Keir Starmer accuses Tories of ‘beating the hope’ out of Britain as he kicks off election campaign

Sir Keir Starmer has fired the starting gun on what is set to be a gruelling year-long general election campaign, promising to “get Britain’s future back” after “14 wasted years” under the Conservatives.

The Labour leader set out plans to revive Boris Johnson’s failed levelling up agenda and promised to “give people hope that politics can change”.

Laying into the Conservatives’ record from David Cameron’s tenure to Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir said the Tories have “beat the hope out of people over the last 14 years”.

And he said: “We’ve got to give people hope. Hope that politics can change, that we can return to a place where promises matter, where values and standards in public life matter.”

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Sir Keir was launching the party’s campaign for the 2 May local elections from Dudley, where Mr Johnson in 2020 promised to “double down on levelling up” and give “everyone growing up in this country the opportunity they need”.

The Labour leader and his deputy Angela Rayner have sought to win over former backers of Mr Johnson, saying that he was “onto something” with levelling up but that he failed to deliver.

“That is one reason why we came to Dudley to launch this campaign, because of course it was right here that the former Prime Minister, or former, former Prime Minister to be accurate, gave his big ‘levelling-up’ speech,” Sir Keir said.

And on Thursday Sir Keir accused the former PM and his successors of having “preyed on people’s hopes”.

He said: “People say to me, the worst thing you can do in politics is to prey on peoples’ fear.

“Yet in some ways, preying on their hopes is just as bad. And that’s what the Tories did with levelling-up. Of course, it struck a chord. Of course – a town like Dudley wanted that hope to be real. Not just the promise of a better future – we all need that.

“It’s also how that project knowingly spoke to what towns like this have lost, the way of life that disappeared when the factories or pits closed. The community, the security, the ‘chest-out’ pride that grows when you are certain your contribution is respected.”

Sir Keir said levelling up is a “good ambition for Britain”, and promised to shift more control, from Westminster to local communities if Labour comes to power. “It needs an end to politics that is done to communities, not with them,” the Labour leader said.

He added: “No more political hero complexes, no more fantasies, no more easy answers that require nobody – politicians or people – to lift a finger.

“Change comes from us all. I mean that. The Tory era of politics as performance art is coming to an end.”

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Sir Keir accused Mr Sunak of “bottling” a May contest, saying that he “wants one last, drawn-out summer tour with his beloved helicopter”.

And he repeated calls for the PM to “set the date” of the general election, amid feverish speculation about when voters will head to the polls.

“The dithering must stop, the date must be set. Britain wants change, and it’s time for change with Labour,” Sir Keir said.

He was also quizzed about deputy leader Ms Rayner amid increasing scrutiny over the 2015 sale of her council house.

Critics have called for her to publish the tax advice which she said has made her confident that she did “nothing wrong”, brushing off claims that she may have broken electoral law over information she gave about her living situation a decade ago.

But Sir Keir said she has his “full support and full confidence, today and every day”, adding that she has “answered I don’t know how many questions about this… she has not broken any rules”.

Sir Keir was also asked about his decision to praise former Tory PMs Margaret Thatcher and Mr Johnson.

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He said he was speaking about leaders “who had a sense of mission, a driving purpose”. “Thatcher did very destructive things across the country, including the Black Country, people are still paying a price,” he said. But he added that it is “important to distinguish between leaders who have a driving sense of purpose… and those that drift”.

“As for Boris Johnson, hands up, I’m no fan… to tap into something like levelling up… promising it would all change without a slogan and not having a viable plan… that is why people don’t believe their politicians and that is why everybody was pleased to see the back of him,” Sir Keir added.

And, in an attack on Mr Sunak, he accused the prime minister of lacking any purpose. “What is the driving philosophy of Rishi Sunak apart from survival… he is just treading water, waiting and waiting, he knows the country wants change,” the Labour leader said.

Michael Gove said said Sir Keir “couldn’t be more wrong” about the Government failing to deliver its levelling-up agenda.

The Levelling Up Secretary told broadcasters: “We are the party that’s been leading on levelling up for years now. The areas of the country in the Midlands and the North that Labour neglected for decades have had an infusion of cash and a power surge thanks to this Conservative Government.

“We’re the people who’ve given power to mayors in the Tees Valley and in the West Midlands, who’ve had a decisive impact on raising wages, levering in investment, empowering local communities.

“Labour are late to this game and also they come with nothing new to say. No new money, no new powers, no plan at all.”

And Tory chairman Richard Holden hit back at the “sheer audacity” of Sir Keir to campaign in the West Midlands after the Labour-run Birmingham council effectively declared itself bankrupt.

Mr Holden added: “Across the country from Wales to London, wherever they’re in charge Labour mean the same thing: higher taxes and worse public services.

“Labour’s lack of a plan left Birmingham high and dry and local taxpayers to pick up the can. With no plan for Britain, we can’t let Labour take the country back to square one; like they’ve done to the people of Birmingham.”