Starmer criticises Tories after by-election defeats: ‘They’ve given up on government’

The Independent

'They've given up on government': Starmer criticises Tories after by election defeatsSky News

Transcript

00:00 If anyone needed reminding that there's still a long way to go,

00:05 then Uxbridge is the reminder.

00:09 Of course, we've every reason to be confident.

00:12 Selby shows that.

00:14 We've changed the party,

00:17 opened our ears to the concerns of working people,

00:20 shown we understand the value of service.

00:22 Country first, party second.

00:25 [Applause]

00:32 But that result in Uxbridge demonstrates

00:35 there is never any reason to be complacent

00:38 and never a reason to rest on our laurels.

00:41 It's a reminder, as Danny said,

00:43 that in an election, policy matters.

00:47 And we are doing something very wrong

00:50 if policies put forward by the Labour Party

00:53 end up on each and every Tory leaflet.

00:56 We've got to face up to that and to learn the lesson.

00:59 We have to go about this step by step, shoulder to shoulder.

01:05 It's a long-term project,

01:07 a project that will only be realised

01:09 with credibility and discipline,

01:11 that understands spending commitments

01:13 must always be funded.

01:16 And because they must always be funded,

01:19 that you can't just keep piling them up.

01:22 That's the old point about priorities again.

01:25 And it must shape our work today for two reasons.

01:29 One, because the Tories are watching us,

01:32 looking for us to slip up.

01:34 Make no mistake, they've given up on government.

01:37 They've got no record to defend.

01:39 So next year, whenever that election comes,

01:42 we know how they will fight it.

01:45 That's the lesson of Uxbridge.

01:47 All they can do now is oppose Labour,

01:49 attack our plans, distract from their record.

01:52 So we've got to be ready in everything we do,

01:55 starting today.

01:57 Two, because in the end, power is a partnership,

02:01 certainly in this party.

02:03 But in times like this,

02:04 that's the only way to govern our country.

02:07 Democracy is a shared undertaking,

02:10 a collective mission.

02:12 Yes, there are priorities that are contested, debated,

02:15 negotiated, absolutely, just like today and tomorrow.

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