Sir Keir Starmer will use his first major speech of the election campaign to tell voters: “I will fight for you.”
The Labor leader will say he recognizes that many people have not yet decided how they will vote on July 4th, despite being “fed up with Tory failure, chaos and division”.
He will admit that many “still have doubts about us” and ask whether the Labor Party has “changed enough” and whether they can be trusted on the economy, immigration and security.
“My answer is yes, you can – because I changed this party. Permanently,” he will say.
“This has been my driving mission since day one. I was determined to change the Labor Party so it could serve the British people.”
Sir Keir will accuse Rishi Sunak of governing to appease sections of the Tory party, not the entire country.
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He will put security at the center of his speech as the Prime Minister seeks to outdo the Labor Party after announcing a new national service program for 18 year olds.
Sir Keir will say that Labor has changed under him and is ready to face the “fundamental tests” that the British people have set for government – economic security, border security and national security.
“Make no mistake, if the British people give us the opportunity to serve, then this is their main test. It is always their main test,” he said.
“I haven’t worked on this for four years, only to stop now. This is the foundation, the basis on which our manifesto and our first steps will be built.”
Before his speech in southeast England, Sir Keir released a video showing his childhood home and photos of his parents, revealing that his family sometimes struggled and had their phone cut off.
Appealing to people struggling with the cost of living crisis, he says he knows what they’re going through and what it’s like to struggle to survive.
“I grew up in the working class, I fought my whole life and I’m not going to stop now,” he says in the video.
During his speech today, he will also emphasize how he has fought to change the Labor Party since becoming leader.
He will say: “There are always people who say, don’t do that, don’t go so fast.
“But whenever I face a fork in the road, I always come back to this: the common thread: country first, party second.”
He will also say that the policies that his party is presenting are “a new path for our country, a plan that will turn the page, provide stability and change”.
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Echoing his shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, he will also say that all of his policies are “deliverable, fully funded and ready to be implemented”.
“A clear direction, not the endless twists and turns that successive conservative governments have subjected our country to,” he will conclude.
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Reacting to the speech, Richard Holden, chairman of the Conservative Party, said Sir Keir “says nothing” in it.
“Sir Keir Starmer has been Labor leader for four years but has failed to set out a clear plan to secure Britain’s future,” he said.
“All he has achieved is broken the 10 promises he made when he ran for leadership and created a £38.5 billion black hole in his spending promises, meaning Labor would have to pay taxes on £2,094 a year. every working family.
“The choice is clear: stick to the plan that is working and take bold steps towards a safer and more secure future with Rishi Sunak. Or go back to square one with Sir Keir Starmer and the same old Labor Party.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
