Keir Starmer says there’s NOTHING he would do differently about Labour’s disastrous first six months in power – as he admits he doesn’t want to bring down immigration too quickly_Nhy
Keir Starmer today insisted there is nothing he would do differently from his disastrous first six months in power.
Despite even Labour MPs acknowledging a rocky start, the PM told the Liaison Committee he would not change a thing.
The bizarre stance came after Sir Keir’s premiership was rocked by the freebies furore and the humiliating departure of his chief of staff Sue Gray.
He has also faced a huge backlash over stripping winter fuel from millions of pensioners, the monster tax raid in the Budget hammering businesses, slowing growth and farmers protesting.
This week he ruled out compensation for so-called WASPI women over the way the state pension age was increased – even though he and other senior ministers backed it in Opposition.
Sir Keir has privately joked about dreading being shown polling figures, as support for Labour and his personal ratings plummet.
But wrapping up a long evidence session before the cross-party committee this afternoon, chair Dame Meg Hillier asked: ‘Is there anything that you would do differently if you were starting out now, knowing what you know?’
Keir Starmer today insisted there is nothing he would do differently from his disastrous first six months in power
Sir Keir replied: ‘No. We have had to do tough stuff, we are getting on with it and I am very pleased to be delivering from a position of power, rather than going around the division lobbies losing every night.
‘I have had too much of that.’
Sir Keir also seemed to feather his commitment to bring down legal immigration.
The PM has lashed out at the Tories after revised numbers showed net inflows hitting 906,000 a year. That smashed the previous record, although it has dipped since.
Pressed that his target of building 1.5million new homes by 2030 would not be possible without more immigrant constructions workers, Sir Ker suggested ‘weaning’ the country off foreign labour would be a slow process.
He slated the ‘complete lack of coordination and strategy to have the skills we need in this country’ under the Conservatives.
‘So those discussions need to take place,’ he added.
‘In the meantime I’m not going to chop the legs off our businesses and make it hard for them to get the skills that they need.’
Fears have been mounting that UK plc could slip into recession following Rachel Reeves‘ Budget tax raid.
The economy has contracted for two consecutive months, while closely-watched business surveys have shown activity flatlining. The costs of servicing government debt has also been creeping up.
Six members of the MPC preferred to keep the base rate steady, while three voted for a 0.25 percentage point reduction.
Worryingly, the Bank has downgraded growth forecasts for the last quarter of 2024 from 0.3 per cent to zero.
Sir Keir’s top priority is growth – but early signs show it has been slowing since the Budget
