Prime Ministers Office 10 Downing Street
PM Keir Starmer gives a speech on fixing the foundations of our country
When I stood on the steps of Downing Street - just over there - two months ago.
I promised this government would serve people like you.
Apprentices. Teachers. Nurses. Small business owners. Firefighters.
Those serving our community and our country every day.
I promised that we would get a grip on the problems we face.
And that we would be judged by our actions, not by our words.
I said before the election - and I say it again really clearly today:
Growth.
And, frankly, by that I do mean wealth creation
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is the number one priority of thisgovernment.
Thats why, in our first few weeks, we set up the National Wealth Fund
because we want every person and every community to benefit.
Its why weve unlocked planning decisions
Because we are going to build 1.5 million new homes.
Its why weve set up Great British Energy
To create good jobs and cut peoples bills.
And its why we ended the national strikes that have crippled our country foryears.
Because I defy anyone to tell me that you can grow the economy
when people cant get to work because the transport system is broken.
Or cant return to work because theyre stuck on an NHS waiting list.
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And these are just the first steps towards the change that people voted for.
The change Im determined to deliver.
But before the election I also gave a warning.
I said change would not happen overnight.
When there is deep rot in the heart of a structure, you cant just cover it up.
You cant tinker with it or rely on quick fixes.
You have to overhaul the entire thing.
Tackle it at root.
Even if its harder work and takes more time.
Because otherwise what happens?
The rot returns.
In all the same places.
And it spreads.
Worse than before.
You know that I know that.
Thats why this project has always been about fixing thefoundationsof this country.
But I have to be honest with you.
Things are worse than we ever imagined.
In the first few weeks, we discovered a 22 billion black hole in the public finances.
And before anyone says oh this is just performative.
Or playing politics.
Lets remember.
The OBR did not know about this.
They didnt know.
They wrote a letter saying they didnt know.
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Even just last Wednesday, we found out that
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We borrowed almost 5 billion more than the OBR expected in the last three months alone.
Thats not performative thats fact.
But as well as the things weve discovered, weve also seen shocking scenes across the nation.
A mindless minority of thugs who thought they could get away with causing chaos.
Smashing up communities and terrifying minorities.
Vandalising and destroying peoples property.
Even trying to set fire to a building with human beings inside it.
And as if that wasnt despicable enough.
People displaying swastika tattoos.
Shouting racist slurs on our streets.
Nazi salutes at the cenotaph
The cenotaph - the very place we honour those who gave their lives for this country.
Desecrating their memory.
Under the pretence and it is a pretence - of legitimate protest.
Now theyre learning that crime has consequences.
That I wont tolerate a break down in law and order under any circumstances.
And I will not listen to those who exploit grieving families, and disrespect local communities.
But these riots didnt happen in a vacuum.
They exposed the state of our country.
Revealed a deeply unhealthy society.
The cracks in our foundation laid bare
Weakened by a decade of division and decline.
Infected by a spiral of populism
Which fed off cycles of failures
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Stuck in the rut of the politics of performance.
And I saw the beginning of that downward spiral firsthand.
Back in 2011.
When riots ripped through London and across the country.
I was then Director of Public Prosecutions.
And when I think back to that time.
I see just how far we have fallen.
Because responding to those riots was hard of course it was.
But dealing with the riots this summer was much harder.
In 2011, I didnt doubt the courts could do what they needed to do.
This time to be honest with you - I genuinely didnt know.
Let me tell you this. Every day of that disorder literally every day - we had to check the precise number of prison places we had and where those places were.
To make sure wecouldarrest, charge and prosecute people quickly.
Not having enough prison places is about as fundamental a failure as you can get.
And those people throwing rocks, torching cars, making threats.
They didnt just know the system was broken.
They werebettingon it.
Gamingit.
They thought ah, theyll never arrest me.
And if they do, I wont be prosecuted.
And if I am, I wont get much of a sentence.
They saw the cracks in our society after 14 years of populism and failure - and they exploited them.
Thats what we have inherited.
Not just an economic black hole.
A societal black hole.
And thats we have to take action and do things differently.
And part of that is being honest with people about the choices we face.
AndHow tough this will be.
And frankly things will get worse before they get better.
I didnt want to release prisoners early.
I was Chief Prosecutor for five years.
It goes against the grain of everything Ive ever done.
But to be blunt if we hadnt taken that difficult decision immediately.
We wouldnt have been able to respond to the riots as we did.
And if we dont take tough action across the board.
We wont be able to fix the foundations of the country as we need.
I didnt want to means test the Winter Fuel Payment.
But it was a choice we had to make.
A choice to protect the most vulnerable pensioners.
while doing what is necessary to repair the public finances.
Because pensioners also rely on a functioning NHS.
Good public transport.
Strong national infrastructure.
They want their children to be able to buy homes.
They want their grandchildren to get a good education.
So we have made that difficult decision
To mend the public finances.
Soeveryonebenefits in the long term
Including pensioners.
Now that is a difficult trade off.
And there will be more to come.
I wont shy away from making unpopular decisions now
If its the right thing for the country in the long term.
Thats what a government of service means.
This shouldnt be a country where people fear walking down their street.
Their TVs showing cars and buildings being set on fire.
This shouldnt be a country where the Prime Minister cant guarantee prison places.
This shouldnt be a country where people are paying thousands more on their mortgage.
Or waiting months for hospital appointments they desperately need.
Where our waters are filled with sewage.
Where parents worry that their kids wont get the opportunities they did.
Where nothing seems to work anymore.
So, when I talk about the inheritance the last government left us
The 22 billion black hole in our finances
This isnt about a line on a graph.
Thats about peoples lives.
Yourlives.
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This government wont always be perfect, but I promise you this:
Youwill be at the heart of it
In the forefront of our minds
At the centre of everything we do.
Thats why I wanted to invite you here today.
To show that decent, hard-working people who make up the backbone of this country belong here.
This government is for you.
A garden and a building that were once used for lockdown parties
Remember the pictures just over there? With the wine and the food.
Well this garden
And this building
are now back inyourservice.
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Those things happened preciselybecausethe government itself lost its focus.
on the hopes and ambitions of working people.
During those recent riots, I made huge asks
of the police and of the criminal justice system -
People already stretched to the limit.
They knew I was mak