Sir Keir Starmer has warned Labour will face “really tough” challenges to fix the economy due to the “grotesque chaos” caused by Liz Truss’s Government.
In a sobering message for his own party, the Labour leader used a speech in Barnsley to say repairing the country’s financial crisis “won’t be easy” after the damage that’s been done by the Conservative Party – appearing to rule out any immediate spending sprees if he becomes Prime Minister.
Speaking to Yorkshire and the Humber Labour’s conference, he said: “I would love to stand here and say to you that Labour will fix everything. But the damage that they’ve done to our finances and public services means things are going to be really tough.
“We can’t take irresponsible risks with the country’s finances. We must be the party of sound money. You can’t build a fairer, greener Britain without first restoring economic stability.
“Every policy we announce will be fully costed. A new Office for Value for Money will make sure public spending targets the national interest. And we should be clear about what this means. It means not being able to do things – good Labour things – as quickly as we might like.”
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After an extraordinary day in Westminster on Friday that saw Ms Truss ditch her friend and first choice as chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, as well as axing a significant chunk of her mini-Budget, Sir Keir accused the Prime Minister of clinging to power.
He was equally scathing about the self-inflicted crisis that has befallen the Government and accused the divided Conservative Party of lacking a mandate to stay in power.
He said: “Britain has faced financial crises before. But the prime ministers and chancellors who wrestled with them all acted fast. When their policies ran against the rocks of reality, they took decisive action. But this lot, they didn’t just tank the British economy.
“They also clung on. Clung on as they made the pound sink, clung on as they took our pensions to the brink of collapse, clung on as they pushed the mortgages and bills of the British people through the roof.
“There is still one person clinging on. The Prime Minister.
“No doubt we will hear plenty of laughable excuses in the coming days. After 12 years of stagnation, that’s all her party has left, but even they know she can’t fix the mess she has created.
“Deep down, her MPs know something else. They no longer have a mandate from the British people.”
In response, Sir Keir pledged to “turn Britain into a green growth superpower”.
He said: “The argument for our plan is simple. Clean energy is already cheaper than fossil fuels – nine times cheaper. Working people need more of it. Britain needs to own it. And the jobs and growth it creates must be shared with every community. British power to the British people.”
Labour is well ahead of the Tories in the polls and demanding a general election, after the mini-budget saw the pound plunge while interest rates – and therefore mortgage payments – rose.
Additional reporting by Press Association