Sir Keir Starmer will play a “four nations” card today in an attempt to unite the UK, but warn that decisions for the economy are “not cost-free or easy”.
The Prime Minister will use his key speech to the Labour conference to present himself as a unifier against the forces of division, with a clear attack on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK which is now his principal challenger.
Sir Keir is expected to set a course for renewing Britain as the country “stands at a fork in the road between renewal and decline, between decency and division”.
He will reference the recent flying of flags around the country that some see as symbols of patriotism and others as a sign of a divided nation.
“I’m not just proud of the Union Jack and the cross of St. George, I’m also proud of the Saltire, proud of the Red Dragon, proud of our union,” he will say.
“This astonishing relationship between four great nations, four different nations, but four nations that time and again have been through the fire, together, built so much, together. A country forged by the solidarity of working people.
“So let’s fly all our flags, because they are our flags, they belong to us all and we will never surrender them.”
He adds: “This is the time for bringing the whole country together. That’s how we will fight next year’s elections, as patriots of our great nations. That’s who we are, who Eluned is, who Anas is, what we stand for. A campaign to renew Wales, renew Scotland and Renew Britain.
“No matter how many people tell me it can’t be done, I believe Britain can come together. We can pursue a shared destination. We can unite around a common good. That’s my ambition, the purpose of this Government. End decline, reform our public services, grow our economy from the grassroots.”
ir Keir is expected to warn that his plan for renewal does not come without hard choices and that the road to growth will not be smooth.
After the Chancellor yesterday dropped strong hints of more tax rises, Sir Keir will be eager to claim the sacrifices will result in a stronger economy and a united country.
“We can all see our country faces a choice, a defining choice,” he says. “Britain stands at a fork in the road. We can choose decency. Or we can choose division. Renewal or decline. A country – proud of its values, in control of its future or one that succumbs, against the grain of our history, to the politics of grievance.
“It is a test. A fight for the soul of our country, every bit as big as rebuilding Britain after the war, and we must all rise to this challenge. And yet we need to be clear that our path, the path of renewal, it’s long, it’s difficult, it requires decisions that are not cost-free or easy. Decisions – that will not always be comfortable for our party
“Yet at the end of this hard road there will be a new country, a fairer country, a land of dignity and respect. Everyone seen, everyone valued, wealth creation in every single community, working people in control of their public services, the mindless bureaucracy, that chokes enterprise, removed – so we can build and keep on building.”
SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn said: “Less than a year after sweeping to power and promising “change”, the public have already seen through Keir Starmer and now his own party is rapidly coming to the same conclusion.
“Keir Starmer promised stability, but has served up more chaos – the Labour Party is now divided, distracted and has completely lost control of the cost of living crisis.
“It is ironic and pretty desperate that Keir Starmer is now wrapping himself in no less than four flags, but even that won’t cushion the fall as his popularity hits rock bottom.
“If Keir Starmer actually had any respect for Scotland, our saltire and our democracy, he would stop denying our people the right to choose a future beyond the doom loop of broken, Brexit Britain.
“Last year people put their trust in Keir Starmer and he has broken promise after promise – it is little wonder that more and more Scots are now being persuaded that independence is the fresh start that Scotland needs.”
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