by Sir Keir Starmer will warn this week that things will get worse before they get better, claiming there is “deep rot at the heart” of Britain.
In what will be seen as an attempt to lay the groundwork for sweeping tax rises and spending cuts, the Prime Minister will claim he inherited “not just an economic black hole but a societal black hole”.
Sir Keir will warn “working people” that he has to make “unpopular decisions” in a speech on Tuesday.
Sir Keir will say he will be honest “about the options ahead of us and how tough that will be”.
He will be saying: “Honestly – things will get worse before we get better.”
The Prime Minister will say: “When there is deep rot at the heart of a structure, you cannot cover it up. You can’t tinker with it or rely on quick fixes. You have to restore the whole thing. Tackle it at the root. Even if it is harder work and takes more time.”
“Because otherwise, what happens? The decay returns. In all the same places. And it spreads. Worse than ever. You know that – and I know that. That’s why this project has always been about fixing the foundations of this country.”
The Prime Minister has repeatedly promised not to raise taxes on “working people”, insisting during the election campaign that a Labor government would not raise VAT, income tax or National Insurance.
But his failure to stop raising other taxes has led to allegations that the Treasury is planning increases, such as capital gains tax and inheritance tax, as well as a possible raid on businesses.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted last month that she would have to “raise tax in the Budget” on 30 October.
In his first comments on the issue since Ms Reeves claimed the Conservatives had left a £22 billion gap in the public finances, Sir Keir goes further and says his Government has found “not just an economic black hole but a societal black hole “. .
He will say “if we don’t take serious action around the world, we won’t be able to fix the foundations of the country as needed”.
“I will not shy away from making decisions that are unpopular now if that is what is right for the country in the long term. That is what a Government of service means,” said the Prime Minister.
It comes after Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, opened the door to an increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions, the tax employers pay on their workers’ wages.
He said last week that the promise not to increase “National Insurance for employees” would be respected, which reduces the Chancellor’s promise last month “not to increase National Insurance”, without caveats.
PM to oppose public sector pay rises
Sir Keir also appears to defend giving public sector workers inflation-beating pay rises, after criticizing his party for undermining union paymasters.
Earlier this month, Ms Reeves announced pay rises for millions of workers including teachers and nurses, who will get a 5.5 per cent pay rise, while prison service workers and senior NHS managers will see their pay rise by 5 per cent.
Meanwhile, some train drivers who were offered a pay rise of 14 per cent over three years announced a fresh strike over a separate dispute 48 hours later.
In comments that will be seen as an attempt to defend the proposals, Sir Keir will say: “I ask anyone to tell me that you can grow an economy when people can’t go to work – because the transport system is broken.
“Or they can’t go back to work – because they’re stuck on the NHS waiting list. We have done more in seven weeks than the last government did in seven years. And these are just the first steps towards the change people voted for. The change I am determined to deliver.”
Sir Keir has faced criticism over the Government’s choice to hand out inflation-beating pay rises to unions while restoring the universal winter fuel allowance.
Starmer: Riot violence fueled by the keep
Speaking ahead of the return of Parliament next month, Sir Keir will also address the riots that broke out across the country this summer and forced him to cancel his own holidays, claiming that ” does” the violence continue as people exploit “fissures in our society”.
The Prime Minister will compare it to the London riots of 2011, when he was director of public prosecutions, and claims that the country is now in a much worse condition.
He insisted that he did not want to release prisoners early, a move announced last month, but said that if the prison space was not free, the response to the riots would be even more complicated.
He will say: “When I think back to that time, I see how far we have fallen. Because it was difficult to respond to those riots, but it was much more difficult to deal with the riots this summer.
“You failed as fundamentally as you can without having enough prison spaces. And those people were throwing rocks, torching cars, making threats – they didn’t know the system was broken. They had bet on him. They were gambling it.
“They saw the cracks in our society after 14 years of holding and failing – and they exploited it. That’s what we inherited.”
Richard Fuller MP, chairman of the Tory party, said: “It’s only been two months and Keir Starmer has stripped 10 million pensioners of their winter fuel payments and flashed billions of taxpayers’ money on his union paymasters.
“The Labor Chancellor is wasting money and creating a financial black hole in an attempt to trick the public into accepting tax rises, while literally leaving pensioners out in the cold.”
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