The Speech Starmer Could Have Given

"Fourteen years of Conservative mismanagement – and the self-inflicted wound of Brexit – have left our country weaker. Our economy is stagnant, our NHS under strain, our schools and courts underfunded, and every family has felt the consequences. I understand why many of you have stopped voting, or turned to easy answers in frustration. You’ve been told politics can’t change anything. But it can.

"Let’s be honest about the challenges. Any government – Labour, Conservative, Reform, anyone – faces the same structural problems:

• billions wasted each year just to pay the interest on our debt,
• a smaller tax base because Brexit has shrunk trade and investment,
• productivity stuck at the same level since 2008,
• public services hollowed out by years of austerity,
• an ageing population that increases costs for pensions and the NHS,
• and the unavoidable need to modernise our energy and infrastructure for a world shaped by climate change.

"That is the reality. Nigel Farage won’t tell you this. Instead, he’ll offer a quick fix – tax cuts without costings, slogans without solutions. But it’s the political equivalent of mainlining heroin because the paracetamol hasn’t worked quickly enough. It may feel like a rush, but the crash will be devastating – and the first casualties will be the public services you rely on.

"Labour offers something better. Not a fantasy. Not a quick fix. But the steady, practical rebuilding of Britain:

• investment in green jobs that pay well and cut bills,
• action to bring down NHS waiting times,
• affordable housing and planning reform to give the next generation a fair start,
• stability in government so businesses can invest without fear of another crash.

"It won’t be flashy. It won’t always be fast. But it will be real. And it will work. And it’s the only option.

"So if you’ve never voted, or if you’ve stopped, I ask you now: lend us your vote. Not for me, but for you, your family, your community, and the future we can build together.

"Thank you.

"Now let’s get to work – and let’s rebuild Britain together."