Starmer has laid the groundwork for a painful budget amidst national challenges in candid Downing Street address
27 August 2024, 14:39
We are living in a deeply unhealthy society. In a societal black hole, if you will. Our public services are broken. We are just months away from a “painful” Budget. And things are going to get worse before they get better.
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You might expect these statements to be made by an opposition criticising the government, but no - this is what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the country this morning in his first major set-piece address since the riots.
Stood behind a podium in the Downing Street rose garden - because Sir Keir wanted to remind those watching about the lockdown parties and Dominic Cummings infamous press conference after his trip to Barnard Castle - he explained calmly how truly terrible everything was.
That was really the theme of the 15-minute address and the following Q&A. The Prime Minister attempted the narrative that Labour has tried to perpetuate since entering office - that things are much worse than they realised.
He went over old ground - the “deep rot” created by Tories that he was now having to tackle (the Tories describe this as "performative". “This is nothing but a performative speech to distract the public from the promises Starmer made that he never had any intention of keeping.")
But this speech was not just about inheritance. Its second objective was to lay the ground for October’s tax rises. Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted to the News Agents earlier this month that she did think they would be necessary. But today Sir Keir used more dire language - saying they would be “painful” although without elaborating on what they might look like.
And - away from expectation management - the third objective of this speech was to strike a new note on the riots.
He still refused to legitimise the violent scenes, again referring to those who took part as “mindless thugs” but he laid the blame at the previous government’s door. Blaming their use of “snake oil populism”.
But also said the riots showed the best of society - those that came together the day after the clean up. He said he wants to harness that to better this country.
Today, Sir Keir attempted to banish the notion that there are quick and easy fixes to the problems facing the country- whether it's leaving the ECHR or a wealth tax. He never said things will get worse before they get better in opposition. But he did say he wanted a decade of national renewal, and that politics had been too focused on sticking plaster and quick fixes, rather than fixing the fundamentals.
Cynics may note that their eye is already on a second term and their next election message. But a minister pointed out an issue with this approach. “Where’s the hope?” Adding there was little “goodwill” or “patience” for the problems at hand.
“Things are bleak,” the minister told me. “He’s right though. We’ve been lifting under the hood and things really are a lot worse than we realised. So much was hidden and we’ve got lots to repair and rescue before we can rebuild and then reform. It’s frustrating and infuriating.
“But the public are also broken and so disengaged/apathetic…I’m worried re how this feeds into that. Where’s the hope?”
That’s a question the current inhabitants of No10 may want to find the answer to before they begin shaping the messaging for their election campaign.
