On Saturday, the Labour leader compared his New Labour agenda to Sir Tony Blair’s 1995 decision to forsake nationalisation.
Sir Keir Starmer promises that his proposed Labour Party reforms will be like New Labour’s Clause IV “on steroids.”
In a speech on Saturday, the Labour leader drew parallels to Sir Tony Blair’s 1995 decision to abandon the party’s founding commitment to nationalization in favor of his New Labour agenda, which sparked controversy.
Sir Keir stated at the Progressive Britain conference, “The Labour Party will only restore hope in the nation if we once again become the natural vehicle for working people, an agent for their ambitions and aspirations, a party of the common good.
“Some people believe that all we’re doing is distancing ourselves from the previous regime, which misses the point completely.
“This is about returning our party to where it belongs and where it should have always been… to doing what it was designed to do.”
“Therefore, I believe this undertaking goes further and deeper than New Labour’s rewriting of Clause IV… this involves rolling up our sleeves and altering our entire culture – our DNA. This is Clause IV amplified.”
On 4 May, Labour won local government for the first time since 2002 when the Conservatives lost almost 1,000 seats.
The party should gain the most seats in the 2024 general election, but not a majority.
After the election victory, there is more work to be done.
Sir Keir stated that “the most difficult part lies ahead” and that “more work must be done.”
An ageing population, climate change, the Ukraine war, a worldwide migrant crisis. And rapid technology breakthroughs would all face a Labour government.
“If you think our job in 1997 was to rebuild a crumbling public realm, in 1964 it was to modernize an economy overly reliant on the generosity of strangers, and in 1945 it was to build a new Britain in a volatile world from the trauma of collective sacrifice, in 2024 it will be all three,” he said in his speech.
His drastic restructure risks alienating the party’s left, but the Conservatives doubt he will erase Jeremy Corbyn’s legacy.
Greg Hands, chairman of the Conservative Party, stated, “Starmer is attempting to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Everyone is aware that he attempted to make Jeremy Corbyn prime minister twice and defended his worldview.
“A Labour government would simply revert to the same old Labour habits. Excessive spending, tax increases, rising debt, and lenient sentencing.”
Sir Keir, however, refuted these claims and charged that the Conservatives were “no longer conservative.”
In addition to last week’s local election results, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confronts pressure within his party.
Saturday marks the official launch of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), with former home secretary and Boris Johnson ally Priti Patel scheduled to address.
She will assert that Mr. Sunak risks “presiding over the managed decline” of his party, in light of rumors that the movement may attempt to reinstate Mr. Johnson.
