Keir Starmer To Warn Of More Pain To Come But Insist There Is 'Light At The End Of The Tunnel'

Keir Starmer will today warn voters that there is more pain to come - but pledge that it will be worth it to “build a new Britain”.

The prime minister will deliver the tough message in his keynote speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool.

Starmer is under huge pressure from his MPs to deliver a more upbeat message after a difficult first two-and-a-half months in power.

The conference has also been largely overshadowed by the ongoing row over the freebies accepted by the Labour leader and other senior party figures.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to axe winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners has also led to intense criticism of the government, not least from Labour’s trade union backers.

Attempting to turn the page on those controversies, the PM will call on the people of Britain to work with him to turn around the country’s fortunes.

He will say: “The politics of national renewal are collective. They involve a shared struggle.

“A project that says, to everyone, this will be tough in the short-term, but in the long-term - it’s the right thing to do for our country. And we all benefit from that.”

Starmer - who has previously warned that “things will get worse before we get better” and that next month’s Budget will be “painful” - will add: “The truth is that if we take tough long-term decisions now ... then that light at the end of this tunnel, that Britain that belongs to you, we get there much more quickly.” 

The prime minister will say that he does not want to give the country “false hope” about what lies ahead, and once again lay the blame for the country’s problems on the legacy left by the Tories.

He will said: “It will be hard. That’s not rhetoric, it’s reality. It’s not just that financial black hole, the £22 billion of unfunded spending commitments, concealed from our country by the Tories, it’s not just the societal black hole – our decimated public services leaving communities held together by little more than good will - it’s also the political black hole.

“Just because we all want low taxes and good public services does not mean that the iron law of properly funding policies can be ignored.

“We have the seen the damage that does, and I will not let that happen again. I will not let Tory economic recklessness hold back the working people of this country.”

Setting out his long-term vision for the UK, Starmer will say: “Through the power unleashed by renewal, we can build a country that gives equal voice to every person.

“A country that won’t expect you to change who you are, just to get on. A country that doesn’t just work for you and your family, but one that recognises you, sees you, and respects you as part of our story. A Britain that belongs to you.”