The key points from Starmer’s do-or-die speech, featuring three reheated policies and repeated soundbites from previous resets:
- Refused to resign and vowed to fight any leadership challenge: “I’m not going to walk away”.
- Will “put Britain at the heart of Europe” and “repair” the UK-EU relationship at the next EU summit. Suitably vague…
- Legislation this week to nationalise British Steel, subject to ‘a public interest test’. So yet another Whitehall review…
- ‘New’ jobs guarantee: every young unemployed person to get a guaranteed offer of a job, training or work placement. Already announced.
- Conceded Labour needs a “bigger response than 2024” and that “incremental change won’t cut it” on growth, defence, Europe and energy.
- Called Farage a “grifter” and “chancer” and said Reform would take Britain down a “very dark path“.
- Said Labour “cannot win as a weaker version of Reform or the Greens” but only as “a mainstream party of power, not protest“. They lost around 1500 seats on Thursday.
- Took “responsibility” for the local election results but argued resigning would inflict Tory-style “chaos” on the country.
- On Burnham’s return to Westminster: “a decision for the NEC“.
- Claimed to have got the “big political decisions” right, and to have stabilised the economy. Inflation and unemployment are up since he came in…
That concludes his 30th reset speech. Will it be enough to stop the herd?
His (many) enemies in the PLP are watching closely…
UPDATES:
- “I know I have my doubters, I know I need to prove them wrong. And I will.”
- Tory leadership changes did lasting damage: “Labour would never be forgiven for inflicting that on our country again.”
- New legislation this week to give the government powers to take full national ownership of British Steel in Scunthorpe after collapse of commercial purchase.
- Says he will “block far right agitators” from travelling to London for Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally.
- Starmer says on Andy Burnham “Any decision is for the NEC.“
Sadiq Khan has done an interview with ex-New Statesman hack George Eaton’s new magazine. Khan has laid out his personal platform:
- Rejoin the EU: “A general election victory would give us a mandate to rejoin the European Union, we should have it on the ballot paper: a vote for Labour is a vote to rejoin.”
- No referendum needed to rejoin EU: UK is a “parliamentary democracy” and dismissing the first vote as a “wheeze by David Cameron to try and keep his right flank united.“
- Reeves: “the most cautious Labour chancellor I can remember.”
- Special Deal with EU: “I think we could carve out a special deal with the EU, if you don’t ask, you don’t get… Free movement before a general election is difficult but what we should be doing is having the conversation.” Cuckoo land…
- Shabana Mahmood’s immigration reforms: “It’s not very British, you’ve literally moved the goal posts. The unintended consequence is that there’s less incentive to contribute and less incentive to learn English if you’ve got one foot in this country and the other in your country of origin.”
- Reeves is blocking money to Khan’s budget: “The Chancellor and the Treasury have got to stop being the roadblock to more powers. She has and they have, they’ve got to stop this.”
- Let Burnham come back: “Andy is somebody I’ve known for a long time, he’s a very talented politician, he’s achieved a huge amount in Greater Manchester over the last few years and he wants to go back to parliament. I think if he wants to go back, he should be allowed to go back… If Andy still wants to return, and an opportunity arises he should be allowed to stand.”
- Fourth mayoral term: “There’s a big runway between now and the next mayoral election and I’ve got plenty of fuel in the tank. It’s the best job I’ve ever had.”
Don’t be surprised if Sadiq starts sniffing around for a by-election at this rate…
Peter Kyle on Sky News this morning, acting as Number 10’s ambassador from the bunker:
“Andy Burnham left Westminster to go to Manchester, and he made a series of promises. I think promises matter…”
Kyle also reckons Starmer should serve another eight years in Downing Street. He doubled down on LBC:
“[Burnham] chose to leave Parliament in 2016 when things were really tough here… My personal view is this is not the moment to have another by-election and a Mayoral election, but these are decisions for the NEC. Andy chose to leave Parliament, he should stick to the promises he already made…”
Starmer delivers his make-or-break reset speech later this morning. Stay tuned…
The state of play currently:
- Rayner’s first public remarks since Labour’s local election defeat: She calls on Starmer to end a “toxic culture of cronyism.”
- Says Labour must tack left: “What we are doing isn’t working, and it needs to change. This may be our last chance.”
- Warns Labour is “in danger of becoming a party of the well-off, not working people.“
- Explicitly calls for Andy Burnham to return to Westminster: FT says she may back him as a successor rather than standing herself…
- Some on the Labour right think Rayner couldn’t win a contest due to the unresolved HMRC dispute.
- Catherine West still suggesting she will launch a challenge on Monday – she only needs to tell the NEC.
- Wes Streeting has reportedly told No10 he is readying himself to challenge Starmer but still insists he won’t wield the knife.
- Andy Burnham’s team is desperately trying to prevent a challenge taking place in the next few weeks. He still isn’t an MP…
- Starmer is still working on his speech for tomorrow. No10 insists he will fight a leadership challenge…
- MPs are still going over the top calling for Starmer to go. Including former Labour Together director Josh Simons…
- Reeves and her Solicitor General sister had an argument about Burnham at a children’s birthday party.
Starmer has trailed his speech in the Observer by claiming he will be PM for ten years. This has gone down like a cup of cold sick with the PLP. All to play for…
Starmer loyalist and Housing Secretary Steve Reed told Sky News that Starmer should not be replaced:
“We saw what the Tories did. They were in power for 14 years, and after 2016, I think we had nine education secretaries, seven chancellors, and five Prime Ministers. Doomscrolling through Prime Ministers doesn’t resolve the problem.”
