Keir Starmer accuses Tories of ‘defeating’ Britain’s hopes

Sir Keir Starmer has fired the starting gun in a tough year-long general election campaign, promising to “take back Britain’s future” after “14 wasted years” under the Tories.

The Labor leader set out plans to revive Boris Johnson’s failed leveling up agenda and promised to “give people hope that politics can change”.

Sir Keir, speaking of the Tory party’s record from David Cameron to Rishi Sunak, said the Tories had “let people lose hope over the last 14 years” “.

He said: “We have to give people hope. Hope that politics can change, hope that we can get back to a place where commitment matters and values ​​and standards in public life matter.”

Sir Keir is launching the party’s campaign for the May 2 local elections in Dudley, with Mr Johnson pledging in 2020 to “double down on efforts to level up” and give “everyone growing up in this country the opportunities they need”.

The Labor leader and his deputy Angela Rayner tried to win over Mr Johnson’s former supporters, saying he had “done something” on leveling up, but failed to deliver.

“That’s one of the reasons we came to Dudley to launch this campaign because, of course, it was here that the former prime minister, or rather the former prime minister, gave his big ‘level up’ speech,” Sir Kay I said.

Sir Keir on Thursday accused the former prime minister and his successor of “robbing people of their hopes”.

He said: “People say to me the worst thing you can do in politics is play on people’s fears.

“But in some ways it’s just as bad to live up to their hopes. That’s what the Conservatives have done with leveling up. Of course it resonates. Of course a town like Dudley wants that hope to become a reality .More than just the promise of a better future—we all need it.

“It’s also a project that deliberately speaks to what is lost in towns like this, and the way of life that disappears when a factory or a mine closes. When you are confident that your contribution is respected, there is a sense of community, security and pride in ‘stepping up’ that It will be enhanced.”

Sir Keir said leveling up was “a wonderful ambition for the UK” and pledged to transfer more control from Westminster to local communities if Labor came to power. “Politics done against communities rather than with communities needs to end,” the Labor leader said.

He added: “No more political hero complexes, no more illusions, no more easy answers that don’t require anyone – politicians or people – to lift a finger.

“Change comes from all of us. I mean. The era of Conservatives who treat politics as performance art is coming to an end.”

Sir Keir accused Mr Sunak of “ruining” the May competition, saying he “wanted to take his beloved helicopter on one last long summer tour”.

He reiterated his call on the Prime Minister to “set a date for the general election” amid heated speculation about when voters will go to the polls.

“The dithering must stop and a date must be set. Britain wants change and it’s time for Labor to change together,” Sir Keir said.

He also took questions about deputy leader Ms Rayner amid growing scrutiny over the sale of her council house in 2015.

Critics have called on her to release tax advice that she said led her to believe she “did nothing wrong” and dismissed suggestions that she may have broken election laws by providing information about her life situation a decade ago.

But Sir Keir said she had his “full support and full confidence today and every day”, adding that she had “answered I don’t know how many questions about this issue… she has not broken any rules”.

Sir Keir was also asked about his decision to praise former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Mr Johnson.

He said he was talking about leaders who have “a sense of purpose, a driving purpose.” “Thatcher did something very damaging across the country, including in black countries, and people are still paying the price,” he said. But he added that “it’s important to distinguish between leaders who have a strong sense of purpose… and those who just go with the flow.”

“As for Boris Johnson, show of hands, I don’t like… using things like leveling up… promising that everything will change, with no slogans and no actionable plan… that’s why people don’t trust their politicians, this That’s why everyone is so happy to see his back,” Sir Keir added.

And, in an attack on Mr Sunak, he accused the Prime Minister of lacking any purpose. The Labor leader said: “What is Rishi Sunak’s driving philosophy other than survival… He is just standing still and waiting and waiting and he knows the country wants to change.”

Conservative chairman Richard Holden has hit back at Sir Keir’s “boldness” in campaigning in the West Midlands after Labour-run Birmingham council effectively declared bankruptcy.

Mr Holden added: “Across the country, from Wales to London, wherever Labor is in power it means the same thing: higher taxes and worse public services.

“Labour’s lack of plan has left Birmingham in dire straits and local taxpayers have to shoulder the responsibility. With Britain having no plan we cannot let Labor take the country back to square one; like they have done to the people of Birmingham.”