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Sir Keir Starmer has vowed that Labour will take on the Conservatives on their economic record in this year’s UK general election, claiming that the issue was now Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s “weakness” after his predecessor Liz Truss “trashed” the economy.
The Labour leader, giving his new year speech in Bristol, said the Tories had repeatedly promised tax cuts but instead had raised taxes to their highest level since the second world war.
“We have heard the Tories want to fight this election on this (economic) terrain, but . . . what used to be their strength is now their weakness,” he said. “Their credit rating is zero.”
Truss survived as prime minister for barely a month in late 2022 after her package of unfunded tax cuts prompted chaos in financial markets — which Labour aims to exploit in this year’s election campaign.
Most analysts do not expect Sunak to go to the country until the autumn, given his Conservative party is languishing 18 points on average behind Labour in the opinion polls.
But the Labour leader has ordered aides and shadow ministers to be alert for the possibility of an earlier election in May to coincide with local polls.
Speaking at a business park in Emersons Green in north-east Bristol, Starmer argued that “things can be better” and said the prospect of an election later this year would bring hope to people across the country.
“The thought of millions of people, right across our country, putting a cross on that ballot paper, it’s what we’ve been waiting for, preparing for, fighting for. A year of choice and the chance to change Britain.”
Starmer warned that his party would face an aggressive election campaign from the Conservatives. The Tories would “unleash” a “gauntlet of fear” ahead of polling day, he said in his speech. “Every opportunity for division will be exploited for political potential.”
This is a developing story
