Keir Starmer is to insist that the difficult decisions taken by his government, both in recent months and at the upcoming budget, will lead to “light at the end of tunnel”, as he promises short-term pain will precipitate “long-term gain”.
The prime minister will use his keynote Labour conference address on Tuesday to set out his government’s plan to “build a new Britain” and argue the tough choices he plans to make will begin the country’s journey of “national renewal”.
Starmer will deliver his address in the shadow of the row over donations accepted by the prime minister and a number of cabinet ministers — and against the backdrop of hostile briefings about his chief of staff, Sue Gray.
Earlier this week, Starmer said he would no longer accept donations to pay for clothes, and neither would Reeves or deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.
The government has also come under fire for projecting an image of “doom and gloom” amid warnings of a “painful” budget, which chancellor Rachel Reeves will unveil on 30th October.
Seeking to counter the criticism that Labour is talking down the country, Starmer will pledge on Tuesday to “build a Britain that belongs to you.”
The prime minister will reiterate that “country first, party second” is the foundation of his project in government, describing it as “a pact with working people that we must fulfil.”
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He will also talk of his desire to unite the country in Labour’s mission of creating “a Britain built to last, built with respect and built with pride.”
Starmer will say: “The politics of national renewal are collective. They involve a shared struggle. A project that says, to everyone, this will be tough in the short-term, but in the long-term — it’s the right thing to do for our country. And we all benefit from that.”
The prime minister will insist that the “short-term pain” of his government’s tough decisions will lead to long-term gain — referencing rising living standards, falling NHS waiting lists and investment in clean energy.
He will say: “The truth is that if we take tough long-term decisions now, if we stick to the driving purpose behind everything we do: higher economic growth — so living standards rise in every community; our NHS facing the future — waiting lists at your hospital down; safer streets in your community; stronger borders; more opportunities for your children; clean British energy powering your home; making our country more secure… then that light at the end of this tunnel, that Britain that belongs to you, we get there much more quickly.”
Starmer will also address those “fed-up” with politics, saying that his government’s “work of service never stops.”
“I know this country is exhausted by and with politics”, he will say. “I know that the cost-of-living crisis drew a veil over the joy and wonder in our lives and that people want respite and relief, and may even have voted Labour for that reason. Our project has not and never will change.
“I changed the Labour Party to restore it to the service of working people. And that is exactly what we will do for Britain. But I will not do it with easy answers. I will not do it with false hope.”
The prime minister will also point to three separate but related “black holes” that threaten to impede the government’s plan to bring change to Britain.
He will say: “It will be hard. That’s not rhetoric, it’s reality. It’s not just that financial black hole, the £22bn of unfunded spending commitments, concealed from our country by the Tories, it’s not just the societal black hole — our decimated public services leaving communities held together by little more than good will — it’s also the political black hole.”
Defending his government’s approach to economic and fiscal policy, Starmer will add: “Just because we all want low taxes and good public services, does not mean that the iron law of properly funding policies can be ignored.
“We have seen the damage that does, and I will not let that happen again. I will not let Tory economic recklessness hold back the working people of this country.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here.
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