Inside Politics: New year, new Keir?

Hello there, I’m Matt Mathers and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

No more tired new year themes or puns from tomorrow. Promise.

Parliament returns on 9 January.

Despite leading his party to consistent double-digit leads in the polls, Keir Starmer, like Rishi Sunak, has been criticised by some on his own side for not having a grand vision for the country beyond dealing with the immediate cost of living crisis.

Critics say that not being Jeremy Corbyn will not be enough to bring back voters who left the party in their droves at the 2019 general election. Starmer’s supporters, meanwhile, may argue that particular criticism of the leader is unfounded, given Labour’s radicals plans for Great British Energy, announced at the party conference in September, and the more recent proposals on reforms to the House of Lords.

Nonetheless, Starmer will later today set out his own “vision for Britain” some 24 hours after the prime minister deliver a speech on his own plans for the year ahead and beyond. Scheduled to speak at around 10am from the Here East tech campus in Stratford, east London, Starmer is expected to say that a Labour government would not try to spend its way out of the looming recession.

Following Sunak’s address, he is also expected to accuse the Tories of yet another “desperate relaunch” and criticise the government’s management of the public services. Starmer will pledge a decade of renewal for the UK under his leadership and emphasise the importance of a robust private sector, working in tandem with the public sector.

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As expected, Sunak in his own speech yesterday set out plans for all children to study some form of maths until they are 18.

But the bulk of his address was dedicated to tackling inflation, growing the economy, bringing down the national debt, reducing NHS waiting lists and stopping illegal immigration, as he echoed former PM Tony Blair in setting out his “five pledges”.

Sunak admitted to journalists in questions following the speech that some of these targets – particularly bringing down inflation – are dependent on matters outside of his control.

The speech has been criticised by some for its perceived vagueness and omission of timeframes for when each target will be achieved.

The PM is also poised is poised to fast-track future public sector pay talks in a bid to end strikes that will see nurses walk off wards again this month.

The prime minister said settlements for the next financial year were “exactly the kind of thing we should be sitting down and talking through, and it’s not just about pay.”

“We’ll be setting out more of our plans in this regard in the coming days,” he said.

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Starmer is expected to say Labour won’t try to spend its way out of recession.

“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.”

Kevin Schofield, Huffpost UK politics editor, on Sunak’s five pledges.

“When Rishi Sunak finds out who’s been running the country for the last 13 years he’s going to be so angry.”

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