Keir Starmer seeks to convince British Labor they are ready to govern in first major speech

Keir Starmer will appeal to public confidence in his first major speech of the general election campaign on Monday, as he seeks to convince voters that Labor is ready to govern.

The Labor leader will say that although people are “fed up with the failure, chaos and decline” of the Conservative Party, there are still “countless” undecided voters.

“Whatever the polls say, I know that countless people have not decided how they will vote in this election,” he will say.

“They are fed up with the Conservatives’ failure, chaos and division, but they still have questions about us. Has the Labor Party changed enough? Do I trust them with my money, our borders and our security?

“My answer is yes, you can – because I changed this party. Permanently. This has been my driving mission since day one. I was determined to change the Labor Party so that it could serve the British people. »

Mr Starmer took over as Labor leader in 2020 after the party suffered its worst defeat since 1935.

“I took this Labor Party four years ago and turned it into the party you see today. I’ve been criticized for some of the changes I’ve made. Change is always like that,” he said.

“There are always people who say: don’t do that, don’t go so fast. But every time I find myself at a crossroads, I always come back to this: the golden thread: the country first, the party second. »

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the Conservative Party’s plan to restore national service if it wins power in the July 4 general election, in the first major policy announcement of the campaign.

He added that 18-year-olds would have the choice of joining the army full-time for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year “volunteering” in their community.

Mr Sunak said the policy would help unite society in an “increasingly uncertain world” and give young people a “shared sense of purpose”.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said 18-year-olds would not be forced to go to prison if they refused to carry out “compulsory” national service.

But the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, has not ruled out that parents could be liable to fines if their adult children refuse to participate in the national service plan proposed by the Conservatives.

She said the program would be compulsory in the same way as continuing education or training up to the age of 18.

Asked on Times Radio on Monday whether parents would face prosecution if their 18-year-olds refused to join the army or volunteer, she replied: “I’m not going to write the detailed policy now. This is what a royal commission work program will do.

Updated: May 27, 2024, 8:42 a.m.