Sunday Mirror

My plan to build Britain up after decade of Tory failure

- BY KEIR STARMER

THE vaccine has given us all hope that the end of the pandemic is in sight. Now we must start thinking about the country we want to be after the crisis.

After the war there was a determinat­ion to build a better

Britain. We owed it to all those who sacrificed so much for our freedom.

I believe that determinat­ion is present again today. Covid has shown us the best of Britain – but it has shown us how much needs to change too.

The Government has been too slow at every stage. It has failed our most vulnerable in care homes and wasted billions in taxpayers’ money on crony contracts – as well as a pay rise for Dominic Cummings.

We’ve had the worst death toll in Europe and the worst economic crisis of any major economy. But this pandemic has exposed how the foundation­s of our country have been weakened by the Conservati­ves over the last decade.

Our public services have been undermined, town centres have been run down, child poverty has shot up. We can’t go back to that.

This week I put forward a different path. A new chapter for Britain. It starts with a secure economy, built for the long term. To me, that means highqualit­y, reliable jobs across the nation.

It means a Government that focuses on growing our economy out of this crisis – in partnershi­p with business.

And it means giving opportunit­y and a stake in Britain’s success to citizens. Because a more equal economy means a more prosperous economy.

That’s why I’m proposing a new British Recovery Bond. It would give ordinary people who have managed to save a bit of money during this crisis a fair return on their cash, while investing in Britain’s recovery.

This bond could raise billions to rebuild our communitie­s, support UK businesses and create the jobs of the future.

And it’s why I urge Rishi Sunak not to choke off our recovery at the Budget next month with spending cuts or tax rises. He should scrap his planned Universal Credit cut and his attempt to force councils to hike council tax. Both will hammer families at a crucial point in the recovery.

As we come out of this pandemic, we can’t go back to business as usual under the same failed Tory system. I want to take Britain forward to a future of opportunit­y, built on solid foundation­s.

It starts with a secure economy and jobs KEIR STARMER ON HIS ‘NEW CHAPTER’ FOR UK

ACCUSER Jaubert

A FRENCH ex-spy who tried to help smuggle Princess Latifa out of Dubai says he has launched legal action against her father’s regime and India for storming his yacht to capture her.

Herve Jaubert, 64, claims the attack in 2018 – in which he was seized along with Latifa and a Finnish friend – happened in internatio­nal waters. He said: “I have filed documentat­ion in court against the UAE. What they did was piracy.”

The princess had contacted Jaubert after reading his book about fleeing the UAE disguised in a burqa. She boarded a dinghy off the coast of Oman before Jaubert met her in the Arabian Sea with jet skis which they rode 15 miles to the yacht. They were on their way to India when they were boarded by Indian commandos.

He claims he was held for 10 days and threatened with torture. Latifa has not been seen since. Jaubert – who says he is in talks to make a movie about the incident – refused to reveal where he filed the court action.

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