Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that his Government has done more in seven weeks than the Tory government did in seven years.In a speech from Downing Street’s rose garden, the Prime Minister said: “I said before the election, and I say it again really clearly today, growth – and frankly, by that, I do mean wealth creation – is the number one priority of this Labour Government.
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00:00When I stood on the steps of Downing Street, just over there, two months ago,
00:07I promised that this government would serve people like you.
00:13Apprentices, teachers, nurses, small business owners, firefighters.
00:19Those serving our community and our country every day.
00:24I promised that we would get a grip on the problems that we face
00:29and that we would be judged by our actions, not by our words.
00:35I said before the election, and I say it again really clearly today,
00:40growth, and frankly by that I do mean wealth creation,
00:45is the number one priority of this Labour government.
00:50And that's why, in our first few weeks, we've set up the National Wealth Fund,
00:56because we want every person and every community to benefit.
01:01It's why we've unlocked planning decisions,
01:04because we're going to build 1.5 million new homes.
01:08It's why we set up Great British Energy, to create good jobs and cut people's bills.
01:15And it's why we ended the national strikes that have crippled our country for years,
01:22because I defy anyone to tell me that you can grow the economy
01:28when people can't get to work because the transport system is broken,
01:33or can't return to work because they're stuck on an NHS waiting list.
01:38We've done more in seven weeks than the last government did in seven years.
01:45And these are just the first steps towards the change that people voted for,
01:50the change that I'm determined to deliver.
01:54But before the election I also gave a warning.
01:58I said change would not happen overnight.
02:02When there's a deep rot at the heart of a structure,
02:07you can't just cover it up, you can't just tinker or rely on quick fixes.
02:13You have to overhaul the entire thing, tackle it at root.
02:19Even if it's hard at work and takes more time.
02:24Because otherwise, what happens?
02:27The rot returns in all the same places and it spreads worse than before.
02:35You know that, I know that.
02:38And that's why this project has always been about fixing the foundations of our country.
02:46But I have to be honest with you.
02:49Things are worse than we ever imagined.
02:53In the first few weeks we discovered a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
03:00And before anyone says, oh this is just performative or playing politics,
03:06let's remember the OBR did not know about it.
03:12They wrote a letter setting that out.
03:15And they didn't know because the last government hid it.
03:19And even last Wednesday, just last Wednesday,
03:23we found out that thanks to the last government's recklessness,
03:27we borrowed almost £5 billion more than the OBR expected in the last three months alone.
03:36That's not performative, that's fact.