LONDON (AFP) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tomorrow is poised to warn that life in Britain will “get worse” before it gets “better”, in his first major speech since taking office.
Starmer, whose Labour Party was elected by a landslide on July 4, is expected to use the speech to ramp up attacks on the legacy left by the ousted Conservatives.
His comments come after criticism that Labour is seeking a pretext to raise taxes, despite pre-election promises that certain taxes would not be hiked.
“We have inherited not just an economic black hole but a societal black hole. And that is why we have to take action and do things differently,” Starmer will say, according to excerpts of the speech released in advance.
“Part of that is being honest with people – about the choices we face. And how tough this will be. Frankly – things will get worse before we get better.”
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves in recent days warned of “difficult decisions” over whether to cut spending or increase taxes in her first budget on October 30.
Since Labour’s election victory, Reeves has repeatedly accused the ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Tories of leaving a GBP22 billion (USD29 billion) black hole in this year’s budget.
But opponents said she would have been aware of the state of the country’s finances months ago and is simply preparing the ground for unpopular announcements.
Starmer is expected to tell the public that things are “worse than we ever imagined”.
The same theme has been adopted by ministers across government since July 4.
Commentators, however, have warned that the electorate could quickly tire of Labour blaming the Tories if it does not make clear progress in fixing some challenges facing the nation.
Main election issues included long waiting times for treatment under the state-funded National Health Service (NHS), immigration and a cost-of-living crisis that has triggered widespread strikes even by emergency health care staff.
“In the first few weeks, we discovered a GBP22 billion black hole in the public finances. And don’t let anyone say that this is performative, or playing politics,” Starmer will say.
“The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) did not know about this. They wrote a letter saying so. They didn’t know – because the last government hid it.”
The prime minister will also address the recent riots sparked by a mass stabbing in which three young girls aged between six and nine-years-old attending a Taylor Swift themed dance class were killed.
He is expected to say that the rioters were able to exploit “the cracks in our society after 14 years of populism and failure”, referring to the Conservatives’ time in office.
Officials have blamed far-right elements for helping to stir up the disorder, which targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum-seekers as well as police officers and other properties.
