Keir Starmer urges voters to finish years of Tory chaos and self curiosity

Keir Starmer has urged voters to end years of disastrous Tory rule and choose stability under Labour.

Starmer said the election was a question of: “Who’s side are you on?” and promised to put the needs of working people at the heart of every decision after Labour win power on July 4.

In his first major campaign speech, the Labour leader vowed to stand up for working people, promising he could be trusted on the economy and on national security. Speaking in Lancing Parish Hall, West Sussex, Mr Starmer made an appeal to undecided voters.

He said: “The choice is yours. You can stop the chaos, you can turn the page, you can join with us, and together we can rebuild our country.” Voters faced a choice between “service or self-interest, stability or chaos, a Labour Party that has changed, or a Tory Party that has run away from the mainstream”.

Mr Starmer said he had “dragged” the Labour Party back to service. He said: “I will do exactly the same for Westminster.” Outlining his plans for government, Mr Starmer said he would cut NHS waiting lists by offering 40,000 extra appointments, tackle anti-social behaviour with 13,000 more neighbourhood police and support officers, and deliver a publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy.

But he said: “Elections are about more than individual changes and policies, but about values, temperament, character and a bigger question – whose side are you on? Who do you hold in your mind’s eye when you are making decisions? Everything I have fought for has been shaped by my life. Every change I have made to this party has been about a cause, the answer to that question, the only answer: The working people of this country, delivering on their aspirations, earning their respect, serving their interests.”

As he campaigned in the East Worthing and Shoreham constituency, Mr Starmer said his party could overturn the Tories’ 7,000 majority and said Rishi Sunak had no fight left in him to stand up to his party, accusing the Tories of “desperate” campaign tactics.

At the weekend, the Tories tried to copy Donald Trump’s playbook with insults, calling Mr Starmer “sleepy” and “weary”. Trump, 77, calls his opponent Joe Biden, 81, “Sleepy Joe”.

A defiant Mr Starmer said: “You’ve seen the energy that not only I, but the whole team, are putting into this election. We’ve been waiting for this for four years. I’ve had a smile on my face since January 1, 2024 because I knew this was to be an election year. I’ve wasted nine years of my life in opposition. I’ve worked four and half years to change this Labour Party and now I have the chance to take that to the country. We’re doing that not only with energy, but also with a smile, with positivity.”

Mr Sunak was last night forced to distance himself from the attacks on Mr Starmer. He said: “Substance is what matters in this election.”

Mr Starmer mocked the Tories’ chaotic plan for mandatory National Service for 18-year-olds, saying it amounted to a “teenage dad’s army”. He said the policy would be funded by cancelling levelling-up funding, and money from tax avoidance that Labour would invest in the NHS.

Mr Starmer said: “All elections are a choice and this is a clear one: levelling up and the NHS with Labour. Or more desperate chaos with the Tories. That is the choice.”

And he hit out at Mr Sunak for claiming the economy had turned a corner, accusing him of disrespecting voters who were struggling with sky-high bills and mortgages. The Labour leader said working people had paid the price for Liz Truss’s time as PM.

Mr Starmer told how he had met a couple in Wolverhampton with a three-year-old who wanted a second child. He said: “They found a new house that they could move into. They got a mortgage offer they could afford. They were looking forward to the next step in their life. Liz Truss crashed the economy, their mortgage offer went through the roof, they had to pull out of the sale.

“But they also took a more profound decision. They decided they could no longer afford a second child. They will live with the consequences of that for the rest of their lives. That is the price that they paid. How do you think working people feel when the Prime Minister says we’ve turned a corner?”

Secret Tory papers

Rishi Sunak has been ordered to publish secret papers showing the impact of his Universal Credit cut.

As Chancellor he ignored pleas from activists, including Marcus Rashford, by axing the £20-per-week uplift brought in during the pandemic in 2020.

The government had refused to release an analysis examining the impact of not extending the support in 2021. It said it would “not be in the public interest due to the harm it would cause to policy development and delivering for welfare benefit claimants”.

In a Mirror victory, the Information Commissioners’ Office has now ordered the Treasury to disclose the details by June 21 – two weeks before the election.

The support was axed despite warnings that removing it may plunge 800,000 people into poverty. Six ex-Tory Work and Pensions Secretaries wrote to Mr Sunak urging him to make the Universal Credit rise permanent.

Lib Dem Wendy Chamberlain said: “This is a shocking cover-up and proof Ministers are hiding the truth.” The Treasury did not comment due to the pre-election period.

Voting IDs

Keir Starmer said Labour will “look again” at controversial photo ID rules but hinted it is not a priority.

Introduced by the Tories in 2022, the policy means voters must show ID at the ballot box or risk being turned away from polling stations. Concerns have been raised that thousands could be denied a vote at the General Election – the first nationwide test of the rules.

Asked by The Mirror whether he would repeal the policy, Mr Starmer said: “We will look at this.” But the Labour leader conceded he had no “great plans” and warned his priority would be fixing the crisis-hit NHS and growing the economy. Mr Starmer also ruled out giving EU citizens the right to vote in general elections.

Last year Mr Starmer said it felt “wrong” not to allow those who live and pay taxes in the UK to cast their ballot, but insisted it was “no settled policy”. Asked whether he could rule it out yesterday, he replied: “Yes.”

Reeves hits out

Rachel Reeves will today accuse Rishi Sunak of gambling on an early General Election because his economic plan is failing.

In her first major speech of the campaign, the Shadow Chancellor will say: “If we can bring business back to Labour, I know we can bring business back to Britain.”

She will accuse the Tories of having let national debt more than double, with the average mortgage holder now paying £240 more a month. The 45-year-old will say: “The Conservatives have failed the economy. The plan isn’t working. And Rishi Sunak’s decision to call an early election is the clearest sign of that. If he doesn’t believe his plan is working, why should you?”

Last week, it was reported the PM decided to call the surprise vote on July 4 after he was told there was no room for major tax cuts in the autumn months. One Whitehall source said: “There wouldn’t have been any money left for a people-pleasing budget with meaningful tax cuts.”

Ms Reeves will urge voters to use the General Election to “pass judgement on 14 years of chaos”.