Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to tackle leaks coming from the UK government after his chief adviser’s salary was made public. Speaking ahead of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Sir Keir said leaks “damage everybody” and that it was his responsibility to solve the problem. However, in an address to activists on Saturday, he celebrated the progress of his government in 14 weeks, including an end to the junior doctors strike, setting up a national wealth fund, and establishing GB Energy.
Several challenges, including questions over donations of clothing and gifts and damaging briefings on No 10’s operation, have been faced by the new government in recent weeks. Sir Keir, Deputy PM Angela Rayner, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves were criticised for accepting thousands of pounds worth of clothing from donors such as Labour peer Waheed Alli, a practice they have now said will stop. The prime minister also faced continued criticism over cutting winter fuel payments to 10 million pensioners, with a potential vote on the matter at the conference.
Sir Keir said that he was “acutely aware that our public services are on their knees” and some had already been “cut to the bone”. The prime minister also told the Sunday Mirror that he would not be “going down the road” of austerity, which saw significant cuts to the public sector. Sir Keir has given a gloomy assessment of the nation’s finances since coming to power, but he promised to set out how people would feel better during the next election in his upcoming conference speech.
Sir Keir added that he hoped people could “look back with pride at the 2024 Labour government in the way they look at the 1945 one”. The 1945 Labour government set up the National Health Service, which many within the party view as its greatest achievement. The prime minister also reiterated his government’s key policy of speeding up housebuilding. He said that his government was “turning that on its head” by introducing “planning passports” and that the government’s aim is to ensure that homes are fit for the future
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