I’m prepared to make enemies to grow the economy, Starmer says in BBC interview
As you saw for yourself, Sir Keir Starmer is frustrated by the
constant reminders of what he said five years ago.
He says that over that time
he’s listened to what voters were telling his party after its worst defeat in
decades. He has decided to put country before party. He has, in other words,
changed his mind, not just what he’s saying.
The toughest questions he now faces are those posed by
independent and respected economists who praise his desire for growth and
willingness, as he tells me, to “make enemies” along the way. But they warn progress could be slow.
It is
the boss of the Institute of Fiscal Studies which has warned of the need to cut
£18bn from public spending, describing Labour’s promises on schools and
hospitals as “tiny”, if not trivial.
Labour’s pledge to hire 6,500 new teachers is the equivalent to one new
teacher for every three schools. The promise of two million extra NHS
appointments a year represents an increase in NHS spending of less than 1%. This is small fiscal change. Starmer insists it’s just a first step.
Sir Keir wishes more time was spent explaining and
analysing what he is now saying and less on what he once said.
My experience
reporting politics for the last few decades is that prime ministers are shaped
by what they don’t know lies ahead – a war, a pandemic, a banking crisis or
strikes – so what matters as much as what is in an election sales brochure is
what the instincts and values are of the person at the top.
Published at Fri, 14 Jun 2024 03:44:39 +0000