UPDATE: PM to put UK at 'heart of Europe'; nationalise British Steel
Keir Starmer vowed to prove his ‘doubters’ wrong as he fought back against calls for him to quit.
The UK prime minister said his party would ‘be better and do better’ as he took responsibility for Labour’s electoral mauling across England, Scotland and Wales last week.
Describing the election results as ‘tough’, he told an audience in central London: ‘I get it, I feel it, and I take responsibility.
‘But it’s not just about taking responsibility for the results. It’s about taking responsibility to explain how, as a political and electoral force, we will be better and do better in the months and years ahead.’
He added: ‘I know I have my doubters, and I know I need to prove them wrong, and I will.’
Starmer also issued a warning to his party, saying Britain was ‘not just facing dangerous times, but dangerous opponents, very dangerous opponents’.
He said: ‘This hurts, not just because Labour has done badly, but because if we don’t get this right, our country will go down a very dark path.’
Starmer’s speech on Monday was billed as setting out sweeping changes to tackle the ‘big challenges’ confronting the UK in a bid to shore up support for his premiership.
The prime minister pledged to go further in his ‘reset’ in relations with the EU, saying his government would be defined by putting Britain at the ‘heart of Europe’.
He pledged to deliver ‘an ambitious youth experience scheme’ with the EU so that ‘our young people can work and study and live in Europe, a symbol of a stronger relationship and a fairer future with our closest allies’.
Domestically, Starmer pledged to bring forward new legislation to nationalise British Steel, saying a commercial sale of its Scunthorpe steel works had not been possible since the government took over the running of the plant last year.
And he vowed to block ‘far-right agitators’ from coming to the UK for a march planned on Saturday, saying the demonstration was ‘designed to confront and intimidate’.
The prime minister’s speech comes after a weekend of speculation about potential leadership challenges, with former minister Catherine West suggesting she would launch an attempt to topple Starmer if a Cabinet member did not step forward instead.
Starmer said he would fight any leadership challenge, saying he would not ‘walk away’.
But he refused to be drawn on whether he would support an attempt by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to return to Parliament, saying it was up to Labour’s ruling national executive committee.
The NEC, dominated by supporters of the prime minister, blocked Burnham’s bid to stand for the party earlier this year in the Gorton and Denton by-election that eventually saw Labour fall into third place behind the Greens and Reform UK.
By Press Association Political Staff
Press Association: News
source: PA
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