Keir Starmer says 'don't forget and don't forgive' as he accuses Tories of 'blowing doors off' Britain

Keir Starmer says 'don't forget and don't forgive' as he accuses Tories of 'blowing doors off' Britain
Keir Starmer Economic Policy DIGITAL
Tom Evans

By Tom Evans


Published: 27/09/2022

- 14:15

Updated: 27/09/2022

- 14:55

Sir Keir Starmer set out his pitch for government at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool

Sir Keir opened his speech with a joke, reminding those in attendance that "Arsenal are top of the league".

The Labour leader then made a pledge to the people of Liverpool, saying the Hillsborough law will be "on the statute book" if he gets the keys to No.10.


He said "a cloud of uncertainty" hangs over working people as he insisted Labour can help "build a new Britain together".

He said Brits should not forget or forgive the Conservative Party for having "crashed the pound" before saying: "They haven’t just failed to fix the roof… they’ve smashed out the windows and blown the doors off for good measure."

Sir Keir Starmer in Liverpool
Sir Keir Starmer in Liverpool
GB News

British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaks at the Britain's Labour Party annual conference in Liverpool, Britain, September 27, 2022.  REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
Sir Keir Starmer making his conference speech
HENRY NICHOLLS

Sir Keir attacked the Tories on the economy, noting: “What we’ve seen from the Government in the past few days has no precedent.

“They’ve lost control of the British economy – and for what? For tax cuts for the richest one per cent in our society.”

He added: “My government will be different. We will run towards the challenges of tomorrow. We will get us out of this endless cycle of crisis. And we will do it with a fresh start, a new set of priorities and a new way of governing.

“But it won’t be easy. And the first step must be to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

“The Prime Minister has finally accepted there’s no alternative to Labour’s plan to freeze energy prices.

“When she was arguing against ‘handouts’, Labour provided the clarity our nation needed. We said: ‘this winter, not a penny more on anyone’s bills’.”

Party leader Sir Keir Starmer making his keynote address during the Labour Party Conference at the ACC Liverpool. Picture date: Tuesday September 27, 2022.
Sir Keir enjoyed applause from the conference crowd in Liverpool
Stefan Rousseau

Sir Keir said he will never accept that the war in Ukraine is “an excuse for how unprepared Britain was to tackle the fallout”.

He explained: “Now, I’m not going to stand here and pretend the awful conflict in Ukraine is not the immediate spark of the cost-of-living crisis.

“We will never allow Putin’s threats and imperialism to succeed. We will stand alongside Ukraine and its people fighting on the front line of freedom. So, let this entire conference say together: Slava Ukraini!”

He went on: “But I will never accept that the war is an excuse for how unprepared Britain was to tackle the fallout. The war didn’t ban offshore wind. The war didn’t scrap home insulation. The war didn’t stall British nuclear energy. The Tories did that.”

It comes after YouGov polling for The Times suggested widespread public dissatisfaction with the Government’s mini-budget on Friday, with 72 percent of voters – including 69 percent of those who voted Tory in 2019 – opposing Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s move to axe the top rate of 45 percent tax for those earning more than £150,000.

The survey also finds that 71 percent of the electorate, including 67 percent of Tory voters, disagree with the Government’s decision to lift restrictions on bankers’ bonuses.

Only nine percent of voters thought the budget would benefit them financially, and just 15 percent believed it would help boost economic growth.

The polling, conducted over the weekend, suggests Tory support had dropped by four points to 28 percent in the wake of the budget and Labour’s had surged by five points to 45 percent, with the Lib Dems unchanged on eight percent.

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