Starmer speech on the economy tipped to be his most significant yet

People want change, Keir Starmer will explain in a speech focusing on the economy this morning, likening the current mood to that of post-World War Two Britain. And the Tories cannot deliver: despite repeated promises, they offer only a “roadmap to yesterday”. The Labour leader will today outline the choice facing voters across the country, describing the March Budget as a “fork in the road”. This is not only about the past year or the government’s Covid response. He will argue that Tory ideology weakened the country in the decade leading up to the pandemic and has “failed the British people”. The speech is tipped to be his most significant yet, setting out dividing lines for the next ten years of UK politics.

There is always the risk that the speech is somewhat drowned out by the Covid noise, a problem for any opposition during a crisis. But Starmer has faced calls in recent weeks to set out what he stands for, and this speech today could address some of those demands. As our editor Sienna has pointed out, the wide-ranging speech will be the first time that Starmer has detailed how he sees the economy, how he thinks it has been failed by successive Tory government and how it should be run. The Labour leader will discuss ‘a new chapter for Britain’, which represents “a new chapter for Labour, too”, as a party source put it.

The speech is not, those close to Starmer have said, a reaction to criticism of the leader, however. It instead forms the next stage of the plan – moving from providing ‘constructive opposition’ to giving a comprehensive vision. Labour is stepping it up a gear. And with local elections just around the corner, which will see voters head to the polls across the UK in May, Labour needs to be setting out its stall. While Starmer may not be on the ballot, the votes will be seen as a key test of his leadership.

The Labour leader will be speaking live from party HQ at 11am. Watch out for LabourList coverage. Elsewhere in Labour news, the party has suspended the selection process to pick the Labour candidate to be the next directly-elected mayor of Liverpool in May. Ballots had been due to go out yesterday, but this did not happen and instead the party confirmed the vote has been delayed until the three hopefuls are reinterviewed on Friday. And 38 Labour figures yesterday declared that they stand in solidarity with trade unionists and democrats charged with ‘unauthorised assembly’ in Hong Kong for their role in organising the 2019 and 2020 pro-democracy protests.