Keir Starmer insists Labour fit to govern as crisis grips UK

The opposition leader told his party’s annual conference in Liverpool the Tories had ‘lost control of the British economy’.

Keir Starmer delivers the key note speech on the third day of the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday. Picture: Getty Images

Labour leader Keir Starmer has accused the ruling Conservatives of presiding over “endless” crises as he vowed to steer Britain back to long-term prosperity after ­tumult on financial markets.

Noting soaring inflation, imminent recession and a weakening currency, Sir Keir told Labour’s annual conference that the Tories under new Prime Minister Liz Truss had “lost control of the British economy”.

A Labour government would create a publicly owned company to propel a revolution in renewable power — “Great British Energy” — and invest long term in healthcare, education and pol­icing, he said.

Labour’s rank and file can scent power after 12 years in the political wilderness and bouts of ideological infighting – especially now, after Ms Truss and Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng have unnerved markets with a new budget plan.

The pound slumped against the US dollar after the plan was unveiled on Friday to slash taxes – including for the highest earners – and raise government borrowing in a bid to kick-start anaemic economic growth.

“Higher interest rates. Higher inflation. Higher borrowing. And for what?” Sir Keir said. “For tax cuts for the richest 1 per cent.

“Don’t forget, don’t forgive,” he said.

“The only way to stop this is with a Labour government.”

Sir Keir promised that if elected, his party would “get us out of this endless cycle of crisis” with a “fresh start, a new set of priorities and a new way of governing”.

“I think that was the future prime minister talking to us there,” said Mo Malik, 44, a Labour activist attending the conference in Liverpool. “I think we’re ready.” The election is due by the end of 2024.

Sir Keir’s speech came as a YouGov survey showed Labour 17 percentage points ahead of the Tories, its biggest lead since 2001 and the electorally successful Tony Blair era. Another YouGov poll found 57 per cent of Britons think the budget measures collectively were unfair – the worst score for any financial statement since the Conservatives took power from Labour in 2010.

The confident mood in Liverpool was punctured somewhat after it emerged MP Rupa Huq had been suspended after describing Mr Kwarteng as “superficially” black at a fringe conference event. After senior Labour figures condemned the remark, Ms Huq tweeted that she had contacted Mr Kwarteng “to offer my sincere and heartfelt apologies”.

Sir Keir, 60, took over the leadership in April 2020 from the left-wing Jeremy Corbyn and has gradually revived Labour’s fortunes following his predecessor’s divisive five-year tenure.

In his speech, Sir Keir said Labour was now “the party of the centre ground” and of “sound money” as he took the attack to Ms Truss, who succeeded the scandal-plagued Boris Johnson on September 6.

He said a Labour government would maintain Britain’s staunch support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

Sir Keir appears unabashed in trying to grab the mantle of patriotism as well as economic competence from the Tories.

In an unusual move, attendees at this year’s conference sang God Save the King beneath images of the late Queen. Fears the rendition would be marred by heckles from the Corbyn-­leaning left proved unfounded.

Sir Keir has vowed not to reverse the Conservatives’ “hard Brexit” deal, which took Britain out of the EU single market and Customs union. That has frustrated some in the party, and there is also disquiet from traditional union backers about support for workers on strike over pay as inflation surges.

Overall, according to University of Exeter lecturer Richard Jobson, Sir Keir has shifted the electorate’s view of his party.

Traditional views of Labour as profligate and the Tories as fiscally responsible “no longer feel either coherent or convincing”, said Dr Jobson. “Starmer knows this and the current polling suggests that he is in a good position to capitalise on the collapse of these narratives electorally.”

AFP