Keir Starmer – 2024 ‘Change’ Speech

The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 29 June 2024.

Can I start just by thanking all of our speakers.

Dan, that was fantastic. The idea of walking up Camden High Street and seeing Dan – I was on my way back from my office walking home and we caught each other’s eye and had that conversation – to go from that place to you standing on this stage making this speech.

And Dan is 18 years old and he’s never stood on a stage and never done anything like that before, it is fantastic.

I will keep on bumping into people on Camden High Street for a long time yet, Dan.

Thank you to all of you for being here as well.

It’s a busy Saturday, it’s a hot and warm Saturday. You could be with your friends, you could be with your families, you could be with Contact Creator!

And this is a summer, an important summer, where we all have together one job, one job, to make sure it’s a summer of change.

To restore hope, to restore spirit, belief in a better future.

To have that opportunity to take our country forward together.

So whether you’re a family that’s been struggling these last few years with the cost of living, with bills bearing down on you that you fear you can’t pay.

Whether you’re a business that’s been struggling for years under the damage that this government has done to the economy.

Whether you’ve served in uniform or your community, this campaign is for you. This fight for change is for you. And the power of the vote belongs to you.

And you can use it to stop the chaos. To turn the page and start to rebuild our country.

And that’s what this project has always been about. Four and a half years – long years -changing our party, ending gesture politics and putting our party back in the service of working people.

Country first, Party second.

And can I say thanks to all the time that you have all given. Not just in this campaign, that’s a lot of time you’ve given, but over four and a half years.

The leaflets, the door knocking, in the sunshine today but often in the rain. Those conversations you’ve been having over the weeks, the months, the years with your community.

Everything this party has achieved, past and future, is down to your efforts.

So, thank you for everything.

But this is the final furlong. This is the last push. The last mile, the hardest mile.

But it’s also the chance, the chance to do for the country what we did for our party, to return Britain to service working people.

British people want change, but hope has been kicked out of so many voters. They need to be convinced that change is possible, and most of all convinced to vote for it.

Change doesn’t happen unless you vote for it. Nothing is decided, not a single vote has been won or lost, and each and every vote is out there.

Ready to be earnt, and we must earn it. We must get together and say with one voice.

If you want to stop the chaos, you have to vote for it.

If you want to tun the page, you have to vote for it.

If you want to start the work of national renewal.

Rebuild our country and return politics to public service, then on 4th July you have to vote for it.

If you do vote Labour on Thursday, we can promise that the work of change will begin immediately.

We will make our country better off, with a mission to create wealth in every community.

And get to work on our first steps, downpayments if you like, fully funded and fully costed as you would expect, on day one.

Economic stability with tough spending rules to keep taxes down, inflation down and prices down.

Cutting NHS waiting times, with 40,000 extra appointments and operations each and every week, 2 million a year to get our waiting lists down. We’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again.

We will set up the Border Security Command to take control of our borders.

And we’ll set up Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company that will keep your bills low, give us energy security and harness the jobs of the future.

And will recruit those 6500 teachers desperately needed in our secondary schools, giving your children the start in life they deserve.

We’ll need a clear mandate for this change, don’t doubt that. And if you don’t believe me, take a good look at the Tories.

Chaos under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, two politicians who never had a clear mandate.

The change we want to bring about to this country is not like flicking a switch.

There will always be people saying why do we have to do this, why don’t we go slower. Britain can’t afford that.

Don’t take the risk. If you want change you have to vote for it.

Imagine, if you dare, waking up on July 5th and the Tories are back in.

It could happen, if we take our foot off the gas, if people think it’s all in the bag. Undecided voters, and there are millions of them. It could happen.

So how does that feel?

How do you feel about the future of our country on a morning like that? To see them back in power, and not just back, entitled. Emboldened. Vindicated.

Believing they could get away with anything. They could run the NHS into the ground, another unfunded spending spree, your mortgage through the roof again.

As they get on with serving themselves, the same old same old, and nothing you can do about it.

Because we’ll be stuck in same doom-loop. Pay more and get less. For five years.

That’s what’ll happen, if there is no democratic reckoning on Thursday, and we cannot allow that to happen.

Don’t forget what they have done, don’t forget party-gate, don’t forget the Covid contract, don’t forget the lies, don’t forget the kickbacks.

Don’t forget the cronyism, don’t forget the division, the scapegoating of minorities, the failure to invest, the trips to the bookies, the decimation of your public services.

Telling working people “we’re all in it together”, the people who hurt your family finances, swanning around the House of Lords, after giving tax cuts to the richest 1% that crashed our economy, don’t forget any of it.

And don’t risk it. Because you don’t have to, you can stop it,  and don’t forget that.

Change is in your hands. And you can be part of it. You can be part of changing our country next week.

We can heal the wounds, bring our country together, return politics to service, and start to build a new Britain.

Imagine that, as well. Imagine a Britain where wealth is created in every community.

Imagine everyone treated with dignity and respect at work. Imagine our NHS back on its feet, facing the future. The best technology in the hands of our NHS staff.

Imagine we build the infrastructure our children need. New towns, new roads, new hospitals and schools. The dream of home ownership restored to 1.5 million families.

Imagine your town centre thriving, because everyone feels safe on their streets, and we’ve given our young people something to do.

Imagine we show leadership on the climate, harness the golden opportunity of clean British power, create good jobs across the country, cut your bills for good.

Imagine we show that politics is about serving the country with purpose, making you and your family better off.

And that the whole country says with one voice, whoever you are, whatever your background, we back your potential, your contribution is respected.

Imagine it, fight for it, campaign for it. But first of all vote for it.

Change only happens if you vote for it, and it is time for change. Time to stop the chaos, turn the page and rebuild our country by voting Labour on 4 July

Thank you.