Labour will not open the “big government chequebook” in an attempt to repair Britain’s faltering public services if it wins the next election, Keir Starmer will warn.
In a new year speech in London on Thursday, setting out his principles for government, the Labour leader will promise a “decade of national renewal” if the party returns to government. But he will deny that the country’s problems can be fixed by more spending, even as doctors say the NHS is in crisis and strikes bring a number of public services to their knees.
Starmer will say: “We can give people a sense of possibility again, show light at the end of the tunnel.”
But he will add: “None of this should be taken as code for Labour getting its big government chequebook out again.
“Of course investment is required – I can see the damage the Tories have done to our public services as plainly as anyone. But we won’t be able to spend our way out of their mess – it’s not as easy as that. There is no substitute for a robust private sector, creating wealth in every community.”
Starmer’s speech comes a day after Rishi Sunak set out his own vision for Britain in a sprawling speech that touched on everything from graffiti to inflation to teaching maths in schools.
The prime minister promised to halve inflation this year, as well as to oversee an increase in growth and a decrease in national debt as a proportion of GDP. But he has been criticised for underplaying the problems plaguing the NHS, which doctors say could be causing as many as 500 avoidable deaths each week.
On Wednesday, Sunak admitted waiting lists were too long, but rejected the suggestions that elective surgeries should be cancelled to bring them down.
Starmer will talk about the multiple crises facing the government as an “iceberg on the horizon”, warning that the problems with public services are being exacerbated by short-term solutions from Westminster.
He will hint at plans to decentralise power, saying: “I call it ‘sticking plaster politics’. This year, we’re going to show how real change comes from unlocking the pride and purpose of Britain’s communities.”
“No more Westminster hoarding power, no more holding back this country’s economic potential,” he will add.
Starmer will also risk the anger of some of his MPs by speaking warmly about the idea of public-private partnerships, promising “a new approach to the power of government [that is] more relaxed about bringing in the expertise of public and private, business and union, town and city”.
The words echo the message from his shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, who has suggested using private health providers to bring down NHS waiting lists. But that idea has not proved popular with all the party’s MPs – on Wednesday, the shadow health minister Rosena Allin-Khan repeatedly refused to back the increased use of the private sector in the health service.
On Wednesday, Sunak set out five pledges against which he urged voters to judge him. Starmer has been more cautious about setting out specific promises, but on Thursday he will promise a Labour government would be “driven by clear, measurable objectives”.
He will add: “We will announce these missions in the coming weeks – our manifesto will be built around them. And they will be the driving force of the next Labour government.”
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