Sir Keir Starmer promises hope, but unanswered questions reveal Labour wary of what it can deliver as general election looms

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has delivered yet another speech strong on rhetoric, but light on policy

Sir Keir Starmer is probably the next prime minister, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have problems.

His issues aren’t about polling, with Labour enjoying an 18-point lead, or even his own party, which so often has sought to undermine its leaders.

The Labour leader is instead fighting constant questions about what he stands for, and what, with an election now expected in the second half of this year, his policies are on a range of issues.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer gives a speech in Bristol.

This was the case in the aftermath of his speech on Thursday, in which Sir Keir promised to restore faith in politics, but offered no policy whatsoever.

Aides say this criticism is unfair, suggesting it is unrealistic to expect policy announcements in every speech, but the question will not go away.

In a speech heavy on rhetoric that sought to inspire people to vote Labour, the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service offered little in the way of new information.

He talked about Tory rule-breaking Britain, and claimed the Conservatives put the country into the “rocks of decline” and had been sowing division.

Sir Keir also insisted he understood why people were anti-Westminster, but insisted things could get better if they vote Labour.

It was a speech that touched on his career before politics, his values and once again sought to reintroduce himself and his vision to voters. He was trying to ward off political apathy and encourage people to vote Labour, not just to kick the Tories out, but because, as he argued, Labour can kick-start a decade of renewal. Given turnout fell during Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide, he is wise to address this.

Applauded in the room, the issue is the press and a select few of his own MPs are still unsure what exactly Sir Keir will do as leader. Trying to address this, the Labour leader repeated several times his promises for higher growth, reform of the planning system, safer streets with more police, cheaper bills with the new publicly-owned GB Energy and getting the NHS back on its feet.

Labour staff are also circulating documents to reporters with the policies they’ve already set out. They know this is a potential problem for them. But this addresses the what, not the how.

Sir Keir avoided questions on tax, he dodged queries on which Tory policies he’d abandon, and admitted a lack of money meant there was no point promising what he couldn’t deliver.

Despite this, the general theme of his speech was “Project Hope”, albeit one cautious over what can actually be achieved. It was noteworthy he used phrases like “credible hope” and “frank hope”, almost playing down expectations while urging people to believe in him.

Given Boris Johnson’s record and the fact Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has delivered just one of his five pledges, this is likely a strategy, wary the public are suspicious of over-ambitious promises. But here is Labour’s problem. It is promising to fix things, but won’t elaborate on how, and urging people to hope, while admitting things will be hard. Squaring that circle will be no easy task.