Winning Labour leaders have always understood it’s not enough for the voters to believe that Labour’s heart is in the right place.
They also need to know that we’ve got our heads screwed on too.
That’s why Keir Starmer’s big speech this week was an important milestone on his journey to win back voters’ trust and inspire confidence that Labour can be trusted to govern again.
We can’t go back to business as usual.
As we emerge from this pandemic, we’ve got to build a brighter future for our country – one that provides security and opportunity for families.
We should never allow children to grow up in poverty or with poor life chances.
We’ve got to support new jobs and industries across the country, so people don’t have to leave their home town to have a chance of getting a good job.
We need to provide a new generation of affordable homes – and not stand idly by while millions are denied the dream of home ownership.
We need to make sure that our parents and grandparents can look forward to retirement, not fear what sort of care they’ll receive in old age.
Britain can be the best place to grow up in and the best place to grow old in– that’s the core of Labour’s vision for this nation’s future under Keir Starmer’s leadership.
(Image: PA)
But Keir also understands why Labour has lost four elections in a row.
That’s why he’s been crystal clear that sound management of the public finances and the economy will always be a top priority for Labour under his leadership.
If people don’t trust you with their money, they won’t trust you with anything else.
It’s as simple as that.
(Image: Leon Neal)
We’ve seen during the pandemic what happens when a government fails to spend wisely.
Tony donors bagged £2billion of crony contracts.
That’s almost as much we spend on the pupil premium to support kids on free school meals across England.
Another £150million was wasted on PPE that we couldn’t use because it didn’t meet the right safety standards while a US jeweller received £20million as the middleman for another PPE contract.
That’s enough money to fund extra tuition to help at least 125,000 kids.
Management consultants were paid £1,000 a day to work on the failed test and trace system – a kick in the teeth to millions of self-employed people who’ve been excluded from any Government support.
A decade of Tory rule has left weakened foundations for our economic recovery.
A strong economy and a strong society go hand in hand. We need to support businesses so that they can help us build a strong recovery.
Keir Starmer gets this, which is why he’s committed to a new partnership with business.
What a contrast with Boris Johnson, who famously said “f*** business” the other year.
Boris Johnson should take a leaf out of Keir Starmer’s book and get his house in order to make sure that every penny is being spent wisely.
We’re all paying a heavy price for his government’s waste – and this week showed that Labour means business.
