Sir Keir Starmer hints at years of tax rises during downbeat speech

Sir Keir Starmer warned Britain must 'turn up our collar and face the storm' today as he hinted at years of tax rises and 'unpopular' decisions.

The Prime Minister's downbeat speech to Labour's annual conference in Liverpool called for 'patience' in the wake of his landslide general election victory.

And he admitted that his 'long-term project' to 'rebuild' Britain would take years of 'shared struggle'.

Sir Keir hinted at tax rises to come – possibly as soon as next month's Budget – suggesting that low taxes were incompatible with good public services until Britain's finances are fixed and economic growth has improved.

He braced the country for a string of measures, including granting asylum to thousands of Channel migrants, building on the green belt and the construction of new prisons and hundreds of miles of electricity pylons.

And he insisted ministers were ready to intervene to 'take back control' in areas where markets are failing to deliver, including migration, climate change and employment rights. 

Labour sources had suggested Sir Keir would use his speech to lift the gloom that has hung over the Government's early pronouncements and which has been blamed for undermining consumer and business confidence.

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But the PM, though he made a fleeting reference to a 'light at the end of the tunnel', focused heavily on the 'tough' choices facing his new team of ministers – and he even claimed: 'Britain is no longer sure of itself. Our story is uncertain, the hope beaten out of us.'

The PM said the radical changes would eventually produce 'a Britain that belongs to you'.

But warning of tough times ahead, he added: 'We will turn our collar up and face the storm. We will rise above the challenges that we've inherited.' 

In the first conference speech by a Labour Prime Minister for 15 years, Sir Keir also:

• Acknowledged his controversial decision to scrap the winter fuel payment for ten million pensioners had dented public faith but insisted it must go ahead;
• Dodged any reference to the controversy over the thousands of pounds worth of freebies taken by him and his senior ministers;
• Unveiled a plan to prioritise housing for homeless veterans and domestic abuse victims.

Sir Keir gave no direct details about the contents of next month's Budget but he suggested taxes will have to rise to pay for a plan to 'rebuild public services'.

He added: 'Just because we all want low taxes and good public services that does not mean that the iron law of properly funding policies can be ignored. I will not let Tory economic recklessness hold back the working people.'

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In a hint that the middle classes will bear the heaviest burden, he said the cost of filling an alleged £22billion 'black hole' left in the accounts by the Tories would be 'shared fairly' as pockets of 'working people' are 'not deep at all'.

In another signal that Labour is willing to raise taxes rather than control public spending, he stated there would be 'no return to Tory austerity'. The PM also insisted Labour will not abide opposition to its plans.

He added: 'If we want justice to be served, some communities must live close to new prisons.

'If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud. Do everything we can to tackle worklessness. If we want cheaper electricity, we need new pylons overground. If we want home ownership to be a credible aspiration for our children, every community has a duty to contribute.

'If we want to tackle illegal migration, we can't pretend there is a magical process that allows you to return people here unlawfully without accepting that process will also grant asylum.'

Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick claimed the PM was already 'too distracted with sleaze, infighting and chaos in Downing Street'. He added: 'This was the speech of a Prime Minister at the end of his five-year term, not three months in. Sir Keir is already a busted flush – a Mr Grey, with a dour plan for the UK.'