The PM says he’s supporting working people, but are they supporting him, asks TERRY MURDEN
So Sir Keir Starmer wants to present himself and his party as the good guys fighting for decency, patriotism and togetherness, a Prime Minister on the side of working people, business and the four nations. That’s the same chap who, in 15 months, has trashed more than 250,000 jobs, forced thousands of firms to close and stoked discord across the UK.
Starmer’s message to the Labour conference that he’s making things better was not only an act of self-delusion, it was observed by an open-mouthed nation of voters who wonder how much longer he can sustain his man-of-the-people party trick while the economy stutters, food prices rocket, shoplifting goes unchecked and more illegal immigrants arrive on the Kent coast.
So keen was he to praise this great nation it’s a wonder that his address was not accompanied by a rendition of Land of Hope and Glory. Meanwhile, businesses already struggling with higher national insurance, wage and energy costs, are now filled with dread that the November Budget will herald even higher taxes – including a possible hike in VAT.
There was no hint of any relief to the costs he’s piled on the nation’s other working people – the business owners – and few signs of the government yielding on the energy profits levy, or windfall tax, or speeding up the promised reforms of business rates and planning that would set a template for the devolved nations to help enterprises in need.
Starmer even managed to dodge lifting the two-child benefit cap which had been teased as a rabbit he would pull out of the hat. But having all but extinguished the leadership threat from Andy Burnham at the weekend, it was left out of the PM’s speech.
You could hear people laughing from Cornwall to Carnoustie at his reference to Britain being a nation of free speech after his Starmtroopers have been arresting grannies for as much as complaining that the Israeli singers in Eurovision mumble too much. Starmer wants to recognise the state of Palestine while ordering anyone on the streets calling for the same outcome to be detained at His Majesty’s pleasure.
Because his “one out, 30,000 in” immigration scheme is such a pathetic flop, and one of those who left has already come back, big Brother Keir now wants us to have ID cards to help combat the gangs.
It’s not as if we don’t already carry enough digital data around with us in the form of NI numbers, supermarket loyalty cards, computer passwords, driving licences, passports and all the coding that is embedded in mobile phones. Even if his ID scheme goes ahead it will not be in operation until the end of the decade so the immigration gang masters will have a few years grace to continue their dirty work.
As for his plan to unite the four nations of the UK, prompting a Proms-style outbreak of flag-waving, Starmer seems not to have noticed that every time he injects cash into another project in the south of England, he lights another Labour bonfire of frustration in the northern territories.
There may have been commercial logic behind shutting the Grangemouth oil refinery, but Starmer and his sidekick Rachel Reeves appear to have forgotten that they promised to bring new investment to the area (after initially promising to save the refinery itself). Neither has given it more than a passing mention since the gates closed in April.
Helping working people? The former Grangemouth workers won’t forget being let down. Nor will those being laid off in the north east because of a faster than anticipated decline in oil and gas jobs that has even alarmed his GB Energy chair Juergen Maier.
Starmer may have got his card-carrying supporters cheering in Liverpool, but those who have suffered from his government’s incompetence will not be so easily convinced that his Churchillian rhetoric will be turned into meaningful action.
Remember that shortly after his landslide victory he told a country worn down by 14 years of Tory failure that things would get worse before they got better. On that he has been true to his word. He pins his hopes of an upturn on the £150bn of investment from the US and on his belief in a nation of innovators to keep the lights on and the Treasury happy.
But even innovators need help and despite promises to make it easier to do business in the UK, there has been an exodus of companies and entrepreneurs who are disillusioned by a punitive tax regime and too much regulation.
As such, the good times seem to be somewhere in the distance. Some would say they are out of sight.
Terry Murden held senior positions at The Sunday Times, The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and The Northern Echo and is now editor of Daily Business
Starmer’s speech certainly raised more questions than answers. While he talks about unity, decency, and supporting working people, many are struggling under rising taxes, energy costs, and job losses. Promises on business reforms and regional investments feel increasingly hollow, especially with Grangemouth workers and northern communities left behind. If action doesn’t match rhetoric soon, his credibility will erode further. Leadership requires delivery, not just grand speeches that stir applause in conferences.
A rather over the top rant, Terry. And not actually a critique of the speech at all. The points on abandoning 50% of the cohort going to university and instead promoting a balanced tertiary policy which includes skills training and support for apprenticeships is long overdue. And clarifying just what is proper and fair in our definitions of asylum and migration policy is again a necessary step in an era of mass movements of people.
I will readily agree there have been many missteps, but Boris and his motley crew and the Truss disaster this is not.