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       Watch live as Keir Starmer delivers first major speech of 2022

       Keir Starmer has said the government’s “incompetence” is becoming plain, while setting out a vision of “security, prosperity and respect” for the UK in his first large speech of 2022

       The Labour leader’s address in Birmingham on Tuesday comes as his party leads the Conservatives in the polls, following the sleaze scandals that gripped the government at the end of last year.

       Mr Starmer said that the Tories are “unworthy” of the public’s trust, given its handling of issues such as the cost of living crisis.

       “I am well aware that just because the Tories lose the public’s trust it doesn’t mean Labour simply inherits it. Trust has to be earned. I am confident but not complacent about the task ahead,” he added.

       Ahead of the speech, Oliver Dowden, the Conservative party chairman, dismissed Mr Starmer’s anticipated remarks as "out of touch".

       Recommended Boris Johnson ‘did not isolate after contact with aide who tested positive for Covid’ ‘Serious’ Keir Starmer to attack Boris Johnson as ‘branch of entertainment industry’ in New Year speech Boris Johnson ‘does not care’ about Northern Ireland peace deal, says negotiator

       Key Points Starmer dismisses PM as ‘branch of entertainment industry’ in New Year speech Tony Blair knighthood ‘right’, says Tory minister Labour promises better country through ‘security, prosperity and respect' Government performance viewed negatively by public, poll finds Government incompetence becoming plain, says Starmer

       Show latest update 1641298967 Shadow culture secretary: Culture war debates create a ‘false divide’

       Political debates about the ‘culture wars’ create a “false divide” in society, Labour’s new shadow culture secretary has said.

       Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Lucy Powell MP said she will combat the Conservative rhetoric about cultural divides head on in her new role.

       She said: “I’m just an ordinary northern parent, and mum and woman, like everybody else who doesn’t really have any truck for those false divisions.”

       “I wouldn’t say I’m woke. I’m not woke, but I’m not anti-woke either,” she added. “I’m just kind of fairly ordinary. I will absolutely sort of cry my eyes out at Strictly Come Dancing where a deaf woman wins it and a same-sex couple are the runners up.

       “I think that was a fantastic kind of illustration of where woke and anti-woke meet. I do think it’s a bit of a false divide in this country, isn’t it sometimes?”

       Holly Bancroft 4 January 2022 12:22

       1641297715 Watch: Starmer calls government’s competence into question

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       Keir Starmer says Boris Johnson’s ‘incompetence becoming plain’

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 12:01

       1641297063 Conservative party ‘the problem’ and not ‘flaws of one individual’, says Starmer

       The Conservative party is the problem and not just “the flaws of one individual”, Keir Starmer has claimed.

       “After 12 years in power, while the country is trying to stay safe and make ends meet, the Tory party is gearing up for a leadership fight,” he said.

       “Too busy squabbling over their leadership to provide any. Meanwhile, the real problems that people face are just ignored.”

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 11:51

       1641296586 Labour promises police hubs and 100,000 new start-ups

       Labour has said it will create police hubs and 100,000 new businesses if it gains power.

       “New police hubs will be visible in every community. We will introduce a tough new approach to closing down drug dens with new powers for local police and local authorities,” Keir Starmer said. He added that there would be crime prevention teams in “every neighbourhood”.

       Turning to business, the Labour leader pledged to support tens of thousands of start-ups.

       “This country has always made a world-class offer to a small section of society and a sub-standard offer to those who do not take the academic course,” he said.

       “It will be a vital clause in my contract with the British people and the task for my skills advisory council to ensure that the next generation of students is ready for work and ready for life.”

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 11:43

       1641295939 Starmer offers ‘contract with British people'

       Labour wants to follow in the footsteps and successes of the party’s former prime ministers Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and Tony Blair to “create a new Britain in the 21st century”, Keir Starmer has said.

       “No one could look at that record and say that Labour isn’t a patriotic party,” he said, referring to the achievements of the three post-war Labour prime ministers.

       Later in his speech, he attacked Boris Johnson for treating politics “as a branch of the entertainment industry” and said that he saw it instead as “the serious business of getting things done”.

       Here’s our political editor Andrew Woodcock with more details about Labour’s “contract”:

       Keir Starmer offers ‘contract with British people’ Labour leader cites Attlee, Wilson and Blair as he offers programme based on security, prosperity and respect

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 11:32

       1641295600 Labour criticises government for playing ‘fast and loose’ with peace in Northern Ireland

       Speaking from Birmingham, the Labour leader has hit out at the government for playing “fast and loose” with peace in Northern Ireland as the “cost” of getting Brexit done.

       Keir Starmer said that his party would work hard to make Brexit a success, adding that it would be “painstaking work and slogans won’t cut it”.

       He also said that a new constitutional settlement was needed to help the nations of the UK to collectively achieve their potential.

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 11:26

       1641295230 Starmer ‘confident’ about task ahead

       Keir Starmer has said the values of “security, prosperity and respect” unite the UK.

       Making a “pledge of straight leadership”, he spoke about the contract he wished to forge with the British people.

       “This will be a solemn agreement about what this country needs and how a good government should conduct itself.

       “I am well aware that just because the Tories lose the public’s trust it doesn’t mean Labour simply inherits it. Trust has to be earned. I am confident but not complacent about the task ahead.”

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 11:20

       1641294547 Starmer strikes patriotic tone

       At the start of his speech in Birmingham, Keir Starmer has struck a patriotic tone.

       “I want to celebrate the country we live in,” he said, saying his approach contrasted to the one usually taken by opposition leaders.

       He singled out things the UK should be proud of, including the Queen, the rule of law and the country’s creative heritage.

       Mr Starmer added that the government was losing the support of the public. “The British public do not like being taken for granted,” he said.

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 11:09

       1641294190 Watch Starmer speech live

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       Watch live as Keir Starmer delivers first major speech of 2022

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 11:03

       1641294055 Conservatives should ‘calm down’ about slump in polls, says Davidson

       Ruth Davidson, the former leader of the Scottish Tories, has urged fellow Conservatives to “calm down” amid the party’s slump in the polls.

       Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Ms Davidson, who is not a Johnson ally, admitted that “No 10 is shambolic” but added that “mid term wobbles are very normal.”

       Rory Sullivan 4 January 2022 11:00

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