Since coming to power in July, Labour has sought to emphasise the challenges it faces in government and blame Tory ministers for failing to address those problems prior to the election.
In his speech, Sir Keir claimed things were “worse than we ever imagined” and accused the Conservatives of creating a £22bn black hole in the public finances – something the Tories strongly deny.
He also said the previous government had “failed to be honest” adding: “They offered the snake oil of populism which led to more failure – round and round and round.”
He argued that people who took part in the recent riots “saw the cracks in our society after 14 years of failure and they exploited them”.
Looking to the future, Sir Keir said “tough action” would be needed to “fix the foundations of the country”.
He repeated his pledge, made during the election campaign, that the government would not raise National Insurance, income tax or VAT.
His Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has made similar promises but said she thinks some taxes will rise and has not ruled out an increase in inheritance tax, capital gains tax, or reforming tax relief on pensions.
The government has already announced some cost-cutting measures including scrapping a planned cap on social care payments and withdrawing the winter fuel allowance from 10 million pensioners.
One Labour backbencher told the BBC their inbox has been full of people worried about the decision to end universal winter fuel payments for pensioners in particular – but that “people will understand” the thinking behind it after listening to Keir Starmer.
Some Conservatives have criticised the government’s decision to award pay rises to public sector workers while restricting access to the winter fuel allowance.
Defending the decision, Sir Keir said “simply allowing national strikes to go and on and not resolving them was costing the country a fortune”.
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