Tag: Keir Starmer

The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 2 November 2020.

Thank you Carolyn for that introduction. And for everything that you’ve done, over the past five years, as Director General of the CBI. Carolyn and I got to know each other during the twists and turns of the Brexit process and from then on Carolyn’s always been there to help and advise.

I value her support and friendship immensely. Carolyn: the CBI, businesses and the country owe you a huge debt.

It’s a pleasure to be able to speak to you today and to do so for the first time as Leader of the Labour Party. I’m under no illusion about the work we have to do if we’re to win back your trust. We have bridges to build. And today I want to set out the new partnership I want to build between British business and the Labour party.

I want to start, though, by addressing the immediate crisis the country is facing. I don’t blame the Government for coronavirus. But I do blame it for the way it’s been handled. And I can’t forgive the catalogue of mistakes that have cost lives and livelihoods.

The two pillars of the Government’s approach: The £12bn track and trace system, and local restrictions, have been swept away by the second wave and shown to be totally inadequate.

Even more unforgivable, the central lesson of the first wave was ignored: That if you are to control this virus you have to act early and decisively and that if you don’t the cost to people’s health and to the health of the economy is much, much worse.

One of the things I’ve learnt from this crisis is that it exposes leadership like nothing else. On that count the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have failed. They failed to learn. They failed to listen. And they failed to lead. The result is tragic – but all too predictable.

On 21st September, the Government’s own scientists – SAGE – recommended an “urgent” two-to-three week circuit breaker in order to prevent the virus getting out of control.

On that day there were 11 deaths from Covid 19 and there were just over 4,000 Covid infections. The Prime Minister failed to heed that warning.

40 days later when he finally decided to announce a longer 4-week national lockdown –those figures had increased to 326 deaths a day, and 22,000 Covid cases. That is the human cost of the Government’s inaction.

And the impact on business – and jobs – will be severe. Make no mistake, the Chancellor’s name is all over this. His decision to block a circuit breaker, to dismiss it as a “blunt instrument” and to pretend that you can protect the economy without controlling the virus will now mean that businesses have to close for longer, more people will lose their jobs, and the public finances will be worse than they needed to be.

It makes me so angry and so frustrated that when the British people – and British businesses – have given so much and made so many sacrifices, they have been let down so badly by the Government.

It’s now essential that tough national measures are taken to get the virus back under control. Better late than never. And Labour will provide the votes the Prime Minister needs to be sure of getting this through Parliament.

But we’ll also be clear it must be accompanied by a comprehensive economic support package. The Chancellor has already announced three economic plans in the last four weeks – all were insufficient. All are out of date. That is no way for businesses and working people to plan and prepare.

The Chancellor needs to come to Parliament today and outline the full package of support. It must be equivalent to the package put in place in March, it must support businesses forced to close and at risk of closing, and it must protect people’s jobs and pay – including by closing gaps in support for the self-employed.

The Government was slow to act – again. But it can’t now waste these four weeks. They must be used to fix test, trace and isolate – and to give control to local authorities; to get a grip on messaging and rebuild public trust; and to provide a clear and transparent roadmap to protect businesses and the NHS over the months to come.

I know how difficult this next month will be and the months to come. Now, more than ever, we need to stand together as a country, as families, and as communities, and to show – once again – that at a moment of national crisis, the British people always stand by those in need.

I know business will step up – as you did in March and as you have done throughout this crisis.

I know from close quarters how important a good business can be to families and to communities. My dad was a toolmaker. He worked on the factory floor his entire life. A steady, secure job allowed him to build a better life for his family. He built a platform for me. He gave me the tools to get on.

I know that a thriving business is not just about making profit it’s a source of good jobs, of meaning, and dignity.

It’s why when I see businesses struggling being forced to close or to pull out of the communities they’ve been a part of for decades, I know the impact that will have. Not on profit, but on people. And that’s why the Labour Party I lead will always recognise the importance of supporting business.

I believe we all share the idea that business and government should work together in the national interest. In recent years, I feel that partnership has broken down.

But a Labour government under my leadership will look to renew and rebuild that partnership.

I think that this government has let you down badly. Not just on coronavirus but also because just at this moment the Prime Minister has decided to play needless brinkmanship over a Brexit deal.

The last thing I want to do is to refight the battle over Brexit. That argument is over. It’s time to move on and to adapt, as I know you are trying to do. But the government is making that so much harder by creating an atmosphere of huge uncertainty.

From your point of view and mine, it’s very simple. The EU is by far our biggest trading partner. We need a good trade deal to protect jobs and to protect businesses.

The Prime Minister said he would get one. In fact he said he had one. So he should get on with it. Stop fuelling uncertainty at the worst possible time and secure the deal he promised.

But whatever comes of the Brexit negotiations, that will not fix the long-term problems with the British economy. As a nation we simply aren’t ready for the high-tech economy of the 2020s and 2030s. We don’t invest anywhere near enough in skills in people in science or in the future.

Eighty per cent of companies have told the CBI that a lack of skills is harming our competitiveness. More than half of the working age population lack the digital skills required for the modern workplace. And it’s estimated that by 2030 a further 7 million people, a fifth of the workforce, could be under-skilled for their jobs.

When I was Shadow Immigration Minister – I visited businesses across the country and asked them what the single biggest obstacle was to their success. Every time, they said the same thing: skills. If we’re to compete in the decades to come academic skills alone won’t be enough.

We need world-class vocational education. Life-long learning. In-work training. And for a Labour Government led by me this will be a priority like never before.

Because the days when the school gates opened to let you out and the factory gates opened to let you in have long gone. And you know as well as I do that there’s only one way to create the high-tech economy we need to be. And that’s through investing in and training the next generation with the skills they need.

But for a decade we’ve not invested in the future, and one of the consequences is that we’re a profoundly unbalanced and unequal country. Our great towns and cities in the North West, the Midlands and the North East – once the cradle of our industrial revolution – have been ignored and marginalised. This has to change.

Because we cannot go forward as a country if we don’t spread the rewards of prosperity more fairly and if we don’t close the productivity gap across regions and nations.

I believe Britain can – and must – create a more dynamic, innovative and high-tech economy fit for the 2020s and 2030s. Our best days are ahead of us, but the truth is: at present, our economy rewards short-termism. It’s low-paid, low-skilled and unbalanced. I know that frustrates you as much as it does me.

In the last decade something profound has happened in our economy. For years, the essential bargain of post-war Britain was that for every boost in prosperity that reward found its way to the factory floor. But that bargain has broken down.

Earnings have stagnated since 2010. The cost of living – the price of food, housing, utility bills – has gone up and the returns to shareholders have carried on rising. That bargain is no longer being honoured. It’s fuelling resentment, anger and injustice.

Together, we have to find a solution. So that when this crisis is over, we build a more sustainable model and a new partnership that can bring businesses and working people together.

I can pledge to you today that a Labour government under my leadership will back British businesses – to grow, to succeed and to expand. We’ll provide the incentives, the corporate structures, the investment and the stability you need to plan for the long term. We’ll champion businesses of all sizes and in all parts of the country. And we’ll always recognise businesses for what they are – an indispensable part of creating prosperity, good jobs and strong communities.

My aim is simple: that under a Labour Government every community and every town has world-class local businesses. Businesses that are a source of pride, jobs and prosperity.

But like any joint venture, we’ll ask for something in return. We’ll expect businesses to look beyond the next quarterly statement or annual report and to focus on long-term prosperity and the long-term interests of local communities. We’ll expect every business to play its part in delivering the transition to a net zero economy as soon as possible. We’ll expect businesses to work with trade unions, to treat their workers with fairness and dignity, to invest in their skills and their futures, and to provide the kind of secure foundations that a life and future can be built upon.

We’ll expect businesses to compete fairly, and to play by the rules, in spirit and in letter. We’ll expect businesses to leave a lasting footprint in local towns and communities – working with local schools and colleges to upskill and empower young people. And we’ll expect every business to consider the role it can play in promoting greater social justice and tackling the deep-seated inequalities that exist in our society.

Most businesses already do this. Many go further. Every week I meet fantastic British businesses that show what can be done – even in this climate – to invest in people and in our communities. But if we’re to make this a reality across the country and to build the new partnership businesses need for the 2020s and 2030s it needs an active, pro-business government. And that’s what Labour under my leadership will offer.

When a business is failing it is often because the management is failing. The Labour party is now under new management. We recognise that businesses with high standards are the only way to create a good economy and the only way to fund a good society. I know we share those objectives. We do not seek growth for its own sake. We seek it because, by improving living standards, we can grow as people and as a country.

So I want to thank the CBI and British business for everything you’ve done and I look forward to what we can achieve together.

The statement made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 29 October 2020.

This morning the Equality and Human Rights Commission published their final report into anti-semitism in the Labour Party.

I want to thank Caroline Waters, David Isaac and everyone at the Commission for their work in the last year and a half.

It is a comprehensive, rigorous, and thoroughly professional report.

When the Commission was set up by the last Labour Government to tackle discrimination, promote equality, and protect human rights.

It never occurred to me or anyone else, that one day the Labour Party would be investigated for breaching the equality legislation that a Labour Government had introduced.

Worse still, that the Labour Party would be found to have committed unlawful acts under that same legislation.

But that is what this report finds.

Both in terms of unlawful harassment through the acts of our agents and unlawful indirect discrimination.

The report’s conclusions are clear.

And stark.

They leave no room for equivocation.

The report finds:

Serious failings in leadership, processes and culture in dealing with anti-semitism within our Party;

– specific examples of unlawful harassment and unlawful indirect discrimination; “clear examples” of political interference from the Leaders’ Office in anti-semitism cases;

– an inadequate process for handling complaints of anti-semitism;

– a failure to deliver adequate training for staff responsible for investigating cases;

– repeated failure to implement the recommendations of previous reports into anti-semitism;

A culture that is, and I quote: “at odds with the Labour Party’s commitment to zero-tolerance of anti-semitism”;

And – perhaps most telling of all: “a clear breakdown of trust between the Labour Party, many of its members and the Jewish community.”

I found this report hard to read.

And it is a day of shame for the Labour Party.

We have failed Jewish people.

Our members.

Our supporters.

And the British public.

And so: on behalf of the Labour Party: I am truly sorry for all the pain and grief that has been caused.

To Jewish people, our Jewish members, our long-standing Jewish affiliate, JLM.

To the people driven out of our Party, the Jewish Members driven out of Parliament, including Louise Ellman and Luciana Berger.

And to the members of Labour Party staff who spoke out, I want to say this: I know how hard these last few years have been for you.

How painful today will be and how hard you have had to fight to have your voices heard.

So let me be clear, I hear you.

And I can promise you this: I will act.

Never again will Labour let you down.

Never again will we fail to tackle anti-semitism.

And never again will we lose your trust.

The Labour Party I lead accepts this report in full.

And without qualification.

We will implement all the recommendations.

And we will implement them in full.

That process starts today.

I have already instructed my staff to start work with the Commission to implement the recommendations at the earliest possible opportunity.

We will provide the Commission with our action plan to achieve all of this within six weeks.

We will establish an independent complaints process – and it will be in place as soon as possible in the New Year.

We will ensure that neither the Leader, the Deputy Leader nor our offices will have any involvement in the outcome of complaints initiated under the Labour Party processes

And we are already addressing the backlog of anti-semitism cases. In fact, there have been more cases completed in the last six months than in the whole of 2019.

But we will go much further.

And we must go further.

Because – as the report makes clear – this cannot be solved just by changing the Labour Party’s processes and structures.

We also need a culture change in the Labour Party.

It must become, once again, an open and welcoming place for people from all backgrounds, and all communities.

Under my leadership, zero-tolerance of anti-semitism will mean precisely that.

If you’re anti-semitic, you should be nowhere near this Party.

And we’ll make sure you’re not.

And if – after all the pain, all the grief, and all the evidence in this report, there are still those who think there’s no problem with anti-semitism in the Labour Party. That it’s all exaggerated, or a factional attack.

Then, frankly, you are part of the problem too. And you should be nowhere near the Labour Party either.

This report is painful to read.

But I urge everyone to do so.

Because this must be a line in the sand.

There can be no more missed opportunities

No more denials or excuses.

Under my leadership, Labour will act decisively against anti-semitism in all its forms.

We will repair the breach.

I know it will take time

And hard work.

But when I stood for leader of this Party, I was clear that my first priority would be to root out anti-semitism.

And rebuild trust.

That started in April.

We have made progress. It will intensify today.

But I will only consider it a success when those members who left our Party because of anti-semitism feel safe to return.

And when we no longer hear the words “Labour” and “anti-semitism” in the same sentence.

Thank you.

The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 9 October 2020.

We are at a crossroads in our national effort to defeat the coronavirus. Infection rates are rising, hospital admissions are climbing and families across Britain are increasingly anxious about the looming threat of a second national lockdown.

At this moment of national crisis, people want hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Families want to know that they will be able to send their children to school, grandparents want to know that they will be able to see their grandchildren at Christmas and businesses want to know that they have a future.

This is the moment when we needed maximum confidence in the Government’s approach. People aren’t asking for miracles – they just want to know that the Prime Minister has a plan and a strategy in place. However, what we have seen in recent weeks is a Government that has lost control: lost control of its message; lost control of testing; and – crucially – lost control of the virus.

I understand the need for local restrictions. We have long argued that the only way we can curb the spread of the virus and keep the economy going is by having a targeted response that can tackle local outbreaks and reduce the infection rates. However, something is going seriously wrong with the Government’s approach at the moment. Out of the 20 areas of the country that have been in restrictions for at least two months, 19 have seen the infection rate go up. That is a sign of significant failure.

We are a great country. We should not have one of the highest death rates in the world or one of the worst recessions. Nor should it be inevitable that we have to impose further restrictions. But, because of the Government’s serial incompetence, further restrictions are becoming increasingly likely and, sadly, necessary.

The Government has got to get a grip of this situation urgently before it spirals out of control.

First, we need to guarantee local leaders are in the room and involved in decisions about restrictions in their area. At the moment the Government is operating under the misguided, arrogant and counterproductive view that ‘Whitehall knows best’, that decisions can be made behind closed doors, without any real consultation or by even picking up the phone to those on the frontline.

The party that was elected on a promise to level up is instead talking down to huge swathes of the country. This is fuelling public frustration and resentment in the system.

Second, we have got to fix testing. We can only control the virus if we know where the virus is. That is why I said a few months ago that the Government needed to spend the summer, when cases were much lower, building a testing system that works. They failed to do so, distracted by a series of fiascos of their own making. Now we hear stories of families struggling to get a test and, when they do, having to wait days for a result.

We don’t need a world beating testing system, we just need one that works. That is why I have said repeatedly to the Government that it needs to invest in NHS and university labs to expand capacity, and to put local public-health teams in charge of contact-tracing. We also need to ensure routine, regular testing for high-risk workplaces and high-transmission areas, with results within 24 hours to improve infection control, including for NHS staff, teachers and carers.

Finally, we need to give people confidence that there is a strategy in place. It was an act of gross irresponsibility for anonymous Number 10 sources to tell a few newspapers on Thursday about plans to impose further restrictions on millions of people, without any detail, without any consultation and without any statement from the Prime Minister. This has significantly added to the sense of confusion, chaos and unfairness in the approach that is being taken.

Families who have already sacrificed so much during lockdown will now spend the next few days anxious and worried about whether they will be able to see each other.

Businesses, which have stepped up to help our country and economy through this pandemic, will face a weekend of uncertainty about whether or not they will be able to stay open.

People will be confused about whether or not they can go to pubs and restaurants. The government has not lived up to its side of the bargain.

When I was elected Leader of the Labour Party, I said that we would be a constructive opposition, with the courage to support the Government where that’s the right thing to do, and the courage to challenge the Government where mistakes are being made. I stand by that commitment.

However, that approach only works if the Government, for its part, is constructive and competent, able to learn from its mistakes and willing to take the decisions that are necessary in the best interests of the British people. For too long, the Government has failed to acknowledge obvious problems, treated challenge with contempt, ploughed on with disastrous consequences and then sought to blame others for its own mistakes. If we are to find a constructive way through this pandemic, that has to change.

The letter sent from Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, to Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 7 October 2020.

I want our country to produce the best food in the world, where our farmers compete on the basis of quality and are not undermined by producers working to lower standards elsewhere. Britain should be a beacon of quality, high standards, ethical treatment of animals and environmental protections in all aspects of food production.”

Conservative MPs have until now voted down Labour’s attempts to use the Agriculture Bill or the Trade Bill to enshrine in law the UK’s high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards. The next opportunity for change will come when the Agriculture Bill returns to the Commons next week.

Labour also wants the new Trade and Agriculture Commission – set up in the wake of the NFU’s million-strong petition – to have the teeth to assess each trade deal against core standards and ensure proper Parliamentary oversight, as called for in the Government’s own National Food Strategy.

The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 22 September 2020.

Thank you Ruth for that incredibly powerful introduction and for paying me the huge honour of introducing me today. I know how hard the last few years have been for you. You exemplify the values I want the Labour Party to stand for. Thank you for everything you’ve done – and will continue to do – for this Party.

I’m delighted that we’re here in Doncaster. My wife’s mum was born and grew up here – just next to the racecourse. We’re regulars here. Visiting family friends but also to go to the Ledger. Though of course sadly not this year.

I’m also told that this is the first Labour Leaders’ Speech in Yorkshire since Harold Wilson in 1967. The circumstances were a bit different then.

For one thing, Wilson was able to update conference about Labour’s achievements after three years in government. So I look forward to coming back one day in the same circumstances that brought Wilson here!

I want to say a heartfelt thanks to the Labour Party staff and volunteers who have moved a virtual heaven and earth this week. To all the speakers, the panellists and the thousands of members who’ve taken part.

I also want to say thank you to the Labour Party members, supporters and affiliates for putting your faith in me to be your new Leader.

When you grow up in a small town in Surrey, you rarely thank your parents for naming you “Keir”. And when, as a teenager, I became the fourth member of the East Surrey Young Socialists, it didn’t seem likely that one day I would stand before you as the second Keir to be Labour leader. But I am, and it’s the honour of my lifetime to lead this great movement.

These are extraordinary circumstances.

The warnings yesterday from the Government’s advisors were stark. They can’t be ignored.

Labour will act in the national interest. We will be a constructive opposition. We will support whatever reasonable steps are necessary to save lives and protect our NHS.

But I also want to say this: There should be nothing inevitable about a second lockdown.

It would be a sign of Government failure, not an act of God. It would take an immense toll on people’s physical and mental health and on the economy. We need a national effort to prevent a national lockdown.

But instead of getting a grip, the Government has lost control. Our testing system collapsed just when we needed it most.

The British people want the Government to succeed in fighting this virus. We all need the Government to succeed.

This is the time for leadership.

Today I want to set out how my leadership of this party and, in time I hope, my leadership of this country, will be defined by the values I’ve held dear all my life.

By the instincts and beliefs that inspired me to become a lawyer fighting for justice, to become the Director of Public Prosecutions and into Labour politics.

The thread that runs through my life and the belief that will inspire my leadership of this Party is the desire to change lives for the better. The desire to make a difference to my country.

This is a country that has given me so much.

I am thankful to the National Health Service that cared for my mum for much of her life. For the chance to be the first in my family to go to university. To go on, to practice the law and to have the privilege of leading the Crown Prosecution Service.

And to be able to give my parents what they said was one of the proudest moments of their lives: to be there, with me, at Buckingham Palace as I was awarded a knighthood for services to criminal justice.

Family values mean the world to me. I was lucky enough to grow up in a loving family and I have the great joy now of a family of my own.

The mission of the Labour party I lead is to extend that same opportunity to everyone.

And my vision for Britain is simple: I want this to be the best country to grow up in and the best country to grow old in.

A country in which we put family first. A country that embodies the values I hold dear. Decency, fairness, opportunity, compassion and security. Security for our nation, our families and for all of our communities.

Sadly, we don’t have a government that has such high standards.

I’m hugely ambitious for this country. I think Britain has so much yet to achieve. And it angers me that this government is holding us back.

I’ve tried to be constructive. I appreciate that these are unprecedented times and that governing is difficult. I’ve tried to be fair, to give the government the benefit of the doubt.

But now, with one of the highest death rates in the world, and on the threshold of one of the deepest recessions anywhere, I’m afraid there is no doubt.

This government’s incompetence is holding Britain back. They couldn’t get kids back into school in June. They couldn’t work out a fair system to get exams marked. They couldn’t get protective equipment to care workers and they wasted millions of your money in the process.

Their failure to protect care homes is a national scandal. They still can’t organise a testing regime that’s even serviceable, let alone world-beating.

The reason this incompetence angers me is that I think of the sacrifices people have made.

I think of the dedication of all those who have worked so hard to keep us safe. The families that had to stay apart. The grandparents unable to hold grandchildren for the first time. Partners denied the chance to be present at scans and births.

And in the most tragic circumstances people robbed of the opportunity to say goodbye to those taken before their time.

Covid has made us appreciate what we value: that family really does come first. Always.

And that the greatest contribution we can make is to care for one another. To be good neighbours. Good citizens. To protect those in need and build strong communities.

So, to all the care workers, the van drivers, the cleaners, the shop workers and the life-savers in the NHS, I just want to say: thank you.

You changed lives for the better. You made a difference.

And it makes me angry that, just when the country needs leadership, we get serial incompetence. Six months in, a Cabinet chosen on loyalty alone shows no sign of having learnt any lessons from the crisis.

Here are two things I’ve learnt.

First, if you neglect your public services, you won’t be ready when a crisis hits. Nobody blames the government for the existence of the virus.

But the under-funding of the NHS, the abandonment of social care and the lack of investment in prevention, that’s all on their watch. That’s all down to them.

And it always ends this way with Tory governments:

Public services are neglected, cut-back, and left to decline. For a party called the Conservative Party, they don’t seem to conserve very much.

The second thing I’ve learnt is that a crisis reveals character like nothing else.

And I think we’ve learnt a lot about this Prime Minister. Tory backbenchers know it. His Cabinet knows it. We all know it.

He’s just not serious. He’s just not up to the job.

Whenever he encounters a problem, Johnson responds either by wishing it away or by lashing out.

He kept wishing away the problems with testing, pretending they didn’t exist. He wished away the problems with the Irish border. Then, when he finally realised what he’d signed up to, he lashed out and decided to break international law.

We’re all doing our bit to combat the virus by obeying the rule of six. Meanwhile the government won’t even obey the rule of law.

And this is the big difference between the Prime Minister and me:

While Boris Johnson was writing flippant columns about bendy bananas, I was defending victims and prosecuting terrorists.

While he was being sacked by a newspaper for making up quotes, I was fighting for justice and the rule of law.

The grown-up way to deal with Brexit is to negotiate properly and get a deal.

And on Brexit, let me be absolutely clear. The debate between Leave and Remain is over.

We’re not going to be a party that keeps banging on about Europe. The Prime Minister has repeatedly promised that he will get a deal.

So go on and get one.

British business needs a deal. Working people need a deal. Our country needs a deal.

And if the Prime Minister fails to get one, he will be failing Britain. If that happens, he’ll have nobody to blame but himself. And he will have to own that failure. It will be on him.

We want to get this deal done, and like everybody else, we’re growing tired of the Prime Minister’s bluster.

The arrogance of this Government makes me so angry. A government Minister telling parents to “stop carping” when they can’t get a test for their sick child angers us all.

But as well as anger, I feel frustration. Frustration that every Labour Party spokesperson is a shadow.

Shadow Education. Shadow Health. Shadow Chancellor. Shadow Foreign.

Until we come out of the shadows, this party can’t change anything.

The promise that brought us all into politics – to change the country for the better – is pointless if all we can do is object to endless Tory governments.

So let’s be blunt. Let’s be brutally honest with ourselves.

When you lose an election in a democracy, you deserve to.

You don’t look at the electorate and ask them: “what were you thinking?” You look at yourself and ask: “what were we doing?”

The Labour Party has lost four general elections in a row. We’ve granted the Tories a decade of power.

The Tories have had as many election winners in five years as we’ve had in seventy-five.

It’s a betrayal of what we believe in to let this go on. It’s time to get serious about winning.

That means we have to change, and that’s what we’re doing.

This is a party under new leadership.

As I promised on my first day as leader we will root out the antisemitism that has infected our party. We’re making progress – and we will root it out, once and for all.

We’re becoming a competent, credible Opposition

But that’s not enough. I didn’t come into politics to be in opposition, and neither did you. I came into politics to change lives.

But you don’t get the permission to act unless the public trusts you. And we still have a lot to do.

I don’t underestimate the work that will be needed. But I can make this promise:

Never again will Labour go into an election not being trusted on national security, with your job, with your community and with your money.

That’s what being under new leadership means.

And the best incentive for being deadly serious about victory is to remember why we want to win.

I don’t want to win power just to be Prime Minister. I want to win because of the country I love and because of the values I hold dear.

When you win, you come out of the shadows. You change lives. You make a difference to your country.

To do that, we must once again be the party of the whole United Kingdom. The party of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

We must make the case much more persuasively that we achieve more together than we do alone.

To stop the Nationalists ripping our country apart by design and to stop the Tories dismantling it by neglect.

I’m not the sort of Leader who wants to turn the clock back. Times change – and so do political priorities.

But let’s remind ourselves of what this party can achieve at its best.

This is the party that created the National Health Service and founded NATO.

This is the party of the Equal Pay Act and this is the Party of the Open University.

This is the Party of the National Minimum Wage and this is Party of the Good Friday Agreement.

These achievements show that we inherit a task and a purpose.

All three of the post-war Labour winners – Attlee, Wilson and Blair – saw it as their task to modernise Britain.

In 1945, Attlee had to build a society fit to reward the sacrifices of the war.

In 1964, Wilson had to make the “white heat of technology” work for working people.

In 1997, Blair wanted to extend the new era of opportunity to everyone.

In the 75 years since the historic victory of 1945 there have only been three Labour winners. I want to be the fourth.

And when you look back to 1945, 1964 and 1997 you learn an important lesson. The lesson is don’t look back, look to the future.

We need to be thinking about the questions of 2024 and the 2030s, not the questions of the past.

If anything, Covid has quickened the pace.

The challenges we now face mean that even the questions of 2019 already seem like ancient history.

What we say at the next general election isn’t written yet. But it will be rooted in Labour values.

It won’t sound like anything you’ve heard before. It will sound like the future arriving.

The trust of the British people will only be won by a party: that can provide security and opportunity at work, that ends the structural flaws in our economy that mean that working people have barely had a pay rise in a decade, that fixes the housing crisis so that young people finally have the prospect of owning their own home, that understands the need for an economy that’s healing the climate crisis, not contributing to it, that guarantees the security and integrity of this nation, that gives our young people the start in life they deserve, that gives our older people the dignity that they’ve earned and that cherishes our diversity and takes pride in a society where everyone belongs.

We know that Covid affects our black, Asian and minority ethnic communities disproportionately. But the Government still hasn’t done anything about it.

That’s why I’ve asked Doreen Lawrence to lead an inquiry. I worked with Doreen to prosecute her son’s killers.

Racial inequality is one of the causes that brought me into politics. And the eradication of structural racism will be a defining cause for the next Labour government.

Covid-19 thrives on inequalities: structural inequalities that we must defeat.

I think you can measure a country by how good it is to grow up in. And it’s a test of our compassion, how good it is to grow old in.

The young and the old have been badly let down by this government. Our children and young people have been an afterthought.

And the gap between the best and worst-off families threatens to get even wider.

This inequality scars life chances: and I fear it will leave a lasting legacy for a generation of children.

The government promised catch-up support, but it’s failed to materialise. And now the failure to get tests for children and teachers who need them means kids are missing out this term as well.

Opportunity for the young should go way beyond party politics. It has to be a national mission to end the deep injustice that a child’s future is determined by their postcode, not by their potential.

What we need is a national strategy with clear targets to close the education gap at every stage in a child’s development

A strategy enforced through an independent body, such as the Children’s Commissioner, and embedded in everything that we do.

If the Prime Minister won’t act, we’ll set up our own taskforce and get on with it. Because if levelling up is to mean anything, it must mean closing the education gap and making sure no child is held back.

But, above all else, we need a government that cares enough to act.

Coronavirus has also revealed the perilous state of social care in this country.

Families have come under great stress caring for their loved ones. It’s hard enough to see your family in pain without financial ruin too.

If we didn’t realise it already we’ve learnt that care workers do some of the most vital work in society. Yet they’re under-paid, under-recognised, and under-appreciated.

Our care workers are heroes. But the social care system in Britain is a disgrace to a rich nation.

The Tories have had a decade to sort it out, but they’ve done nothing. David Cameron promised he would fix it. Theresa May promised she would fix it. A year ago Boris Johnson promised he would fix it.

Let’s hold them to that promise.

This is a matter of basic fairness and human compassion. The Government needs to act and to act now.

It must ensure that the mistakes made in the first spike cannot happen again this winter. And it must bring forward comprehensive social care reforms that guarantee all care workers at least the real living wage.

After a decade of drift, this Government must finally fix our social care system. So that it treats those who have given so much with the respect, love and dignity that they deserve.

I can see in my mind’s eye the country I want us to be. Properly funded universal public services. World-class education which unleashes everyone’s potential.

A huge investment in skills and a plan, working hand-in-hand with businesses and trade unions, to create high quality jobs.

An economy that doesn’t force people to move hundreds of miles just to find a decent job. One that truly works for all regions and nations of this United Kingdom. With opportunity and security in every part of the country and at every stage of our lives.

A country committed to a greener, cleaner and fairer society. Where every policy is judged not just by how much it costs today but also by what it does for the planet tomorrow.

A country which would be an active force for good in the world, once again admired and respected. Leading the world – and leading by example – in tackling the climate emergency.

It would be a country which is the best place to grow up in and the best place to grow old in.

I can see it. I can describe it. But it’s all just a dream unless we win back the trust of the people. And we’ve got a long road ahead of us.

We’re not going to win back those we’ve lost with a single speech or a clever policy offer. Trust takes time.

It starts with being a credible Opposition. With taking the job seriously. That’s what we will do.

So to those people in Doncaster and Deeside, in Glasgow and Grimsby, in Stoke and in Stevenage, to those who have turned away from Labour, I say this: we hear you.

Never again will Labour take you or the things you care about for granted. And I ask you: Take another look at Labour.

We’re under new leadership.

We love this country as you do. This is the country I grew up in and this is the country I will grow old in. And I want it to be the country I know it can be.

That, in the end, is why I do this. To change lives for the better. To make a difference to my country.

I know the good a Labour government can do. And I’m already looking forward to it.

Thank you.

The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 15 September 2020.

Thank you, Ged.

To the TUC for inviting me to speak today.

And to everyone involved in making it possible to hold Congress this week.

This time last year, I spoke to you in Brighton in a packed conference hall.

This time last week, I thought there would be an audience of thirty.

By Wednesday that was down to six.

Yesterday – when I was told to self-isolate – it became just me!

I want to start by thanking the TUC and the trade union movement for everything you’ve done during this pandemic.

As ever, when it came to protecting millions of jobs, and keeping people safe at work.

It was the union movement that stood up.

Without you there would have been no furlough scheme.

No life-raft for seven million people

And let’s face it, if it had been down to this Government, it would have been sink or swim.

The trade unions have always been the unsung heroes of our national story.

And through this crisis you have helped to write another proud chapter.

Our Party was born out of the trade unions.

We are one family.

One movement.

And under my leadership, we will always stay that way.

For me, this is personal.

My mum was a nurse.

My dad was a toolmaker.

I didn’t know what an office looked like until I left for university.

For me, work meant a factory floor or a hospital ward.

And care wasn’t an abstract concept, a policy conundrum to be debated.

It was the real-life round the clock support my mum received from the NHS when she became too ill to work

Those values have stayed with me.

Opportunity: Fairness. Compassion.

And, they will define my leadership.

But Congress, the task ahead of us is huge.

The General Election result in December was devastating.

Not just for the Labour Party or the trade union movement

But for the millions of working people who desperately need a Labour Government.

I’m incredibly proud of the courage and heroism the British people have shown during this crisis.

But time and time again, this Government has let working people down.

Britain shouldn’t have one of the highest death rates in the world.

And one of the deepest recessions.

We shouldn’t leave our workers without protective equipment.

We shouldn’t have failed the most vulnerable in our care homes.

And people shouldn’t have to traipse half-way round the country in search of a Covid test when they’re sick.

Yesterday, my family were able to get a test quickly when we needed one.

But only because my wife works for the NHS in a hospital that provides tests for staff and their families.

For thousands of people across the country it’s a very different story.

And after six months of this pandemic, that’s completely unacceptable.

Whatever Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock might say:

It’s not the British people that are to blame for these mistakes.

It isn’t civil servants. Care, home workers. Or mutant algorithms. It’s this Government.

It’s the Government that’s holding Britain back.

And we should never let them forget it.

At the very least the Prime Minister should have spent the summer getting the basics right.

A testing system that works.
An effective track and trace system – we don’t need world-beating, we just need effective.

A plan to protect care homes this winter.

An exams system that parents and young people can trust.

He’s failed on all counts.

And as infection rates rise and our testing system collapses

What’s his priority? Reopening old wounds on Brexit. Trashing Britain’s reputation abroad. And making it harder for us to get the trade deal we all want.

My message to the PM is simple: Get your priorities right. Get on with defeating this virus. And get the Brexit deal you promised.

This crisis has exposed the total incompetence of this Government.

But it also exposed something much deeper.

The ingrained injustices and inequalities we see all around us.

Austerity was always a political choice.

A bulldozer to the foundations of society.

And it left us woefully unprepared for this crisis.

Congress, We’re a great country.

We’re the sixth richest country in the world.

But our economy is one where the workers we applaud are overworked, underpaid and undervalued.

Where many – especially the self-employed – lack basic rights and security at work.

Where millions of people are one missed pay-packet away from hardship.

And where too few are able to save for their future and their retirement.

We’ve got to change this.

After all the sacrifice and the loss, We can’t go back to business as usual.

Or defend the status quo.

We can’t go back to a society where over half of care workers earn less than the living wage.

A society, where we pay tribute to the generation that saved us during the second world war. But now we can’t protect them in our care homes.

Or a country where we don’t invest in our public services for a decade, but now expect our frontline workers to protect us.

We need to capture the bravery, the sacrifice and ingenuity we’ve seen from the British people.

In that, we can see a vision of a better future.

And I want to work with you every step of the way to build it.

We can start that work today.

By setting out what the Government must do now to protect millions of jobs.

Because we’re on the precipice of a return to Thatcher-era unemployment.

We know only too well the scarring effect mass unemployment will have on communities and families across the country.

We can’t let it happen again.

And we can’t let the Tories use this crisis as an excuse to weaken workers’ rights. Hold back planned rises in the living wage. Or embark on a fresh round of austerity.

Of course, the furlough scheme can’t go on as it is forever.

We’ve never suggested that.

But the truth is this: the virus is still with us. Infections are rising. Lockdowns are increasing.

And for some sectors of our economy – retail, aviation, hospitality.

For millions of workers. And for towns and cities under restrictions.

It just isn’t possible to get back to work or reopen businesses.

That isn’t a choice: it’s the cold reality of this crisis.

So, it makes no sense at all for the Government to pull support away now.

And in one fell swoop, but with a bit of imagination, and if we act in the national interest – a better approach is possible.

That’s why today, I’m calling for the Government to work with us.

To create new, targeted support that can replace the Job Retention Scheme.

To develop this through urgent talks with trade unions, businesses and the Labour Party.

So that we can deliver direct support and training to those who need it.

And prevent mass unemployment.

This would be a life-raft while we’re still in choppy waters.

We will approach this constructively and look at the different options that have been put forward.

Whether that’s the TUC’s Jobs Protection and Upskilling Plan; the CBI’s short-time work scheme; the German Kurzarbeit scheme.

Or similar schemes in France or Denmark.

But the principles are clear.

Expand part-time working and reward employers who keep people on rather than cutting jobs.

Provide training and support for those who can’t come back full-time.

Target those sectors most in need – for example, retail, hospitality, aviation and those hit by local lockdowns.

Provide certainty for workers and businesses.

At this moment of national crisis, we should take inspiration from our past.

Be willing to put party differences aside, and work together in the interest of the country.

Imagine how powerful it would be.

If we could form a genuine national plan to protect jobs, create new
ones and invest in skills and training?

So, I’m making an open offer to the Prime Minister: work with us to keep millions of people in work. Work with the trade unions, and work with businesses.

Do everything possible to protect jobs and to deliver for working people.

My door is open.

And Congress, there’s something more the Government must do.

Outlaw “fire and re-hire” tactics.

We’ve seen this happening already in the private and public sector.

Where thousands of workers have been issued redundancy notices and offered new contracts on worse pay and conditions.

In disputes such as with BA and British Gas, we’ve seen the importance of strong trade unions in defending working people.

“Fire and re-hire” tactics are wrong.

They’re against British values. They should also be illegal. These tactics punish good employers. Hit working people hard. And harm our economy.

After a decade of pay restraint – that’s the last thing working people need.

And in the middle of a deep recession – it’s the last thing our economy needs.

So, I’m calling on the Government to act now.

Introduce legislation to end fire and re-hire.

And give working people the security they need.

If you do that, you will have our full support.

Congress, the months ahead are going to be rocky.

At the helm, we’ve got the most incompetent Government I can remember.

And we face the perfect storm of the biggest economic, health and social challenge for a generation.

Labour and the trade union movement need to stand together like never before.

To show the British people that we’ve got their back.

And their future too.

We’ll fight to protect jobs, incomes and working conditions at this time of national crisis.

And show that there is a better, fairer society to come.

That is our mission.

And, I will work with you for the next five years to deliver it.

Thank you.