Starmer: Labour have done 'more in seven weeks than the Tories did in seven years'
Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that his Government has done more in seven weeks than the Tory government did in seven years.In a speech from Downing Street’s rose garden, the Prime Minister said: “I said before the election, and I say it again really clearly today, growth – and frankly, by that, I do mean wealth creation – is the number one priority of this Labour Government.
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00:00When I stood on the steps of Downing Street, just over there, two months ago,
00:07I promised that this government would serve people like you.
00:13Apprentices, teachers, nurses, small business owners, firefighters.
00:19Those serving our community and our country every day.
00:24I promised that we would get a grip on the problems that we face
00:29and that we would be judged by our actions, not by our words.
00:35I said before the election, and I say it again really clearly today,
00:40growth, and frankly by that I do mean wealth creation,
00:45is the number one priority of this Labour government.
00:50And that's why, in our first few weeks, we've set up the National Wealth Fund,
00:56because we want every person and every community to benefit.
01:01It's why we've unlocked planning decisions,
01:04because we're going to build 1.5 million new homes.
01:08It's why we set up Great British Energy, to create good jobs and cut people's bills.
01:15And it's why we ended the national strikes that have crippled our country for years,
01:22because I defy anyone to tell me that you can grow the economy
01:28when people can't get to work because the transport system is broken,
01:33or can't return to work because they're stuck on an NHS waiting list.
01:38We've done more in seven weeks than the last government did in seven years.
01:45And these are just the first steps towards the change that people voted for,
01:50the change that I'm determined to deliver.
01:54But before the election I also gave a warning.
01:58I said change would not happen overnight.
02:02When there's a deep rot at the heart of a structure,
02:07you can't just cover it up, you can't just tinker or rely on quick fixes.
02:13You have to overhaul the entire thing, tackle it at root.
02:19Even if it's hard at work and takes more time.
02:24Because otherwise, what happens?
02:27The rot returns in all the same places and it spreads worse than before.
02:35You know that, I know that.
02:38And that's why this project has always been about fixing the foundations of our country.
02:46But I have to be honest with you.
02:49Things are worse than we ever imagined.
02:53In the first few weeks we discovered a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
03:00And before anyone says, oh this is just performative or playing politics,
03:06let's remember the OBR did not know about it.
03:12They wrote a letter setting that out.
03:15And they didn't know because the last government hid it.
03:19And even last Wednesday, just last Wednesday,
03:23we found out that thanks to the last government's recklessness,
03:27we borrowed almost £5 billion more than the OBR expected in the last three months alone.
03:36That's not performative, that's fact.