Liverpool, ENGLAND – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted on Tuesday that the tough decisions he is making today will usher in a new era for Britain, as he seeks to shake off the pessimism that has dogged his premiership.
“Change must mean national renewal,” he told Labor Party delegates on Tuesday.
“Frankly, if we take the difficult long-term decisions now, if we keep driving behind everything we do … fast,” he said at the close of the annual Labor party conference, his first in power in 15 years.
Starmer slammed the previous Conservative government for destroying public services and undermining trust, insisting that politics can be a “force for good” as he outlined Labour’s plans for progress.
“We have to build a new Britain. We have to be a great reform government,” he said.
The prime minister attempted to instill a sense of optimism after the government was accused of undermining Britain’s economic situation and gave little indication of plans to improve it.
A decision to limit future fuel payments to pensioners and the controversy over the minister using donations for clothing and hospitality also hampered enthusiasm for the new government less than three months after the landslide victory in July.
“If this road was popular or easy, we would have walked it,” Starmer said, defending the fuel cut.
Among his government’s progress so far, Starmer noted resolving the NHS doctors’ strike, new solar projects and offshore wind farms, planning reforms, an end to no-fault evictions, the creation of a National Wealth Fund, and legislation to renationalise the railways.
“The work of change has begun. Be patient, calm, determine the era of government as a service has begun,” he said.
“And we’re just getting started,” he added, citing plans to reduce knife crime, introduce a new industry strategy, and fight benefit fraudsters, among others.
Starmer used the speech to reiterate five priorities for securing what he called national reform: boosting economic growth, reforming the NHS, increasing the UK’s borders, improving education and switching to clean energy.
He also announced his success in moving the party to the political center from the previous left-wing leader in Jeremy Corbyn, and returning it to “the service of the workers.”
“People say we can’t change the party, but we do. People say we can’t win across Britain, but we have. People say we can’t send a national renewal, but we can and we will,” he said.
“We will stabilize the economy, remove the Tory rot, fix the foundations, and deliver a mandate of change,” he said.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves also sought to strike a positive tone on Monday, saying in her keynote speech that “optimism for Britain is brighter than ever,” although she warned that the road ahead was “steeper and more difficult than expected.”
The Chancellor’s upcoming autumn budget, set to be sent on October 30, is expected to include tax increases and spending cuts after he warned of a £22 billion ($29 billion) “black hole” in public finances. However, Reeves said it would also be one of his “real ambitions,” without going back to austerity.
Labour’s upbeat messaging has been voiced by government ministers at the party’s three-day annual conference in Liverpool, England.
Wes Streeting, the minister for health and social care, said the promise of improvements to England’s National Health Service (NHS) would take time to implement.
“The honeymoon period will come later because the scale of the challenge is so great. We need to rebuild the economy, rebuild public services and rebuild trust in politics,” he said at a conference on Monday.
The economic secretary for the Treasury, Tulip Siddiq, also said the country would benefit from the “difficult decisions” being made.
“We are trying to fix the fundamentals of the economy, because if we are hurt in the medium term, in the long term we will benefit,” he said during a fringe event on Monday.
This is because public enthusiasm for the government has shown signs of rising. Half of Britons, including a quarter of Labor voters (26%), are disappointed with the government’s performance so far, an Ipsos poll showed on Friday.
CNBC has reached out to the Conservative Party for comment.
