In a speech on Monday May 11 that was billed as Sir Keir Starmer’s chance to win back the public and Labour MPs, the Prime Minister outlined what comes next for his party and Government.
For many the speech was far too vague, leaving people asking what the Labour leader had actually promised.
After the Prime Minister’s speech, Catherine West, who last week threatened to launch a leadership challenge against Sir Keir, backed down from her ultimatum but has instead called for him to set a leadership election timetable to end in September.
From MPs reactions after the speech, it appears Keir might have not done enough to win them back.
Here are five things we learned from his speech.
He is not going anywhere
Despite results that were a damning reflection of the public’s attitude towards the government and the Prime Minister, Sir Keir insisted that he is not going anywhere.
Speaking of his ‘responsibility to deliver change’ the Prime Minister pointed to the revolving door of leaders under the last Government which he argues ‘cost this country a huge amount’.
Reiterating his statement following Thursday’s elections, in which he said he was not going to stand down, Starmer said: “I take responsibility for not walking away, not plunging our country into chaos, as the Tories did.
“I know I have my doubters, and I know I need to prove them wrong, and I will.”
Not enough for Labour MPs
This speech marked Sir Keir’s last ditch effort to win back his MPs which, following last week’s election results, he sorely needed to get back on side.
But, he has not done enough.
According to the BBC 44 Labour MPs have publicly called on the Prime Minister to step down, with a further 20 openly criticising the premier.
Notably, former Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, told a conference in Bournemouth that it was wrong to block Andy Burnham from standing in a by-election earlier this year.
If he had been successful, this could have been a move that saw Burnham vie for the top position.
The government will nationalise British Steel
Sir Keir set out three avenues for getting the country back on track, with examples that he feels will embody Labour’s core value of ‘strength through fairness’.
The first was the announcement of legislation, brought in this week, which will give the Government powers to nationalise British Steel.
Speaking about this, Starmer said: “Urgent government on the side of working people, making Britain stronger with the hope of industrial renewal, that is a Labour choice.”
He is trying to attack Farage over Brexit
The Prime Minister started off the EU section of his speech by discussing Nigel Farage’s involvement in Brexit.
Sir Keir said: “He said it would make us richer, wrong.
“He said it would reduce migration, wrong.
“And now he’ll talk about almost anything other than the consequences of the one policy he actually delivered.
“He’s not just a grifter, he’s a chancer.”
Starmer announced a direction change in EU policy, saying that this Labour government will rebuild the country’s relationship with Europe by putting Britan ‘at the heart’ of Europe.
However, it is not clear what this will entail with the Prime Minister falling far short of giving the public an obvious path forward.
He also failed to outline what ‘at the heart’ of Europe means, and did not touch on what this will mean practically for Britain.
He made a vague offer of help for younger voters
The Prime Minister finished by focusing on Britain’s younger people, announcing a youth experience scheme which will be at the core of the Government’s new arrangement with the EU.
This will allow youngsters to work, study and live in Europe.
He also promised further investments in schemes targeted at young adults, investing in apprenticeships, technical excellence colleges, and special educational needs.
Sir Keir said: “We will make sure that every young person struggling to find a job will get a guaranteed offer of a job, training, or work placement.”
But he did not outline how the government will achieve this.
