Tories take swipe at ‘desperate and panicky’ Keir Starmer as PM prepares ‘relaunch’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has launched a scathing attack on Sir Keir Starmer’s planned government relaunch, describing it as a “desperate, panicky” attempt to reset after just five months in office.
Speaking on GB News this morning, Philp said Labour was “failing so desperately” in government.
“What we’re going to see today is essentially a desperate, panicky attempted relaunch by Keir Starmer of his government after only five months, because they are failing so desperately,” he told the People’s Channel.
The shadow Home Secretary pointed to Labour’s record on winter fuel payments, tax rises and trade union pay deals as evidence of what he called “a catastrophic start to government.”
Starmer is set to deliver his “plan for change” speech at 10:45am today from Buckinghamshire, accompanied by his cabinet.
The Prime Minister will outline ambitious “milestones” for achieving Labour’s five key missions, including a new neighbourhood policing guarantee.
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The relaunch comes as recent polling shows Labour’s support has dropped significantly since July, with an Ipsos survey finding 53 per cent of voters are “disappointed” with the Government’s performance.
Just 26 per cent of voters think Sir Keir is doing a good job as PM, compared with 45 per cent who believe he is doing badly.
The Prime Minister is expected to say: “People are tired of being promised the world, but short-term sticking plaster politics letting them down.”
Philp specifically targeted Labour’s policing announcement, claiming it was “bogus, dishonest and misleading.”
“He’s going to announce, I believe, 13,000 more police officers, but it turns out only 3,000 of those are actually new, and he’s not even giving the police enough money to pay for those new officers,” the Home Secretary said.
He warned that police forces would “have to cut something else, probably cut police numbers elsewhere, in order to deliver his promise.”
Labour’s plans include introducing a named, contactable police officer for every neighbourhood in England and Wales, supported by £100 million in funding.
Philp also criticised Labour’s agricultural policies, warning they would damage food security and increase prices.
“This terrible idea of Labour’s to attack farms is going to – it actually won’t just affect farmers. It’ll actually end up affecting all of us in the form of higher food prices,” he told GB News.
The Home Secretary pledged Conservative support for various groups he claimed were being “attacked” by Labour.
“We on the Conservative side are standing firmly with our farmers, just as we are standing with the pensioners who Labour have attacked, just as we’re standing with the businesses who Labour have attacked,” he said.