Starmer to warn UK life will ‘get worse’ before it gets ‘better’ in first major PM speech
“Part of that is being honest with people – about the choices we face. And how tough this will be. Frankly – things will get worse before we get better.”
Finance minister Rachel Reeves in recent days warned of “difficult decisions” over whether to cut spending or increase taxes in her first budget on October 30.
But opponents say she would have been aware of the state of the country’s finances months ago and is simply preparing the ground for unpopular announcements.
Starmer is expected to tell the public that things are “worse than we ever imagined”.
The same theme has been adopted by ministers across government since July 4.
Commentators, however, have warned that the electorate could quickly tire of Labour blaming the Tories if it does not make clear progress in fixing some challenges facing the nation.
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Main election issues included long waiting times for treatment under the state-funded National Health Service (NHS), immigration and a cost-of-living crisis that has triggered widespread strikes even by emergency healthcare staff.
“In the first few weeks, we discovered a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. And don’t let anyone say that this is performative, or playing politics,” Starmer will say.
“The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) did not know about this. They wrote a letter saying so. They didn’t know – because the last government hid it.”
He is expected to say that the rioters were able to exploit “the cracks in our society after 14 years of populism and failure”, referring to the Conservatives’ time in office.
Officials have blamed far-right elements for helping to stir up the disorder, which targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers as well as police officers and other properties.
The authorities have cited misinformation spread online that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker for fuelling the violence.
Axel Rudakubana, who was aged 17 at the time, was actually born in Britain to parents who hail from Rwanda, an overwhelmingly Christian country.