Keir Starmer is in London to deliver a post-Budget speech to insist benefits are “trapping people, not just in poverty, but out of work”, and the government must go “further and faster” to encourage economic growth. He’ll be out defending his Chancellor too…
‘A Britain Built for All’…
Starmer announced his “next steps” for “economic renewal”:
‘Cut back regulation.’ Mainly on nuclear power…
‘Welfare reform.’ No detail on that…
Trade. Cosying up to the EU…
If only there was a time last week where this could have been mentioned…
Read his speech in full below:
Thank you to all of you for joining us at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre.
And you may have seen downstairs there is a nursery.
I’ve been down there with the young children this morning seeing them and the staff.
And seeing how the staff guide them, from, in this nursery, nine months to four years…
And it is a real reminder that learning begins at such an early age.
And what a difference it makes.
And that giving our children the best start in life…
Unlocking their full potential…
Is so important for our country’s future.
And that is the purpose of this Government – in a nutshell.
Now I said it at Labour Party Conference…
We have a plan for a Britain that is built for all…
And we’re going to unlock the potential of every single person and community in this country.
Because whether it’s our public services that don’t work…
The cost-of-living crisis holding us back…
Or whole regions of our country – ignored as sources of growth…
In the end, it is all about potential.
And that’s why the budget was a moment of personal pride for me.
I do not want to see a country where children grow up in poverty…
I don’t think anyone in this country wants that.
It is a fundamental British belief…
That every child should go as far as their talent will takes them…
And poverty is a barrier to that.
Just think about it.
Think about the skipped meals.
The cold bedrooms.
The school uniform that is too small or worn through.
And think about a seven-year-old in that situation…
A young girl or boy…
Who still has to go to school and face the world’s gaze.
Are they ready to learn to the best of their ability?
Are we giving them a fair and equal opportunity to succeed?
I think its abhorrent…
The Tories raised child poverty by 900,000…
900,000 children…
That is their worst legacy – bar none.
It’s not just abhorrent – it’s also counter-productive.
On Wednesday last week after the budget, the Chancellor and I went to a hospital.
And we were speaking to the staff who had gathered there…
And we told them that we are lifting the 2-child limit
And they cheered.
And they did so and they said to us…
That matters, because you would not believe how many children come through our doors, of our hospital…
Because of poverty. Poverty in Britain today.
So this is a public services issue – it can help lift the pressure on the NHS.
It’s an economic issue – a sound investment in our long-term potential.
And it is a fairness issue.
And this is what the Tories need to understand about the Britain they built…
Three-quarters of children growing up in poverty today come from working families.
Now some of the parents I met downstairs, some of the parents I met in Rugby were on the road last Thursday…
They told me…
As so many parents do
That they’re working harder and harder…
But their wages struggle to meet their costs…
And I know what that feels like.
I remember my family sitting around the kitchen table…
Worrying about the bills…
How are we going to pay them all?
And we as a family couldn’t pay them all.
And that’s why in our case our phone was cut off.
And that is still the reality of Britain for far too many people…
And so yes, I am proud…
I am proud we scrapped the two-child limit…
I am proud we’re lifting over a half a million children out of poverty…
Proud we raised the national minimum wage – again…
That is what a Labour Government is for…
Making life better for working families…
Unlocking their potential…
And giving our children a fair chance to get on.
And that is the story of the budget.
There were necessary choices – of course there were.
Fair choices – I would argue.
Tax rises do make life harder for people – I understand that…
It’s obvious.
And I’m not going to pretend that there aren’t alternatives…
Politics is always about making choices.
We could have cut public services.
We could have ignored child poverty.
We could have rolled the dice with extra borrowing.
But I firmly believe that those options have been tested to destruction.
I mean – we all know the risks of reckless borrowing…
That’s the path Liz Truss took…
And you can see the cost in any bill, mortgage, car loan…
Anything affected by interest rates.
But also – look at the OBR’s analysis of productivity…
And it’s crystal clear to me…
That austerity scarred the long-term productive capability of this country.
So – why would we repeat it?
That is what we inherited.
Public finances and public services in total crisis…
Growth – weak for years.
But if you had said to me, seventeen months ago, on that first day of government…
That by now – we would have cut NHS waiting times…
Cut immigration…
Cut child poverty by a record amount.
If you had said to me that Britain would now be cutting borrowing faster than any other G7 country…
Without cutting public investment…
That our fiscal headroom is up significantly…
Economic growth is beating the forecasts…
With wages up, more – since the election…
Than in a decade of the previous Government.
If you had said – because of all that…
We can tackle the cost-of-living for working people…
Freezing rail fares…
Freezing prescription charges…
Freezing fuel duty…
Slashing childcare costs…
Driving down mortgages…
Taking £150 pounds off your energy bills – £300 for poorer households…
Then I would say – yes that is a record to be proud of.
And I am proud.
I am proud the public finances and our public services are moving in the right direction.
Because we confronted reality…
We took control of our future…
And Britain is now back on track.
And look – I’m also confident…
We have now walked through the narrowest part of the tunnel.
Because while I know it’s still hard for lots of people…
While I know the cost-of-living crisis has not gone away…
In the year ahead, you will see the benefits of our approach…
Not just in the national statistics…
But in your communities.
You will see a country building its future – with new homes and infrastructure…
Two thousand free breakfast clubs…
Hundreds of school-based nurseries – open by September.
You will see 3000 neighbourhood police officers on your streets – by March…
A new era of security for 11 million renters – starting in May.
Hundreds of thousands of parents taking advantage of our free childcare expansion…
Almost 120 community diagnostic centres – open 7 days a week by April.
You will see NHS Waiting times coming down further…
Wages still rising faster than prices…
Immigration still falling…
And bit by bit – you will see a country…
That no longer feels the burden of decline…
Or the sense that things can never get better…
A Britain with its confidence and its future – back.
Now, take our energy policy – £150 off your energy bill…
£300 if you are really struggling.
Now, think about what that means to a family worrying about whether to put the heating on, on a cold day.
Or worried that if they switch it on for too long…
They might have to cancel a day out with their kids.
It’s not just money – it’s security.
It’s having the freedom to make choices that help your family.
Or think about our childcare investment.
Thirty hours free – for every child between 9 months and four years old…
A massive difference to the cost-of-living…
Thousands of pounds back in the pockets of working parents…
Real help getting parents and carers back to work, especially for women…
And that is good for growth.
But it’s also good for our children’s potential.
Now, I visit primary schools all the time…
And – when I’m not being told off for doing the 6/7…
Teachers repeatedly say to me…
This is across the country…
That some kids arrive at reception reading books, ready to learn…
While others are still in nappies.
I am sick of hearing those stories – right across the country…
Think about that
Inequality at aged just four…
Baked in for life.
And likely to last a whole life.
That is why everything we are doing for children – is a game changer for our potential…
We are giving every child the best start in life…
Every single child equal at the starting line of their education…
And that is what a Labour Government is for
And look – when it comes to economic growth and living standards…
We’re confident we can beat the forecasts.
We’ve already beaten them this year.
We are in control of our future.
We’ve already struck trade deals that are attracting billions of pounds of investment…
We’re removing barriers to business – right across the economy…
In planning…
Industrial policy…
Pensions reform…
Artificial intelligence…
Capital investment…
And right at the heart of the budget…
We have a package of measures that give the green light for the world’s best entrepreneurs…
To start, scale and list their companies in Britain.
But we have to be clear, at this stage of our plan…
The most important things we can do for growth…
The most important things we can do for business…
Is first – to drive inflation down…
So that interest rates come down – further still…
And the cost of business investment comes down with it.
And second – to retain the market confidence that allows for real economic stability…
So that businesses can plan with certainty.
That is what the country most needs right now…
It is what the Budget secured…
And that is why our choices were fair…
They were necessary…
And they were fundamentally good for growth.
But I will level with you…
As the Budget showed…
The path to a Britain that is truly built for all…
Requires many more decisions that are not cost-free and they are not easy.
We can all see the challenge.
Low productivity.
The result of an economy scarred by austerity…
By Brexit…
And by consistently failing to unlock the nation’s potential.
So we need a productivity revolution.
And as our plan runs to the end of the Parliament…
I now want to set out some of the next steps in our economic renewal…
So that our progress can be fairly judged.
First – regulation.
Now exactly a week ago…
John Fingleton reported on our nuclear industry.
He found that pointless gold-plating…
Unnecessary red-tape…
Well-intentioned, but fundamentally misguided, environmental regulations.
And – and I quote – it’s quite a stark quote – he said “a mindset that favours process over outcome”…
Has all made Britain the most expensive place to build nuclear power.
Now I agree with him.
In fact – I would go further.
Because the truth is we see this story repeated again and again…
Right across our economy.
For years – Britain did not have a proper industrial strategy.
For years – it cut public investment…
For years it did not have a planning framework or frankly – a Government…
That would quickly approve…
New railways…
New tramlines…
Data centres…
Laboratories…
Power stations…
Wind farms…
Even whole towns.
So guided by a simple truth…
That rooting out excessive costs in every corner of our economy…
Is an essential step to cutting the cost of living…
And creating more dynamic markets for business…
We will also clear the path for British business
And therefore – in addition to accepting the Fingleton recommendations…
I am asking the Business Secretary to apply these lessons across the entire industrial strategy.
Second – welfare.
For too long our welfare system has trapped people in poverty…
And poverty is always a barrier to potential.
That is why we scrapped the two-child limit.
But we also have to confront the reality…
And our welfare state is trapping people, not just in poverty…
But out of work.
Young people in particular.
And that is a poverty of ambition.
And so while we will invest in apprenticeships…
And make sure young people without a job…
Have a guaranteed offer of training or work.
We must also reform the welfare state itself – that is what renewal demands.
Now – this is not about propping up a broken status quo…
Nor is it because we want to look somehow politically ‘tough’…
The Tories played that game and the welfare bill went up by £88bn…
They left children too poor to eat…
And wrote young people off as too ill to work.
That was a total failure.
So we have asked Alan Milburn to report on the whole issue of young people, inactivity and work.
Because we need to remove all the barriers which hold back the potential of our young people.
Because – if you are ignored early in your career…
If you’re not given the support you need to overcome your mental health issues…
Or if you are simply written off because you’re neurodivergent or disabled…
Then it can trap you in a cycle of worklessness and dependency for decades.
That costs the country money…
Is bad for our productivity.
And most importantly of all – it is a massive waste of potential…
And any Labour Party worth the name cannot ignore that.
Third and finally – trade
Vital for productivity.
Essential for growth.
Crucial to the cost of living.
And let me be crystal clear…
There is no credible economic vision for Britain…
That does not position us as an open, trading economy.
So we must all now confront the reality…
That the Brexit deal we have…
Significantly hurt our economy.
And so for economic renewal…
We have to keep reducing frictions…
We have to keep moving towards a closer relationship with the EU…
And we will have to be grown-up about that…
To accept that this will require trade-offs.
That applies to our trading relations across the world …
And as you have seen already with this Government…
There are deals to be done…
If you are committed to building relationships.
That is what we have done with the US…
It’s what we’ve done with India…
And it’s what we’ve done with the EU…
And we will keep going…
We will continue to reject drift…
To confront reality…
And take control of our future…
That is what the Budget achieved last week…
And we will build on it…
A long-term plan for the economic renewal of this country…
A Britian that is free from decline…
Confident about its future…
And with the potential of every single person – unlocked…
Truly – built for all.
Thank you very much.
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