• 8 months ago
Labour's Keir Starmer launches a campaign in Dudley.
Transcript
00:00 Here's the good news. They don't get to choose. You don't have to take it anymore.
00:07 You can stop them. And that's the beauty of democracy.
00:11 The power of the vote rests in your hands. And on the 2nd of May, you can reject the chaos,
00:17 you can reject division, you can reject decline, and vote for national renewal with Labour.
00:24 [Applause]
00:32 But the former Prime Minister, well actually the former former Prime Minister, if I'm going to be accurate,
00:39 gave his big levelling up speech. A project he said would turn the tide on regional inequality in this country.
00:47 And give a fair share to towns like Dudley.
00:51 But you know, people say to me, the worst thing you can do in politics is to prey on people's fear.
01:02 Yet in some ways, preying on their hopes is just as bad.
01:09 And that's what the Tories did with levelling up. Of course it struck a chord.
01:14 Of course a town like Dudley wanted that hope to be real. Not just the promise of a better future.
01:21 We all need that. It's also how that project knowingly spoke to what towns like this have lost.
01:30 The way of life that disappeared when the factories or pits closed.
01:34 The community, the security, the chest out pride that grows when you are certain your contribution is respected.
01:43 That what you do, what you make matters.
01:46 And not just for your family, but for your community, your country and even beyond our shores.
01:53 [Applause]
01:57 And that's my biggest frustration with these 14 wasted years.
02:02 It's not just the stagnation. Not just the price working people have paid.
02:06 It's also the countless missed opportunities to give working people the power to drive our country forward.
02:13 To bring people together outside of a crisis.
02:17 Unlock that pride people have for their community and harness it to change our country.
02:24 Now levelling up is a good ambition for Britain.
02:28 Taking back control, if it means control for communities, not politicians in Westminster.
02:36 That is absolutely essential for growth.
02:39 But moving forward requires not just a new plan, but also a fundamental shift in how we govern.
02:47 Britain's got an economy that hoards potential and a politics that hoards power.
02:54 And it's no coincidence, no accident, that this leaves us with more regional inequality than anywhere else in Europe.
03:03 And finally, our NHS back on its feet.
03:07 Two million extra appointments every year.
03:10 A plan to cut the waiting list.
03:12 Start clearing the back door.
03:14 Rescue NHS centres and end the 80 hour struggle at your GP surgery.
03:19 Or a black country burning in the workplace of the world.
03:25 No, that sort of pride is not in the gift of politicians.
03:30 It's built up over the decades by the people, the businesses and the workers of our community.
03:38 If partnership with government, absolutely, that is vital.
03:42 Levelling up doesn't happen by magic.
03:45 But the energy and the drive must always come from a place itself.
03:50 So when communities across Britain ask, "What's our future in the modern economy?"
03:56 I say, "Labour will always respect your contribution.
04:00 We will give you the tools you need.
04:02 We will get the country's future back.
04:05 But your destination, your decision, the pride that defines who you are, that belongs to you."
04:14 [Applause]
04:21 We need to work very, very hard to win that election.
04:24 I say to my shadow cabinet every week that in order to get from where we landed in 2019
04:30 to even a two or three seat Labour majority will require a bigger swing than 1997.
04:36 It's a sobering thought.
04:37 That's why we need to be disciplined, focused, change the party, expose the government as not fit to govern.
04:43 And I'm absolutely intent on putting our plan for Britain before Britain.
04:47 That's the opportunity we have now.
04:49 We will continue to do that.
04:51 We have gone from a party that suffered the worst loss since 1935 to a serious contender as we go into that election.
05:00 I say to my shadow cabinet, put the polls to our side.
05:03 It's the hard yards of focus and discipline and being clear that we're delivering for the country.
05:08 [Laughter]
05:10 But look, I mean, firstly, levelling up requires the hard yards of our planning now, Farron.
05:17 And that's why four years on, I think, if you go around the country, and I know you do,
05:21 asking people if they feel they've been levelled up, they feel they're better off now than they were,
05:25 the answer will be a resounding no.
05:27 Because you can't come up with a slogan and pretend that's going to change the state of the place.
05:32 It's much harder work than that.
05:34 And that's what the politics of service is all about.
05:37 On the mayoral aspect of this, the devolution, yes, some of that devolution has happened through existing mayors.
05:45 There's other mayors that are up for grabs at these elections.
05:48 I have full confidence today and every day that we work together to take the Labour Party back into government
05:55 so we can serve the interests of the public.
05:57 [Applause]
06:12 A follow-up question on that.
06:14 Obviously, when it comes to devolution, there's been a lot of talk about this.
06:19 I think that you can make substantial change as a disillusion of politics in any one particular party.
06:26 But obviously there are things you can do to restore confidence.
06:30 So I'm going to ask you a very specific question.
06:32 You talked about the decimation of public services.
06:35 You talked about hope.
06:36 The councils that fear they're going to go bankrupt in the next year will need more than hope.
06:41 They'll need hard cash.
06:42 Can you guarantee that a Labour government in its first year will have more resources than the Conservatives are giving them now?
06:49 Well, insofar as we can unlock the money that has not been unlocked for 90%,
06:55 insofar as we can change the funding for public services three years, not one year,
06:59 then yes, we can do more for our local authorities, our local councils, our public services.
07:05 Believe me, I believe in public services.
07:07 I ran for public services for five years, so this is something core about who I am and what I believe in.
07:14 But can I stand here and pretend to you that there's a magic money tree that we can waggle on the third or the day after the election?
07:23 No, they've broken the economy. They've done huge damage.
07:26 And even now, in their budgets, they're using any potential money from public services for gimmicks.
07:34 This is a very different Tory party.
07:37 This is a Tory party that supports any sense of the national interest and is now passing budgets in their own party.
07:44 That happened in the last budget. If they get the chance, they'll do it again.
07:48 I don't agree with her vision or driving purpose.
07:53 She did very destructive things across the country, including in the black country.
07:58 And people are still paying the price for that.
08:01 But I do think it's important to distinguish between leaders who have a driving sense of purpose,
08:07 what they're trying to achieve, a sense of the hard jobs of five or ten years in government,
08:11 and leaving something better afterwards, than those that dread it.
08:15 And what are people at the moment? What is the driving philosophy of British Communist Party, apart from survival?
08:21 People ask me, "What does Labour stand for?" What does British Communist Party stand for?
08:25 It's just treading water. It's waiting, waiting.
08:28 He knows the country wants change. He knows they want it on May 2nd to have a general election.
08:34 But he's treading water, preserving himself, party interest.
08:37 And I think this is linked to the point Amy was making.
08:40 I think that's why a lot of people are losing faith in politics.
08:44 And we have to turn that around, Chris. It's very, very important.
08:47 I think there are two parts in that question, Nick, which require slightly different answers.
08:53 As to journalistic access, I think that's really important.
08:56 But I think we do need to ensure that there are mechanisms in place for journalistic access all the time.
09:01 Now it's much harder, as you know, because back in the day there were reporters in a lot of our courts all the time.
09:07 Now the resource doesn't allow that, and it's more difficult to reach those cases.
09:12 But our courts and our justice should be open and accountable.
09:16 And that means that the eyes and ears of journalists should be able to get in there.
09:20 And that's a very important fundamental principle as well as my principle.
09:24 On the broader question of open justice, we need to get the balance right.
09:28 There are thousands upon thousands of cases that are dealt with in our magistrates' court,
09:33 but not necessarily in open and full court hearing.
09:37 It would impose a huge burden on the court system if you changed that around by people being guilty by post or whatever it might be.
09:45 And you wouldn't want to turn that around and say, "There must be an in-person hearing for every single one of those cases."
09:50 You said that Labour would ban fire and rehire practices.
09:54 Could you just clarify whether that would also apply to Labour councils such as Coventry,
09:58 where councillors are reportedly pushing ahead with plans to fire and rehire mid-workers there?
10:04 Well, on council finances, you pick out Birmingham, but there are plenty of councils across the country that are in financial difficulties.
10:13 I think that British will have better statistics on this than me.
10:16 There's been about a billion pounds of council money taken out of Birmingham over the last decade or more.
10:21 That's very difficult. I know people in Birmingham who rely on services are very worried about that.
10:26 Because they worry about the impact it's going to have on them.
10:30 The only way through this is to have a better funding cycle and to have those plans in place to grow the local economy.
10:37 And to have a council in the sense that the government wants to work with councils, mayors, combined authorities,
10:44 rather than simply working against them and trying to blame other people.
10:48 On fire and rehire, look, I'm against it. That means I'm against it wherever it is.
10:53 It's as simple as that. I'm not going to wade into an industrial dispute. That wouldn't be right.
10:58 But I'm against fire and rehire. I'm against it wherever it is and whoever is practising it.
11:03 Thank you very much for your support.
11:05 His position is untenable. During the beergate row, you said you would resign if found to have broken COVID laws.
11:12 Should your deputy resign, if she's found to have broken any rules?
11:16 Look, Antwerp has answered I don't know how many questions about this.
11:20 She's not broken any rules. She's in fact taken legal and tax advice,
11:25 which has satisfied her and us and me about the position.
11:30 And I think when I look at this in the round, and it goes back to beergate,
11:36 the fact that the Tory party is spending all of its time and energy pursuing this issue,
11:42 rather than answering the question of accountability for what they've done after 40 years.
11:47 [Applause]
11:57 Last week you said you haven't seen that advice. Have you now seen it?
12:00 Should she now publish it in the aims of maximum transparency?
12:03 And if not, are you holding Tory MPs to a lower standard, which you and her are holding each other?
12:10 Look, Antwerp's been very clear, I think she's been doing media this morning,
12:14 she's made it very clear that if anybody wants more information from her,
12:19 any of the authorities, she's more than happy to provide it.
12:22 But should she publish legal, tax advice? No, she shouldn't.
12:28 But when does this end? Are you going to be calling for Tory ministers
12:33 to publish all their legal and tax advice?
12:36 [Applause]
12:48 Secondly, for me, deep down, the respect and dignity of work matters.
12:54 This goes back to what I said about my dad.
12:56 It really matters that people feel respected and that they feel that they have their dignity at work.
13:02 But there's an additional reason, and that is every good employer knows
13:06 that if you do treat people with respect and dignity at work,
13:09 then that increases productivity, that increases the growth in your business and enterprise,
13:16 and it's actually good for the economy.
13:18 And that's why when I talk to employers, most good employers are doing all the things in our New Deal in any other way.
13:25 But yeah, we're absolutely committed to it, and we will be implementing it.
13:28 And I'm just leaving you from the front on that. Happy birthday, Anshe.
13:31 Thank you all very much.
13:33 [Applause]
13:45 The glass boys. And you stopped port the hatters.
13:50 Now that pride is still there. Of course it is.
13:53 And why not? I think stop port gunning for promotion.
13:57 I expect you know that this is what Britain needs right now.
14:02 And coming together after all the chaos and division behind the incredible long-term plan,
14:10 a plan to back your potential, match your ambition, unlock your pride,
14:15 so together we get Britain's future back.
14:18 [Applause]

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