grow up in and the best country to grow old in.

    In the months ahead I’ll be setting out Labour’s vision for that better future. And how we can build it together.

    For now, let us come together to walk through the darkness.

    Safe in the knowledge that our scientists, our NHS and the power of our solidarity will win out.

    Thank you.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Trump Supporters Attacking the Capitol Building

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Trump Supporters Attacking the Capitol Building

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 6 January 2021.

    Horrendous scenes from the US.

    These are not ‘protestors’ – this a direct attack on democracy and legislators carrying out the will of the American people.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Response to Prime Minister’s Lockdown Statement

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Response to Prime Minister’s Lockdown Statement

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

    Can I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement and for his telephone call on Monday to update me.

    Can I also thank him for his kind words about the Hon Member for Cardiff Central. She is still in hospital but I’m happy to say she is now improving.

    I also want to thank everyone in our NHS and on the frontline for all the work they are doing at the moment in the most stressful of circumstances.

    The situation we face is clearly very serious.

    Perhaps the darkest moment of the pandemic.

    The virus is out of control.

    Over a million people in England now have Covid.

    The number of hospital admissions is rising.

    Tragically, so are the numbers of people dying.

    It’s only the early days of January and the NHS is under huge strain.

    In those circumstances tougher restrictions are necessary.

    We will support them.

    We will vote for them.

    And urge everybody to comply with the new rules.

    Stay at home.

    Protect the NHS.

    Save lives.

    But this is not just bad luck.

    It’s not inevitable.

    It follows a pattern.

    In the first wave of the pandemic, the government was repeatedly too slow to act.

    And we ended 2020, with one of the highest death tolls in Europe.

    And the worst economic hit of any major economy.

    In the early summer, a government report called ‘Preparing for a Challenging Winter’ warned of the risk of a second wave of the virus mutating, and the NHS being overwhelmed.

    It also set out the preparations the government needed to take.

    I put that report to the Prime Minister in PMQs in July.

    Throughout the autumn, track and trace didn’t work.

    In September, Sage advised a circuit break.

    But the Prime Minister delayed for weeks before acting.

    We had a tier system that didn’t work.

    Then we had the debacle of the delayed decision to change the rules on mixing at Christmas.

    The most recent advice about the situation we are now in was given on 22 December.

    But no action was taken for two weeks.

    These are the decisions that have led us to the position we are now in.

    The vaccine is the only way out now.

    And we all must support the national effort to get it rolled out as quickly as possible.

    We will do whatever we can to support the government on this.

    We were the first country to get the vaccine.

    Let’s be the first to get the country to roll-out a vaccine programme too.

    But we need a plan to work to.

    The Prime Minister’s given some indication in the last few days, but can he tell the House exactly what the plan is?

    Can the NHS deliver 2m vaccines a week?

    I think they can, I hope they can, but have they been given the support and resource to do so? And we will support that, of course.

    Will there be sufficient doses available, week-on-week, to get us to 14m doses by mid-February?

    What can we do to help and it’s vital that that happens.

    I’m glad to hear that community pharmacies will be helping – can we use volunteers in support of this national effort?

    Let me turn to financial support.

    Yesterday’s announcement will help.

    But the British Chamber of Commerce – and others – have already warned it’s not enough.

    There are big gaps and big questions.

    First, why is there still nothing to help the three million self-employed who have been excluded from the very start?

    That was unfair in March, even more unfair in the autumn, it’s totally unforgivable now.

    It may well be a whole year that group have gone without any meaningful support.

    That gap needs to be plugged.

    Secondly, will the Prime Minister drop his plan to cut Universal Credit by £20 a week?

    That needs to be done now. And we will support it.

    Will he immediately extend the eviction ban – which is due to run out in just 5 days’ time, just as we’re going in to this new phase?

    Third, will he address the obvious issues with financial support for those required to isolate – including Statutory Sick Pay and support for local councils?

    And will the Prime Minister finally recognise that now is the worst possible time to freeze pay for our key workers?

    On schools, we all recognise the huge damage that closing schools will cause for many children and families.

    But the Prime Minister knew that closures might be necessary, so there should always have been a contingency plan.

    Up to 1.8 million children don’t have access to a home computer and 900,000 children live in households that rely on mobile internet connection.

    So can the Prime Minister tell us, when is the Government going to get the laptops to all those that need them?

    He’s spoken about the 50,000 delivered and the 100,000 more but 1.8 million children do have access to a home computer so there’s real urgency now as we go into these weeks.

    I welcome what the Prime Minister said about telecoms companies cutting the costs of online learning. It’s vital that they do so, I’m assuming that’s happening straight away because we can’t delay there.

    And will the Prime Minister be straight about what’s going happen with exams this year?

    We cannot leave this to months down the line.

    In particular and very pressing now, for those who were meant to be taking BTEC exams in the next few days.

    Surely they must just be cancelled. Some leadership on this is desperately needed.

    Next, our borders.

    The Prime Minister knows there is real concern about the rapid transmission of this disease and that new strains are being detected in South Africa, Denmark and elsewhere.

    The quarantine system isn’t working.

    And the Prime Minister said yesterday that: ‘we will be bringing in extra measures’ at the border.

    I have to ask, why have those measures not been introduced already?

    This has been briefed to the media for days, but nothing has happened.

    Mr Speaker, this is the third time the country has been asked to close its doors.

    We need to make sure it is the last.

    We will support the Prime Minister and the Government in these measures.

    We will carry the message and do whatever is asked of us, but we will demand that the Prime Minister keeps his side of the bargain and use this latest lockdown to:

    Support families
    Protect businesses
    And to get the vaccine rolled out as quick and safely as possible.

    Thank you.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Implementing National Restrictions

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Implementing National Restrictions

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

    The virus is clearly out of control and there’s no good the Prime Minister hinting that further restrictions will come into place in a week, or two or three. That delay has been the source of so many problems. So, I say bring those restrictions in now, national restrictions within the next 24 hours. That has to be the first step in controlling the virus.

    On schools, I don’t want to add to the chaos that will be caused by having all schools closed tomorrow, but many will be closed. It is inevitable that more schools will need to close and the Government needs to plan for children’s learning, but also for working parents. It is inevitable that more schools will be closed tomorrow morning.

    The more important thing is that national restrictions need to come in over the next 24 hours. Let’s not have the Prime Minister say ‘we’ll do it, but not yet’, that’s the problem we’ve had so many times.

  • Keir Starmer – 2020 Speech on the Future Relationship with the EU Bill

    Keir Starmer – 2020 Speech on the Future Relationship with the EU Bill

    The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, in the House of Commons on 30 December 2020.

    It is often said that there is nothing simple about Brexit, but the choice before the House today is perfectly simple: do we implement the treaty that has been agreed with the EU or do we not? That is the choice. If we choose not to, the outcome is clear: we leave the transition period without a deal—without a deal on security, trade or fisheries, without protection for our manufacturing sector, farming or countless British businesses, and without a foothold to build a future relationship with the EU. Anyone choosing that option today knows there is no time to renegotiate, no better deal coming in the next 24 hours, no extensions, no Humble Addresses and no SO 24s—Standing Order No. 24 debates—so choosing that option leads to one place: no deal.

    Or we can take the only other option that is available and implement the treaty that has been negotiated. This is a thin deal. It has many flaws—I will come to that in a moment.

    Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (Ind)

    Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

    Keir Starmer

    I will in just a minute.

    But a thin deal is better than no deal, and not implementing this deal would mean immediate tariffs and quotas with the EU, which will push up prices and drive businesses to the wall. It will mean huge gaps in security, a free-for-all on workers’ rights and environmental protections, and less stability for the Northern Ireland protocol. Leaving without a deal would also show that the UK is not capable of agreeing the legal basis for our future relationship with our EU friends and partners. That matters, because I want Britain to be an outward-looking, optimistic and rules-based country—one that does deals, signs treaties and abides by them.

    Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)

    Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

    Keir Starmer

    I will in just one moment.

    It matters that Britain has negotiated a treaty with the EU Commission and the 27 member states; and it matters, ultimately, that the UK has not gone down the blind alley of no deal. It means that our future relationship starts on the basis of agreement, not acrimony.

    Jonathan Edwards

    I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for setting out the position of the Labour party, but he used to have six tests for any Brexit deal that he would be willing to support. How many of those tests does he believe the agreement actually meets?

    Keir Starmer

    There is only one choice today, which is to vote for implementing this deal or to vote for no deal, and those who vote no are voting for no deal. I will give way again to the hon. Gentleman. If he is voting no, does he want no to succeed at 2.30 this afternoon when the House divides?

    Jonathan Edwards

    I am afraid the leader of the Labour party has accepted the spin of the Government that this is a binary choice between deal and no deal. It says a lot about the way his position has changed over recent weeks.

    Keir Starmer

    This is the nub of it. Those voting no today want yes. They want others to save them from their own vote. Voting no, wanting yes. That is the truth of the situation, and that is why my party has taken a different path.

    Sir Edward Leigh

    I congratulate the right hon. and learned Gentleman on doing the patriotic and right thing today, but there is quite a lot of interest in the country in what deal he would have negotiated if he had been responsible for the negotiations.

    Keir Starmer

    A better one than this, for the reasons that I am about to lay out. [Interruption.] I will go into some of the detail—not too much—but if anyone believes what the Prime Minister has just said about financial services, they have not read the deal. With no further time for negotiation, when the default is no deal, it is not a mark of how pro-European you are to reject implementing this treaty. It is not in the national interest to duck a question or to hide in the knowledge that others will save you from the consequences of your own vote. This is a simple vote, with a simple choice—do we leave the transition period with a treaty that has been negotiated with the EU, or do we leave with no deal? So Labour will vote to implement this treaty today to avoid no deal and to put in place a floor from which we can build a strong future relationship with the EU.

    David Linden

    I am grateful to the Leader of the Opposition for outlining how clear this is for him. His party has two parliamentarians in Edinburgh South—one in the Scottish Parliament and one in Westminster. At 4 o’clock this afternoon, the Member of the Scottish Parliament will vote against the deal and the Member of the Westminster Parliament here will vote for the deal. How does he square that circle?

    Keir Starmer

    The hon. Gentleman knows very well that it is a different vote. [Interruption.] It is a completely different vote, on a different issue.

    David Linden rose—

    Keir Starmer

    I give way to the hon. Gentleman with my question. When he votes no, against this treaty, this afternoon, does he want the Bill to fail and thus we leave tomorrow night without a deal? Is that the intention? Does he want the result to go the way he is voting?

    David Linden

    I think the right hon. Gentleman will understand that there will be members of his own party in the Lobby with me this afternoon. If he can point out to me in the Order Paper where I am voting for no deal, I will be very happy. Will he tell me what page that is on?

    Keir Starmer

    That absolutely identifies the point. He is going to vote in the hope that others will vote the other way and save him from the consequences of his own vote. That is the truth of the situation of the SNP. He is hoping that others will do the right thing and vote in favour of implementing the treaty. We fought against no deal together for months and years, and now those voting no are going to vote for no deal. Nothing is going to happen in the next 24 hours to save this country from no deal. So he wants to vote for something, but he does not want that vote to succeed; he wants others to have the burden of voting for it to save us from no deal.

    Mr Steve Baker (Wycombe) (Con) rose—

    Keir Starmer

    I will give way in a minute. I am going to make some progress.

    It is, of course, completely unacceptable that this debate is happening now—one day before the end of the transition period. The Prime Minister said he had a deal that was oven-ready.

    Adam Holloway (Gravesham) (Con)

    Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

    Keir Starmer

    That was about a year ago. Then it was supposed to be ready in July, then September, then November and finally it arrived on Christmas eve. That matters, because businesses have had no chance to prepare for the new regulations. Talk to businesses about their concerns. They have real difficulties now. Many of them have already taken decisions about jobs and investment because of the uncertainty, and of course that is made worse by the pandemic.

    Let me now go to the deal itself and analyse some of the flaws in it. Let us start with the Prime Minister and what he said on Christmas eve in his press conference. He said:

    “there will be no non-tariff barriers to trade.”

    His words. He was not being straight with the British public. That is plain wrong. It is worse than that. It was not an aside, or an interview or an off-the-record remark. It was a scripted speech. He said that there would be no non-tariff barriers to trade. The Prime Minister knows that it is not true. Every Member of this House knows it is not true. I will give way to the Prime Minister to correct the record. Either stand up and say that what he said was true, or take this opportunity to correct the record. I give way.

    The Prime Minister

    The right hon. and learned Gentleman knows perfectly well that this is a zero tariff, zero quota deal. He says that he would have negotiated a different and better deal. Perhaps he can tell us whether he would have remained within the customs union and within the single market. Perhaps he will also say a little bit about how he proposes to renegotiate the deal, build on it and take the UK back into the EU, because that remains his agenda.

    Mr Speaker

    Let us get on with the debate.

    Keir Starmer

    Typical deflection. The Prime Minister, at a press conference, told the British public that there will be

    “no non-tariff barriers to trade”.

    The answer he gave just now is not an answer to that point. It is not true, and the Prime Minister knows what he said was not true. He simply will not stand up and acknowledge it today. That speaks volumes about the sort of Prime Minister we have.

    Adam Holloway

    Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

    Keir Starmer

    I will in just a minute. The truth is this: there will be an avalanche of checks, bureaucracy and red tape for British businesses. Every business I have spoken to knows this; every business any Member has spoken to knows this. That is what they are talking about. It is there in black and white in the treaty.

    Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)

    Will the Leader of the Opposition give way?

    Keir Starmer

    I will in one minute. There will be checks for farmers, for our manufacturers, for customs, on rules of origin, VAT, safety and security, plant and animal health, and much more. Many British exporters will have to go through two regulatory processes to sell to existing clients in the EU. To keep tariff-free trade, businesses will have to prove that enough of their parts come from the EU or the UK. So there will be significant and permanent burdens on British businesses. It is somewhat ironic that for years the Conservative party has railed against EU bureaucracy, but this treaty imposes far more red tape on British businesses than there is at the moment.

    Mr Dhesi

    The lead-up to this Brexit deal has seen a litany of broken promises. Earlier this year, the Prime Minister stood at the Dispatch Box and said that there was

    “no threat to the Erasmus scheme”.—[Official Report, 15 January 2020; Vol. 669, c. 1021.]

    Among other things, he made grand statements about taking back full control of our fishing waters. Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that, despite all the promises, it is not only British fishermen who are accusing the Prime Minister of betrayal and of having caved in to arrive at this insufficient deal?

    Keir Starmer

    These are examples of the Prime Minister making promises that he does not keep. That is the hallmark of this Prime Minister.

    Adam Holloway

    Can the Leader of the Opposition not in some way join the millions of people in this country, including many millions of patriotic Labour voters, on the remarkable achievement of the Prime Minister?

    Keir Starmer

    I am glad that there is a deal and I will vote for the Bill to implement it, because a deal is far better than no deal. That is the right thing to do. But to pretend that the deal is not what it is is not being honest, and nor is it a base from which we can go forward. To pretend that there are no non-tariff barriers when there are is just not true. The Prime Minister will not just get up and say, “I got it wrong. I didn’t tell the truth when I was addressing the public.” [Interruption.] The Prime Minister says I do not know what I am talking about. His words were that there will be no non-tariff barriers to trade. Will there be no non-tariff barriers to trade, Prime Minister? Yes or no? The ox is now on his tongue, I see.

    Whatever the Prime Minister says, there is very little protection for our services. That is a gaping hole in this deal. Ours is primarily a services economy. Services account for 80% of our economic output, and we have a trade surplus with the EU in services, but what we have in this text does not go beyond what was agreed with Canada or Japan. The lack of ambition is striking, and the result is no mutual recognition of professional qualifications. Talk to doctors, nurses, dentists, accountants, pharmacists, vets, engineers and architects about how they will practise now in other EU states, where they will have to have their qualifications agreed with each state separately with different terms and conditions. Anybody who thinks that that is an improvement really does need to look again at the deal.

    Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)

    Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?

    Keir Starmer

    In just one minute.

    The deal will make it harder to sell services into the EU and will create a huge disincentive for businesses to invest.

    The very thin agreement on short business travel will make things much harder for artists and musicians, for example. Prime Minister, they want to hear what the answers to these questions are, not just comments from the Front Bench.

    On financial services, even the Prime Minister himself has accepted—I do not know whether he will stick to this, or if it is one that he will not own now—that the deal does not go as far as we would have liked, so pretending that it is a brilliant deal just is not on. We have to rely on the bare bones of equivalence arrangements, many of which are not even in place, that could be unilaterally withdrawn at short notice. That is the reality of the situation. We are left to wonder: either the Prime Minister did not try to get a strong deal to protect our service economy, or he tried and failed. Which is it?

    Let me turn to security. The treaty offers important protections when compared with the utter chaos of no deal, such as on DNA and fingerprints. There are third-party arrangements to continue working with Europol and Eurojust. I worked with Europol and Eurojust, so I know how important that is, but the treaty does not provide what was promised: a security partnership of unprecedented breadth and depth. It does not, and anybody today who thinks that it does has not read the deal. We will no longer have access to EU databases that allow for the sharing of real-time data, such as the Schengen information system for missing persons and objects. Anybody who thinks that that is not important needs to bear in mind that it is used on a daily basis. In 2019, it was accessed and consulted 600 million times by the UK police—600 million times. That is how vital it is to them. That is a massive gap in the deal, and the Prime Minister needs to explain how it will be plugged.

    Let me turn to tariffs and quotas. The Prime Minister has made much of the deal delivering zero tariffs and zero quotas. It does—

    The Prime Minister

    Aha!

    Keir Starmer

    Thank you, Prime Minister. It does, or rather it does for as long as British businesses meet the rules of origin requirements. It does as long as the UK does not step away from a level playing field on workers’ rights and environment—

    The Prime Minister

    Rubbish!

    Keir Starmer

    The Prime Minister says rubbish—[Interruption.] I have read it. I have studied it. I have been looking at nothing else than this for four years. The Prime Minister pretends that he has got sovereignty, and zero tariffs and zero quotas. He has not: the moment he exercises the sovereignty to depart from the level playing field, the tariffs kick in. This is not a negotiating triumph. It sets out the fundamental dilemma that has always been at the heart—

    The Prime Minister

    Well, vote against it then!

    Keir Starmer

    The Prime Minister says vote against it—vote for no deal. As my wife says to our children, “If you haven’t got anything sensible to say, it’s probably better to say nothing.”

    The situation sets out the fundamental dilemma that has always been at the heart of the negotiations. If we stick to the level playing field, there are no tariffs and quotas, but if we do not, British businesses, British workers and British consumers will bear the cost. The Prime Minister has not escaped that dilemma; he has negotiated a treaty that bakes it in. This poses the central question for future Governments and Parliaments: do we build up from this agreement to ensure that the UK has high standards and that our businesses are able to trade as freely as possible in the EU market with minimal disruption; or do we choose to lower standards and slash protections, and in that way put up more barriers for our businesses to trade with our nearest and most important partners?

    For Labour, this is clear: we believe in high standards. We see this treaty as a basis to build from, and we want to retain a close economic relationship with the EU that protects jobs and rights, because that is where our national interest lies today and tomorrow. However, I fear that the Prime Minister will take the other route, because he has used up so much time and negotiating capital in doing so. He has put the right to step away from common standards at the heart of the negotiation, so I assume that he wants to make use of that right as soon as possible. If he does, he has to be honest with the British people about the costs and consequences of that choice for businesses, jobs and our economy. If he does not want to exercise that right, he has to explain why he wasted so much time and sacrificed so many priorities for a right that he is not going to exercise.

    After four and a half years of debate and division, we finally have a trade deal with the EU. It is imperfect, it is thin and it is the consequence of the Prime Minister’s political choices, but we have only one day before the end of the transition period, and it is the only deal that we have. It is a basis to build on in the years to come. Ultimately, voting to implement the treaty is the only way to ensure that we avoid no deal, so we will vote for the Bill today.

    But I do hope that this will be a moment when our country can come together and look to a better future. The UK has left the EU. The leave/remain argument is over—whichever side we were on, the divisions are over. We now have an opportunity to forge a new future: one outside the EU, but working closely with our great partners, friends and allies. We will always be European. We will always have shared values, experiences and history, and we can now also have a shared future. Today’s vote provides the basis for that.

  • Keir Starmer – 2020 Statement on UK/EU Trade Deal

    Keir Starmer – 2020 Statement on UK/EU Trade Deal

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 24 December 2020.

    As leader of the Labour Party, I have urged the Government to get on with negotiating the Brexit deal that it promised.

    I wanted the talks to succeed.

    I did so because a deal is in the national interest.

    Businesses need a deal.

    Working people need a deal.

    Families need a deal.

    The fact that the Government was even considering no deal – during a global pandemic – was grossly irresponsible.

    After months of negotiations, a deal has now been agreed.

    The choice facing Parliament – the choice facing Labour – is now whether to accept that deal or reject it.

    The deal is a thin agreement.

    It does not provide adequate protections for British manufacturing.

    Our financial services.

    Creative industries.

    Or workplace rights.

    It is not the deal the government promised.

    Far from it.

    And there are serious questions about the Government’s preparedness for the new arrangements.

    Leaving everything to the last minute has made it even more difficult for businesses to be ready.

    A better deal could have been negotiated.

    But I accept that option has now gone.

    The chance for renegotiation is over.

    There are just two paths now left for our country.

    To move forward with a deal.

    Or without one.

    No deal is simply not an option.

    The social, economic and political consequences would be devastating.

    Jobs would be put at risk.

    Businesses would collapse.

    Investment would dry up.

    Our national security would be threatened.

    The disruption we have seen at the Port of Dover in recent days would be the tip of the iceberg.

    And the cumulative effect – on top of the worst recession of any major economy – would be unimaginable.

    Labour is against no deal.

    Firmly and absolutely.

    And the British people would never forgive us if we enabled a no deal outcome.

    There are some that argue Labour should be neutral on this issue.

    To abstain.

    I do not agree.

    Leadership is about taking the tough decisions in the national interest.

    It is about being a serious, responsible opposition.

    A government-in-waiting.

    This is the deal Labour will inherit in 2024.

    It is something we will build on compared to the chaos of no deal.

    The public would expect a labour government to make it work.

    And the EU would expect us to make it work.

    And to use it to protect our shared interests.

    Including the peace process in Northern Ireland.

    At a moment of such national significance, it is not credible for Labour to be on the side lines.

    That is why I can say today that when this deal comes before Parliament, Labour will accept it and vote for it.

    But let me be absolutely clear – and say directly to the Government – up against no deal, we accept this deal, but the consequences of it are yours.

    And yours alone.

    We will hold you to account for it

    Every second you are in power.

    For the promises you have made.

    And the promises you break.

    No longer can you blame somebody else.

    Responsibility for this deal – lies squarely at the door of Number 10.

    I want to address the British people directly.

    I know how tired you are of Brexit.

    The endless negotiations.

    And political squabbles.

    You want to move on.

    You want politicians in Westminster talking about the things that matter to you and your family.

    Securing our economy.

    Protecting our NHS.

    And rebuilding our country.

    Those are my priorities.

    We are a great country.

    We have done extraordinary things.

    Our NHS is the envy of the world.

    British scientists were among the first to discover a coronavirus vaccine.

    I want to be Prime Minister because I believe a better future is possible for our country.

    That we can be even greater than we are today.

    That we can achieve so much more.

    That we can stand proud on the world stage.

    And that we can make Britain the best place to grow up in and the best place to grow old in.

    That is the change I believe in.

    That is the change I want.

    And with Labour under new leadership that is the change we offer.

    Thank you.

  • Keir Starmer – 2020 Christmas Message

    Keir Starmer – 2020 Christmas Message

    The Christmas message from Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 24 December 2020.

    I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

    It’s is a time to celebrate and come together with our family and friends.

    It’s a time for Christians in Britain and across the world to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

    The values of Christianity of generosity, of kindness and hope, Have shone through this year.

    In every village, every town and every city we have seen the very best of Britain.

    The key workers who have been our country’s rock.

    The servicemen and servicewomen who have stepped up.

    And the incredible scientists who have discovered a vaccine.

    I know it hasn’t been easy.

    I know for many of our key workers they will have to step up again, one more time, this Christmas.

    As will our Armed Forces who have deployed here and across the overseas.

    To all of you a heartfelt thank you.

    Christmas is a time for us to be thankful for what we value most and to care for those who have lost so much.

    Too many families have lost loved ones this year.

    For many, that is going to mean an empty space around the Christmas table.

    And I know how difficult this period will be without them.

    To all of those families, to all of you in isolation, my thoughts are with you all.

    This year has been like no other.

    But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

    The vaccine will be distributed.

    The spread of the virus will slow.

    Businesses will reopen.

    And we will recapture the spirit that has got us through the pandemic and rebuild a better future for our country.

    So, wherever you are and however you’re celebrating stay safe, have a very merry Christmas and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

  • Keir Starmer – 2020 Keynote Speech on Scotland’s Future Role in the UK

    Keir Starmer – 2020 Keynote Speech on Scotland’s Future Role in the UK

    The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 21 December 2020.

    Good morning.

    I want to start by addressing the emerging situation relating to the pandemic.

    The news over the last 24 hours has been deeply disturbing.

    The number of coronavirus cases has nearly doubled in the last week.

    Over 67,000 people have now tragically died.

    And hospital admissions are rising.

    We cannot be in any doubt.

    The virus is now out of control.

    International flights have been banned.

    International Borders have been shut.

    And there is now severe disruption at Britain’s ports.

    Make no mistake this is now a real emergency.

    I have faith in the British people to once again step up to the challenge.

    As they have done at every stage of the pandemic.

    But they expect the Government to do the same.

    We can have no more over-promising and false hope, confused messages and slow decision-making.

    We need strong, clear and decisive leadership.

    The Prime Minister needs to be straight with people about precisely what is going on.

    And precisely what he is doing about it.

    He must address the nation today after this morning’s COBRA meeting.

    And hold daily press conferences until the disruption has eased.

    He must also get the Brexit deal he promised done this week.

    This is not a game of brinkmanship.

    This is people’s lives.

    People’s jobs.

    And people’s businesses.

    They need a deal.

    They expect a deal.

    And a deal is what must happen.

    I renew my pledge to act in the national interest to help us through these dark and difficult days.

    We will support further restrictions where they are necessary.

    We will work with Government to help businesses get through the winter months.

    And we will offer constructive solutions to keep our NHS open and the vaccine distributed.

    As we struggle against the pandemic,

    And the profound health and economic consequences of it,

    Making the case for our United Kingdom could never be more important.

    We entered this pandemic together.

    We faced the enduring challenges of the pandemic together.

    We will come out of it together.

    And we must rebuild together.

    The duty to rebuild will be a shared duty.

    It is a duty not just in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

    It is a duty across all four nations together.

    And believe you me, future generations will not forgive us if we shirk that responsibility.

    That is why the case I want to make today is the case for the United Kingdom.

    Of course there’s a case for the United Kingdom that’s measured in

    Power
    Prosperity
    Trade
    And security

    We are all stronger because we choose to pool our resources to share the risks and rewards.

    We are all better off because we can live, work and trade across borders, rather than behind them.

    And as one United Kingdom we’re better able to weather the storms of a global financial crash, a pandemic, or the climate emergency.

    But for me the case for the United Kingdom goes much deeper than that.

    The United Kingdom is shaped not just by our shared institutions,

    But by the people who made them,

    The history and experiences that shaped them

    And the amazing things we’ve achieved together.

    Together we’ve fought slavery,

    We’ve fought poverty,

    We’ve fought fascism,

    And we’re fighting Covid.

    The first baby born in the NHS – Aneira Thomas – was born in South Wales and named after the great Nye Bevan.

    Our welfare state was born out of the struggles of early Scottish activists who fought against the Scottish Poor Laws.

    Britain’s great achievements in science, innovation and discovery are all the greater because they drew on all our talents.

    The Open University was founded by a Scot, Jennie Lee and we’re a world leader in education, research and knowledge because of our great universities and our shared tradition of learning.

    The Labour Party was first led by Keir Hardie – a Scot – who ended up representing a Welsh constituency

    and such was the influence of that boy from Lanarkshire, that many years later a family in Oxted, East Surrey, decided to call their son Keir too.

    My point is this:

    Our nations are bound by our history, our values and our identity.

    Our families live across borders,

    Our businesses operate across borders,

    We’re interconnected and we’re interdependent.

    That’s not just a precious inheritance, or a description of the past, it’s what we are.

    It’s what I want for our children, for the next generation.

    I don’t believe in putting up borders across any part of our United Kingdom, in dividing people, communities, and families who have stood together for so long.

    It’s not, England, or Scotland, or Wales, or Northern Ireland,

    I’ve had enough of hearing that.

    It’s England, and Scotland, and Wales, and Northern Ireland, together.

    I believe in that core Labour principle: that we achieve more together than we do alone.

    All four nations working together to build a more open, more optimistic and outward-looking country.

    A United Kingdom that’s a force for social justice and a moral force for good in the world

    And that’s why I’m so determined to preserve and to renew the United Kingdom.

    But just as I believe in the United Kingdom,

    I equally believe in devolving power and opportunity across it.

    This is the common thread that joins so many great figures of the Scottish Labour movement.

    From John Mackintosh and Donald Dewar, to John Smith and Gordon Brown.

    A tradition that doesn’t simply see devolution as a process of shifting power from one place to another, but that sees devolution as a means to an end.

    To empower. To democratise. And to deliver social justice.

    The challenge for Labour now is how to carry on that tradition, to renew the case for devolution and to harness the energy, dynamism and creativity of all corners of the country.

    Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was one of the proudest achievements of the last Labour government.

    Against, I might add, the opposition of the Conservatives and the indifference of the SNP.

    But since Labour lost power in Holyrood in 2007, and then in Westminster in 2010, that renewal hasn’t happened.

    In Westminster, successive Conservative governments have eroded the fabric of the United Kingdom.

    First, with a decade of austerity, which undermined our public services, widened inequalities and made communities across the country poorer and less secure.

    And then came Brexit.

    Now, I know the Prime Minister is the only person in Britain who still wants to talk about Brexit.

    So I will just say this:

    Whichever side of the divide you were on,

    We can surely all agree that the cavalier and chaotic approach the Conservatives have taken in the last four years has frayed the bonds of the United Kingdom.

    Take, for example, the Internal Markets Bill – which was railroaded through Westminster without concern for the impact it would have on devolution or the damage it would cause across the UK.

    That Bill could have been a huge opportunity to push power outwards,

    But instead, the Prime Minister showed his instinct is to hoard power, not to devolve it.

    Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, because we now know that the Prime Minister thinks Scottish devolution has been ‘a disaster’.

    And the reason Johnson’s comment struck home is because it spoke to a wider truth,

    The Conservatives simply don’t believe in devolution. They never have.

    And they are blind to the damage that their cavalier attitude is doing to our United Kingdom.

    They have no plan to counter Scottish separatism other than to defend the status quo

    And – to borrow the Prime Minister’s terminology – in Brexit and in austerity they’ve given separatists two big boxing gloves to pummel the United Kingdom.

    Scotland was once rightly proud and world renowned for providing an exceptional education to children from all backgrounds.

    For being a society where anyone could reach their potential.

    But after 13 years of the SNP in power, sadly that’s no longer the case.

    International comparisons show that children in Scotland are now lagging behind children in England – and in many advanced countries – for the first time

    Scotland now has one of the largest average class sizes in any major economy

    The attainment gap between the poorest and wealthiest children rises through each stage of primary education in Scotland.

    Under the last Labour Government child poverty fell by 150,000 in Scotland. But under the SNP, child poverty has risen sharply and is forecast to reach one in three Scottish children by 2030.

    And I’m afraid it’s the same story on public health.

    Life expectancy in Scotland is now the lowest in Western Europe – with Scottish men in the poorest areas expected to die 13 years before those in least deprived areas.

    The Scottish NHS hasn’t hit its cancer waiting times for seven years

    And in the first wave of Covid, the death rate in Scotland, was the THIRD highest in Europe. Tragically the percentage of Covid deaths in care homes was also far higher than anywhere else in the UK.

    And just last week, we saw the appalling extent of the drugs crisis in Scotland: Scotland now has the worst death rate from drugs in Europe.

    The SNP has also failed to build the modern, dynamic economy Scotland deserves, or to protect Scottish manufacturing jobs – as we’ve seen with the shambolic handling of the BiFab plants in Fife and Lewis – and the loss of £52m of taxpayers’ money.

    So it’s no wonder that Nicola Sturgeon wants to make next May’s elections a referendum on another referendum.

    Because on education, health and social justice the SNP has no story to tell.

    Against that backdrop, it’s Labour’s duty to offer a positive alternative to the Scottish people.

    To show that you don’t have to choose between a broken status quo and the uncertainty and divisiveness of separatism.

    And it’s our duty – my duty – to make the alternative case for a devolved and socially just Scotland in a modern United Kingdom.

    I’m under no illusion about the scale of the task Labour faces.

    We’ve lost four General Elections and the last three Scottish Parliamentary elections.

    For over a decade we’ve been in no position to decide anything, or to change anyone’s lives.

    That has to stop. And fast. Because when Labour loses elections we fail in our historic mission. We fail the people of Scotland. And we allow the fabric of the United Kingdom to be weakened.

    So I want to talk directly to people in Scotland who have given up on Labour – and given up on the United Kingdom.

    I’ve spoken to many of you since becoming leader.

    I’ve heard the arguments you’ve made and I’ve listened to your frustrations.

    I hear what you’re saying.

    I understand why you feel as you do.

    And I’m not surprised.

    For a decade there’s been a Conservative government in Westminster with priorities you don’t share.

    And there’s been a Labour opposition that keeps losing.

    When those are the alternatives, I can see why you’ve reached the conclusion you have.

    But Boris Johnson isn’t Britain.

    Just as Nicola Sturgeon isn’t Scotland.

    The United Kingdom is much more than that, more than any individual.

    It has been before – and can be again – a great force for social justice. For Security. And for solidarity.

    Under my leadership, we will do everything we can to win back your trust,

    In Labour – but equally importantly, in the United Kingdom.

    I know that won’t be easy.

    Labour has a mountain to climb, nowhere more than in Scotland.

    And nowhere matters more to me than Scotland.

    The first step on that journey is to reaffirm Labour’s commitment to a United Kingdom based on social justice and solidarity.

    And to set out the means to that end:

    A new phase of radical economic and political devolution across the United Kingdom.

    I want devolution and social justice to be the hallmarks of the next Labour government.

    In fact, I may be the first person ever to run to be Prime Minister of this country on a manifesto that will aim to win power – and then push as much power as possible away from Westminster.

    That’s because I believe there’s a desire across the United Kingdom for politics and power to be much closer to people.

    We saw this in the Brexit referendum and we’ve been ignoring it for years.

    Unless we grasp the nettle and deliver real devolution of power and resources,

    We won’t be able to renew our United Kingdom for the 2020s and 2030s.

    We won’t be able to tackle the root causes of the appalling inequalities and injustices that we see across our regions and nations.

    And we won’t be able to make Britain the country I know it can be: The best place to grow up in and the best place to grow old in.

    The case for the next phase of devolution was urgent before Covid, but the pandemic has put rocket boosters under it.

    Our Labour council leaders, mayors and metro mayors have stood up for their communities against a centralised Westminster-knows best response.

    A national crisis on this scale should have been the time for central government to work with and empower local communities – to bring the country together.

    But too often the UK Government’s approach has been to pit council against council; town against town; city against city, mayor against mayor.

    It’s no surprise that the many local leaders I’ve spoken to have felt distanced and ignored on decisions that have had huge consequences on people’s jobs, lives and their communities

    This has got to change.

    And that’s why I’m announcing today that in the New Year,

    Labour will launch a UK-wide Constitutional Commission to consider how power, wealth and opportunity can be devolved to the most local level.

    This won’t be an exercise in shifting power from one Parliament to another – of moving a few jobs out of London, or to devolve and to forget.

    This will be the boldest project Labour has embarked on for a generation.

    And every bit as bold and radical as the programme of devolution that Labour delivered in the 1990s and 2000s.

    It will consider all parts of the United Kingdom.

    And it will focus on delivering real – and lasting – economic and political devolution across our towns, our communities and to people across the country.

    It’ll start with listening to people in their local communities about what they want.

    It’ll look at the successes of devolution so far, but also where it’s fallen short.

    It’ll consider everything from how people can have more of a say in what happens in their community, to how we can break down barriers to democracy and participation.

    It’ll consider how we can make sure that powers coming back from Brussels are not just centralised in Westminster….but are shared across the regions and nations of the United Kingdom

    It will be particularly important for the Commission to hear from and work with our great mayors and council leaders – and to use their experience and ideas to guide our next steps.

    The Commission will make the positive case for the UK and it will champion devolution, but beyond that it will rule nothing out and I will look at the conclusions without preconceptions.

    It will have one overriding priority: to push power closer to people

    And to deliver a more democratic and socially just United Kingdom.

    It will put our nations and regions at its centre: our Metro Mayors, Mayors, local leaders and councillors.

    It will involve all parts of the labour movement: our members, trade unions and supporters.

    And it will welcome community organisations, grassroots groups, and movements for change.

    Above all, it will hear direct from the British people.

    The Shadow Cabinet and I, and everyone involved in the Commission will hear from as many people as possible from across the UK.

    That might have to start on a Zoom screen, but as soon we can, Labour will be out in local communities, in town halls, offices, colleges, factories and community centres.

    Because if this is going to work and to drive the radical change I know is needed across this country this cannot, and will not, be a project of Westminster, by Westminster and for Westminster.

    It will be of the people of the United Kingdom.

    I’m delighted that our last Labour Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has agreed to be an adviser in the setting up of the Commission.

    Of course, a project of this scale and this urgency should be initiated by the UK Government.

    But in the absence of that leadership from the Prime Minister, Labour will do what is necessary in Opposition.

    And, just as in 1997, we will make devolution a reality under the next Labour Government.

    This will of course take time.

    But I expect the Scottish section – working with Scottish Labour and our leader, Richard Leonard, to be completed as soon as possible.

    Because frankly, there’s no time to waste.

    The Scottish Parliamentary elections are just over five months away.

    Labour will fight those elections, making the case, for a socially just Scotland in a modern United Kingdom.

    And we’ll make clear that five more years of separatism and division isn’t the answer to any of the challenges facing the Scottish people.

    Whether on Covid,

    Improving Scotland’s schools and NHS,

    Protecting jobs and the economy,

    Addressing the climate emergency or

    Providing greater security at home and abroad.

    Ultimately, there’s nothing that separatism can offer to a child living in poverty in Glasgow,

    Just as there’s nothing that nationalism can offer a child living in poverty in Camden.

    And the last thing Scotland needs now is more years of division.

    So Labour will argue passionately against another independence referendum.

    We will argue that today, we will argue that tomorrow.

    It would be entirely the wrong priority to hold another Scottish independence referendum in the teeth of the deepest recession for 300 years.

    While still fighting this pandemic

    When there is such uncertainty about how Brexit, and Coronavirus will affect us.

    And when the costs and consequences of independence are still so uncertain.

    That’s why Nicola Sturgeon’s call for an independence referendum in the ‘early part’ of the next Scottish Parliament – perhaps even next year – is so misguided.

    Given the damage and division this would cause, no responsible First Minister should contemplate it – and no responsible Prime Minister would grant it.

    There should not be another independence referendum while our economic and health outlook is so precarious – nor until there has been a proper assessment of the costs, consequences and uncertainties of separation.

    Including the future of Scotland’s currency,

    Our armed forces and national security,

    As well as the potential impact on the pensions, jobs, taxes and social security of the Scottish people.

    The sterile debate between the status quo and independence will not answer these questions.

    That is why our Commission must also ensure that there is a fresh – and tangible – offer in front of the Scottish people – a path to a socially just and secure Scotland within a modern UK.

    Because only then can we ensure that the discussion on our constitution is not a re-run of 2014: with the huge uncertainty of separation pitted against an outdated status quo.

    The Labour movement has a long and proud tradition of fighting for greater devolution and social justice.

    For Labour, devolution has never been about power itself, but a means to build a fairer, more socially just society.

    Under my leadership, that will be our focus again.

    And if we get this right, then I believe Labour can play a key role in defeating the forces of separatism.

    And once again make clear that it’s only by harnessing the strength and dynamism of the whole United Kingdom that we can tackle the huge challenges we all face.

    Because a separatist agenda won’t solve inequality, injustice or poverty.

    And it won’t make us stronger on the international stage,

    And it won’t make us better able to lead in the global fight against climate change.

    Separatism will leave us all weaker – just as defending the status quo will.

    That’s why it’s time to build a new partnership between our nations and regions.

    To make Britain fit for the decades ahead.

    That is the challenge we face,

    And the Labour Party I lead must rise to that challenge.

  • Keir Starmer – 2020 Statement on Christmas Covid-19 Rules

    Keir Starmer – 2020 Statement on Christmas Covid-19 Rules

    The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 20 December 2020.

    Yesterday’s announcement about restrictions over Christmas was heart-breaking.

    This has been such a difficult year for everyone. The British public have been asked to make so many sacrifices.

    And now – with just days to go – millions of families are having to tell children and loved ones, that their plans for Christmas cannot go ahead.

    I know just how devastating that is. I know the hurt people are feeling – and the anger – because Christmas is more than just a holiday. It is a part of who we are as a nation.

    Sadly, the measures the Government announced yesterday are necessary and we support them.

    But there is no getting away from the fact – and what angers people the most and frustrates me the most is that – yet again – the Prime Minister waited until the eleventh hour to take this decision.

    It was blatantly obvious last week that the Prime Minister’s plan for a free-for-all over Christmas was a risk too far. And yet, rather listening to concerns and taking them seriously the Prime Minister did what he always does.

    Dismissed the challenge, ruffled his hair and made a flippant comment.

    The Prime Minister’s claim that this is all down to a new form of the virus that has only just emerged just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

    On Monday last week, the Health Secretary told the House of Commons about a new strain of the virus.

    On Tuesday, medical professionals warned the lifting of restrictions over Christmas would be a ‘major error’ and I called for a review.

    On Wednesday, I challenged the Prime Minister to toughen up the restrictions.

    We have known about rising infections and the NHS reaching capacity in many parts of the country for weeks.

    The new strain was actually first spotted in September. The alarms bells have been ringing for weeks, but the Prime Minister chose to ignore them.

    A virus of this sort demands early action. Decisive action. A clear plan and a clear message. Yet we have had none of that.

    The Prime Minister delayed. He told the country to go ahead and have a merry little Christmas. Told people in London and the South East to carry on shopping. And to make plans to see families.

    And yet, three days later he tells millions of families to rip up those plans. And introduces further restrictions.

    What I want to know this morning, and what everyone across the country wants to know this morning is this: How on earth did this happen?

    How could the Government allow people to go on as they were, when they knew they had lost control of the virus?

    It is an act of gross negligence by a Prime Minister who once again has been caught behind the curve.

    Who once again offered confusion, not clarity.

    Who undermined public confidence.

    Who always over promises and under delivers.

    And who is now asking the British people to pay the price for his incompetence.

    No one expects the Government to get it right all of the time. But a government that fails to learn from its mistakes ends up making the same mistakes over and over again.

    Month after month, week after week.

    We have a Prime Minister who is so scared of being unpopular that he is incapable of taking tough decisions until it is too late. Whether that was going into lockdown in the first place extending the furlough scheme, bringing in a circuit break in October to protect the economy and now Christmas.

    It is this indecision and weak leadership that is costing lives and it is costing jobs.

    As a result, the United Kingdom ends 2020 with one of the highest death tolls in Europe the deepest recession of any major economy, with the virus once again out of control and with Christmas cancelled for millions.

    My message to the Prime Minister is simple: We cannot go on like this.

    We can’t start next year as we have ended this. Our country needs you to show political leadership. There can be no more dither. No more delay. No more fearing bad headlines.

    No more wishful thinking, no more empty promises.

    Prime Minister you need to get the virus back under control; so we can get our economy going; and get our children back into school in January.

    The British people have done everything asked of them. Our NHS and social care workers have done everything asked of them – and more.

    Our key workers – police officers, fire fighters, supermarket workers and posties – have kept us going.

    Our businesses have stepped up. Our communities have pulled together. Now all of them – the British people – expect their Government to deliver.

    2021 can be the year of recovery, but only if the Government gets it right.

    That’s why I renew my offer today to work with you and the Government to get this right.

    To secure our economy by supporting businesses in the toughest restrictions.

    To protect our NHS by ensuring it has the staff and resources to care for people throughout the winter months.

    And to rebuild our country by guaranteeing the swift and safe roll out of the vaccine.

    These are the priorities of the British people.

    They are Labour priorities.

    And they are my priorities.

    Finally, to everyone who has had to cancel plans.

    To all those who have the increasingly familiar feeling that they have been let down or abandoned.

    Who can’t see an end to the gloom and the bad news.

    Or who are having to spend Christmas alone.

    I am truly sorry.

    But please don’t lose faith.

    This winter will pass.

    This pandemic will end.

    And when it does we will be reunited with our loved ones, and with the places and the things we miss.

    And we will build a better country, together.

    Thank you.

  • Keir Starmer – 2020 Christmas Card Message

    Keir Starmer – 2020 Christmas Card Message

    The Christmas Card message from Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 8 December 2020.

    The clap for carers was a moment of huge national solidarity, and we continue to owe our carers and key workers a huge debt of gratitude. Their courage and dedication in the face of this virus has been truly incredible.

    This Christmas, carers and emergency workers, alongside our Armed Forces and other key workers, will step up yet again. They will sacrifice precious time with their families to keep us safe.

    We must repay them, not just with our gratitude, but by fighting for fair pay and conditions for all those who have given so much to help our country through this pandemic.