Sir Keir Starmer accuses UK Government of weakening society with 'failed Conservative ideology'

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the UK Government of weakening society with a “failed Conservative ideology”.
Sir Keir Starmer has accused the UK Government of weakening society with a “failed Conservative ideology”.Sir Keir Starmer has accused the UK Government of weakening society with a “failed Conservative ideology”.
Sir Keir Starmer has accused the UK Government of weakening society with a “failed Conservative ideology”.

In a speech about Britain’s economic future on Thursday, Sir Keir will warn there can be “no return to business as usual” after the pandemic.

The Labour leader will also claim Boris Johnson’s indecision over extending the Universal Credit uplift shows Boris Johnson “can’t decide” if he wants children in poverty.

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He will say: “In a few weeks’ time, we will have a Budget that will be a fork in the road.

“We can go back to the same insecure and unequal economy that has been so cruelly exposed by the virus or we can seize this moment and go forward to a future that is going to look utterly unlike the past.

“That choice will define the Budget and it will define the next election.

“This must now be a moment to think again about the country that we want to be.

“To begin a new chapter in the history for our country – and to equip Britain for the opportunities of the future.”

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The Labour leader will make a series of demands ahead of next month’s Budget, including extending the Universal Credit uplift, giving councils more funding and extending the business rate holiday and VAT cut for hospitality and leisure.

Sir Keir will claim coronavirus has changed “what is necessary and what is possible” and call for a “new partnership” between government and business that tackles inequality.

He will say: “I believe people are now looking for more from their government – like they were after the Second World War.

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“They’re looking for government to help them through difficult times, to provide security and to build a better future for them and their families.

“This is what I mean when I talk of a future where Britain can be the best place to grow up in and the best place to grow old in.

“But none of this is possible if you don’t believe in the power of good government and the need to create a new partnership between an active government and enterprising business.”

The Holborn MP will accuse Boris Johnson of being indecisive and claim the Prime Minister had failed to act while the public suffered.

He will say: “If you can’t decide whether to plunge hundreds of thousands of children into poverty by cutting Universal Credit, you have no chance of mending our broken social security system.

“If you vote against children getting free school meals, you’re not going to find the solution to millions of children growing up in poverty.

“If you can’t support three million self-employed people, but you can spray billions on contracts that don’t deliver for our NHS, you’re not going to be able to build the economy of the future.

“And if you freeze pay for millions of key workers, you’re hardly going to build the high wage, high standards Britain we need to be.

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“Despite the scale of the moment, all we can expect from this government is more of the same – a road map to yesterday.”

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