Keir: Tories beaten hope out of Britain
Starmer vows to level up regions for real
Keir Starmer said the Tories “beat the hope” out of Britain as he launched Labour’s campaign for the local elections.
The Labour leader berated PM Rishi Sunak for “bottling” a May general election, saying: “I was hoping we’d be launching a different election campaign here today.”
And he accused Sunak of failing to deliver on former PM Boris Johnson’s flagship promise to stamp out regional inequalities.
Starmer said: “In saying levelling up, the Government was tapping into something real that people yearned for, but they didn’t have a viable plan. And they didn’t do the hard yards. That’s unforgivable.
“And we intend to turn that around.”
Speaking to a crowd in Dudley, West Midlands, yesterday, Starmer added: “One of the terrible things they have done in my view is to beat the hope out of people over the last 14 years.”
The PM has come under fire in the past from Tory West Midlands Mayor Andy Street for presiding over a “begging bowl culture” by forcing regional mayors and town halls to scrap for much-needed cash. Starmer vowed Labour would hand back power to the regions and develop local growth plans. He added: “Can I stand here and pretend to you that there’s a magic money tree that we can waggle on the day after the election? No, they’ve broken the economy.” Deputy Leader Angela Rayner described the Tories’ promise to level up the country as a “burnt-out shell”. She added: “It’s like a car that’s been nicked and then left behind a row of garages, only for the Tories to leg it out the passenger door.” The Labour leader also challenged Sunak to stop dithering over naming the date of a general election, which he was considering calling for the same day as the local polls. Downing Street is concerned that a predicted Tory wipeout in council and mayoral elections in England and Wales on May 2 could reignite plots to oust Sunak. Starmer said: “The PM bottled it. “He wants one last drawn-out summer with his beloved helicopter.”
The Tories tapped into something but they didn’t have a plan Keir Starmer on the levelling up promise