‘Britain will be higher than this – vote for change, vote for Labour’

Today you have the chance to vote for change.

You have the chance to vote for hope. You have the chance to vote for a better future. Only Labour is offering the country a way forward. Only Labour can fix our public services, usher in a new age of prosperity and restore this nation’s pride.

The alternative does not bear thinking about. The country could not withstand another five years of Conservative rule. A party which has done so much damage in the last 14 years would visit only more ruination, scandal, division and poverty on the United Kingdom.

At this election, the Tories will be judged on their actions and they will be found ­unanimously guilty.

They will be guilty of making people poorer, guilty of weakening our defences, guilty of greed, corruption, law-breaking and neglect. Their record in office should never be forgotten, nor should it be forgiven. When you cast your vote today, remember the country when Labour left power in 2010 and compare it with the country we have now.

Remember there was a time when satisfaction with NHS was at a record high and the situation now where the only record high is the number on the waiting list. Remember there was a time under Labour when the young were looked after in sure start centres, child poverty was close to being abolished and families were supported through tax credits.

And then look at the situation now where more than 14 million people, including four million kids, are living below the breadline, where foodbanks are handing out a record number of parcels and where too many pensioners are forced to choose between heating and eating.

Look at your local area and ask if it has got better in the last 14 years. Everywhere can be seen the scars left by austerity from the boarded up shops, the closed signs on libraries, leisure centres and police stations to the potholes in the roads. An estimated 12 million people cannot see an NHS dentist. Our seas, rivers and waters are contaminated by sewage. Thousands of bus routes have been axed. Crimes go unreported, yet prisoners are freed early. Trains are overpriced, overcrowded and unreliable.

This is the legacy of a Conservative Party that has broken Britain. It is the legacy of a party which has overseen the steepest fall in living standards and the highest rise in taxes since the Second World War.

By every measure they have failed, but what makes the failure so galling, so hard to digest, is the arrogant way they have governed. They divided the country by calling a referendum on Brexit and then signed a botched deal that has left us weaker and poorer. They gave us the austerity government of David Cameron, the feeble tenure of Theresa May and then the morally bankrupt days of Boris Johnson.

Never forget they partied while the rest of us were following the rules. Never forget they handed billions of pounds of contracts to their cronies during Covid. And never forget they elected Liz Truss as leader. People are still paying the price for her disastrous mini-Budget today in the form of higher rents and mortgages.

There has been no apology for the pain and hardship they have inflicted. No sign of remorse for the way they demeaned office, eroded public trust and broke the law. Nor has there been any regret for the chaos which has seen four Prime Ministers, five Chancellors and five Education Secretaries in as many years.

The only plan from Rishi Sunak is more of the same. It will be more years of sluggish growth, more cuts to public services and more weak leadership. If the Prime Minister cannot make the right call on attending the D-Day commemorations why should anyone trust him to make the right call on any other issue?

The seriousness, dedication and purpose of Keir Starmer ’s Labour has never been more needed. This is a very different Labour party to the one which contested the last three elections. It is in tune with a country which is crying out for change. In place of the shambolic rule of the last 14 years, Labour promises to restore professionalism and stability to government.

Instead of the entitlement of the Tories, Labour will seek to serve. Under Rachel Reeves‘ stewardship, they will restore the economy to health. There will be more appointments to reduce NHS waiting lists, more homes to help people have the security they deserve, more teachers so every child can flourish and more police on the streets so communities can once again feel safe. Great British Energy will help bring down fuel bills. The railways will be re-nationalised. School children will get support with mental health.

These are the first steps of a decade-long programme of national renewal. Rebuilding a nation from the rubble bequeathed by the Conservatives will take time. Mr Starmer has not sought to hide from voters the monumental task which lies ahead.

What he has done is give people hope. Once again people can see a brighter tomorrow. They can envisage a country at ease with itself. They can glimpse the time when things finally work again. They can see the prospect of secure, ­well-paid jobs that allow them to provide for their families. They can look to a day where once again they can be proud of their communities and their country.

Since 1945 the Mirror has urged readers to vote Labour at every general election but rarely have we given such a full-throated and unqualified endorsement as we do today.

A better future is possible. A better future means Labour.