Keir Starmer defends Labour’s tax rises ahead of its Budget announcement
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00:00If people want to criticise the path we choose,
00:05that's their prerogative.
00:07But let them spell out a different direction.
00:13If they think the state has grown too big,
00:16let them tell working people
00:18which public services they would cut.
00:22If they think tax rises are unfair,
00:25let them tell working people
00:26which taxes they'd raise instead.
00:30If they don't see our long-term investment
00:32in infrastructure as necessary,
00:34let them explain to working people
00:37how they would grow the economy for them.
00:40And if they think that taxes are too high,
00:43but they don't want to cut public spending,
00:46let them tell working people
00:49why the lessons of Liz's trust no longer apply.
00:53Because I've said it before, and I'll say it again,
00:57the time is long overdue for politicians in this country
01:00to level with you honestly
01:02about the trade-offs this country faces,
01:06to stop insulting your intelligence
01:07with the chicanery of easy answers.
01:11Working people know that hard choices are necessary.
01:16They lived through the Liz's trust episode.
01:19They lived through the cost of living crisis.
01:21So they know that the things they want from us,
01:25protecting their living standards,
01:27rebuilding our nation, fixing our public services,
01:31they know that this can only be achieved
01:35alongside economic stability.
01:38There are no shortcuts.
01:41No, what they want to see on Wednesday
01:44is a country on a different path,
01:47making different choices.
01:50They don't want to pay the price anymore
01:52in times of crisis,
01:54because our economic foundations are weak.
01:57And they don't want to see the proceeds of growth,
02:00which could serve their family, their community,
02:02their public services,
02:04instead always serving those at the top.
02:07They want change, and that is what they will get,
02:11because that is the mandate we're elected to deliver,
02:14the only path consistent with our driving purpose
02:18to return Britain to the service of working people.