2019 Labour Leadership Events
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:04 am
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British Political Simulation since 2002
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Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you so much for coming out to Doncaster today. I can think of few more fitting places than here to speak, at this time, about the next chapter in the history of our Labour Movement. Because it was here, 120 years ago this year, that an ordinary railwayman trade unionist called Thomas Steels proposed to his comrades in the local branch an idea that would change the face of British politics: to form a party, a movement that would bring together all those voices seeking to transform Britain for the better, to give a voice to the voiceless and bring the marginalised working class from the margins of society to the very heart of its politics. Its founding idea: to bring Britain together and build a society where everyone counts.
Today, after nine years of divisive Tory government, of callous austerity and a fraught debate over the very future of our country as we leave the EU, Britain is more divided than ever. The Tories have played off ‘strivers’ and ‘shirkers’, north and south, 52% and 48%. The party that promised to heal a broken society has shattered it even further. And as a result, in communities across this country, people feel voiceless, marginalised, as if they don’t count, as if they don’t have a stake in our country. We can’t go on like this, for the challenges of the new century - climate change, a changing economy, a more dangerous world - require Britain at its best: working together with nobody left behind. So today, I am presenting to you my vision for the next generation of Labour - to bring our party back together so that we can bring Britain back together.
Before diving into policy though, I’d like to make one thing crystal clear: to bring our party back together and restore trust in our party, it’s crucial that we take strong, decisive action on antisemitism. I was shocked that some people seem to see it a factional game rather than a part of who we are at a party that there can be no place for antisemites in our ranks. I said it before, I will say it again: that has to stop. That’s why I will bring in an independent body to review allegations of antisemitism, free from political or factional games, and act on their findings. Because this is not a matter of politics or factionalism - it’s a matter of values and decency, and we owe it to this country to act.
That having been said, outlining a new inclusive and progressive version for Britain, an alternative to nine years of tired Toryism, can’t wait. This year will be crucial in shaping our post-Brexit future. We need to make sure that post-Brexit Britain gets off to a good start - for all of Britain, no matter where they are or how they voted. In my platform, I have set six tests any deal must meet to get our support, to make sure it protects all the things we value, from our union, to the rights of ordinary people, to our public services and communities. That goes for any deal put before the House - but it also goes for the worst deal of all: no deal, and a cliff-edge after the transition period ends. I’ll do everything in my power to prevent the havoc that would wreak on our country, on our economy and our communities. And I will fight for a Brexit Communities Fund to protect and revitalise communities who lose out because of the deal. Because in all of this, there must be one priority. It’s not an ideological one: it’s the simple question of whether this deal is good for Britain, and how we can enter into this new era of our history as a Britain for everyone.
But that new era doesn’t start with the end of the transition period. It starts now. Because a good deal can give us a head start, but the challenges of post-Brexit Britain go beyond just Brexit. That’s why I will be outlining from day one how the next Labour government is going to build a Britain where everyone counts. The platform I present today contains the first blueprints of the vision I hope to shape with all our members, MPs and supporters. A plan to reform our public services to work for everyone, to build a fairer and more dynamic new economy, and to unleash a Green Revolution that will transform our country and lead the world like the Industrial Revolution did.
It’d be too much to mention every single one of these policies in a short statement like this, but I’ll say this: each of them is steeped in the spirit of the movement that started in this town 120 years ago. Their aim is to help transform our country, our society and our government. To restore trust, build bridges and together tackle our common challenges. To protect the vulnerable, give a voice to the voiceless and empower working people.
So my message today is this: join me. Help me realise this vision and usher in a new generation of Labour that will once more bring Britain back together - because together, we can build a Britain for everyone.
My friends,
I want to start this speech by saying thank you. No, not for letting me address you today – although that’s great. But thank you to all the doctors and nurses among you - for all the hard work you do. Because without you, our country would be a much different place. You work tirelessly, every day, with public spirit – you work for all of us.
You heal us when we’re sick. You save lives. You – and all those other public service workers – are heroes, and you deserve not just our thanks but our admiration and respect. In fact, when it comes to building public services that work for all of us – something I have made a major part of my platform to become Labour’s next leader – who knows better than the public-spirited professionals who do show up and do this vital work every day?
Unfortunately, all too often these same public-spirited professionals and the system that everyone praises as the national pride and joy of our country get the short shrift. We’ve seen it during the crisis. While the government touted its record investment in our NHS, pay was frozen. Billions were wasted on a top-down reorganisation of the NHS. Junior doctors, the future of the health service, got told to work overtime without extra pay. And all the while, they kept saying they’d cut the deficit, not the NHS.
Well, we know how that went. And I am proud to say this here once again: if it’s up to me, the era of austerity is over! A Labour government under my leadership will take the NHS off the waiting list, and give our health service heroes what they deserve: a good deal for wages and working conditions, including revitalised key worker housing, and the investment they need to do their jobs at the cutting edge.
But there’s a deeper issue at play here – and you can see it in full force in everything I mentioned just now, everything this government has done to our NHS. The very idea that you can look at healthcare in terms of costs and benefit, of prices and profits and of economic efficiency, has festered within our healthcare system. That is why doctors, nurses and patients have been at the bottom of the list. We’ve got to own up to a vital truth we’ve forgotten: that healthcare is a public service, not a market.
Patients aren’t consumers; doctors and nurses aren’t entrepreneurs. The Health Service is not for private profit, but for public good. And if we don’t fix this inconsistency, this flaw that strikes of the heart of one of the world-leading public services in the world, doctors and patients will continue to get the short shrift.
That’s why, when I outlined my six tests for the future relationship, I made one thing crystal clear: if you want to sell your deal to us, then the NHS, and our public services in general, are not for sale.
That’s also why a Labour government led by me will tackle the overblown private logic in the NHS, and put the common interests of patients and the public spirit of all those healthcare professionals across the NHS in its place. We’ll end the internal market that has introduced this profit logic to our NHS once more, barely more than a decade after the last Labour government ended it. And we’ll end PFI, because there’s better ways to get investment in our NHS to the place it needs to be.
But we need to do more than that. We need to ensure that across our health service, the professionals and patients always come first. And that’s why I’ll put in place of the internal market a new alternative – a NHS that is driven by cooperation rather than competition, and by the judgment of doctors and nurses and the needs of the patients rather than cold calculator efficiency. And I’ll extend that to suppliers as well, by putting in place measures ensuring that all NHS suppliers involve both professionals and patients in the decisions that matter tot hem.
There’s one more issue I’d like to broach and that’s social care. It’s true – we’re growing older, and that’s a good thing, a testament to the hard work of many professionals in the health service. But with old age come new challenges and needs. And in a Britain where we grow older, it’s all the more important that when we do so, life remains good and we remain healthy and well-cared for. That’s the job of social care workers who are struggling every day, often for little pay, to care for those who need it.
I think it’s time we revolutionized social care. And frankly, it’ll be no less revolutionary than the NHS when it was created. But that’s not surprising – because a National Care Service, free at the point of use, is no less than the next step after our NHS. We’re healthier, we grow older. That’s thanks tot he NHS. And thanks to a National Care Service modelled after the NHS, based on the same high principle that in Britain, nobody who needs care should have to go wanting for it based on their ability to pay, we will have a world-beating quality of life as we do so. And the people staffing that National Care Service deserve the same respect and good working conditions as the heroes of our NHS, because in many ways, they’re the same.
My friends, I’ve worked in public service all my life. I know the life-changing contribution that all our public service professionals make every day. That’s why I believe so passionately in ending austerity, restoring our public services and finally delivering on the promise of public services that work for all of us, and why it’s been front and centre for me ever since the start of this campaign. So I’m calling to all those public service professionals and all those who are passionate about making these services work across the Labour movement: help me realise that promise, take the NHS and our other public services off the waiting list, and build public services where those who rely on them always come first.
Thank you.
My friends,
When thinking about the great challenges of the 21st century, there’s only one that comes to my mind above all others - and it’s not the issue that we’ve been talking about for the past two years. No, it’s an issue we haven’t talked enough about for the past few decades. It’s the very real emergency of our time: climate change.
And it’s heartbreaking to think of it: young people all around the world are taking to the streets. Because they see with clarity what too many in our generation have preferred not to see for too long. That this is not about some abstract issue, or theoretical possibility of the future - this is about their actual world, their actual future. And if we don’t act now, they will be the first generation in a long time, perhaps in the existence of humankind itself, to find the world worse than the previous generation found it.
But I want to say to them, and to all those who are worried, across all generations, that we might be too late: don’t be afraid. Because those heartbreaking scenes of young voices crying out to our political leaders to be heard are also heartwarming. They give us the final wake-up call. They challenge us to do better and bring us together. And that momentum that they’re creating, that might just save our planet.
But it won’t be easy, and we need to start today, not tomorrow. That’s why tackling the climate emergency is foremost on my mind as we chart the next chapter of our Labour movement. And it’s why such a large part of my platform is dedicated to transforming our country and doing what those young voices are demanding of us, what our planet is demanding of us: to meet our commitments at Paris and get to net zero by 2030 so they find our planet better than we found it, not worse. We can do it - if we, as Britain, lead the world in a Green Revolution like we led in the Industrial one.
And we can’t do it alone. I am calling on all the communities, all the businesses, as well as all the positive force of government to get together and truly transform our country - because to do that, you need to bring people together. They will be the driving force as we push forward from fossil to green energy, and make emissions-neutral living the new normal within the space of a decade. And to those who will say: that’s not possible, I say: think again. An internet connection became normal in little more than a decade - why can’t we do the same with planet-saving green technology?
It starts with a kickstart, delivered by government and private investment. Because to make renewable investment the energy, I’ll be leading a Labour government in big investment into wind at sea. But it won’t just be way out to sea where we’ll transform this country - it will be in households and neighbourhoods across this country. I want to empower people to contribute, because ultimately it’s right for them as well as for the country. When people struggle to pay the energy bills, generating their own energy with microgeneration can provide welcome relief. But more importantly, with houses heated by heat pumps, better insulation and a return to the successful incentives for solar panels in households that this government scrapped, houses with zero on the meter become the rule, not the exception. And we’ll set the example by rolling out all these features across the council housing stock and all new starter homes built under our Get Britain Building programme.
And we need to finally go green on transport too. I’ll bring in new incentives to make electric cars affordable to every British family. And it’s not just bringing down emissions - it will improve air quality in our cities as well, and immediately improve the quality of life in so doing.
But that’s not enough - we need to cut emissions across our transport sector. By scrapping the third runway at Heathrow. Because it’s not just that there’s better places to do so than in the middle of London - but more importantly there’s better times to do so than in the middle of a climate emergency.
But we need to strengthen our public transport system too. Because trains and buses, the tube and the tram, contribute to getting people to A to B in the most green way possible - if we’re not afraid to guarantee it. And that’s why, as franchises expire and we take vital infrastructure back into public hands, I’ll make it a condition of providing these services that are supposed to serve all of us that they switch to electric vehicles wherever possible.
It won’t stop at public transport by the way. Because if we want to give businesses just that nudge they need to deliver the vital contribution required of them, we’ve got to have examples. And that’s why, if you want to deliver services on behalf of society, it’s only right that you do so in the most environmentally friendly way. That’s why, as contracts expire, we’ll be introducing environmental and emissions standards to every one of them as appropriate. And I’m convinced that this will start a ripple effect throughout the private sector - helping convince British businesses go green.
Because ultimately, the key to the climate transition is this - yes, we need to make it work. But we also need to make sure it works for all, and show people that it’s not a threat, but a huge opportunity. A world-leading green Britain can generate prosperity for areas of our country that haven’t seen it in a long time. It can create jobs, uplift areas, where they have been lost in the past. And I want to reassure every worker in fossil industries who is afraid they’ll be out of a job to know: don’t be afraid, because we’ve got your back, and with our green-collar jobs plan, we’ll insure your wages while you retrain for the good, well-paying green jobs of the future. Because climate justice is not an afterthought of the Green Revolution - it has to be part and parcel of it.
Ultimately, for some communities we might be too late. Already, extreme weather patterns and floods are becoming the rule rather than the exception. Communities like my own Cumbrian constituency have seen the worst of those floods. I have fought for better climate adaptation and flood mitigation for all of my years as an MP, and as Shadow DEFRA Secretary. We need to bring the places where people live up to date - from the needs of the past centuries they were designed in to the needs of the 21st century. And this, too, cannot succeed without communities, business and government coming together. That’s why I want a locally led “Rebuild by Design” programme of the kind that’s been set up in the United States after Hurricane Sandy, a cooperative competition bringing together scientific institutions, local communities and businesses to design the communities of the future in a way that will keep them safe.
There’s so much to do that you’d almost forget we’re still talking about that dominant issue - Brexit. So I want to be sure to have said this: I want a close relationship with the EU on climate change, now and in the future, for our common efforts are too important to let the Channel divide us.
The challenge is great, but I am full of hope. Because the world is waking up to this emergency, and the coalitions we have to build were unthinkable a decade ago. So join me. The power is in your hands. Because together, we can have Labour and Britain rise to this challenge, unleash that Green Revolution and leave our world to all those children taking to the streets no worse than we found it - no, better than we found it.
Thank you.
My friends,
It’s been a long campaign. I’ve been up and down this country and our movement since I launched my campaign in Doncaster. Like the movement that started there, it’s been fed by the sheer energy of so many members and supporters who passionately believe in building a Britain for Everyone. In protecting the vulnerable and bringing the marginalised back to the centre of politics.
That’s good. Because if we are going to bring Britain back together, we are going to need to bring Labour back together first. And the bright ideas I’ve heard from so many of you, on all sides of our party, have filled me with hope that that’s possible. In Labour and in Britain, there’s more that unites us than that divides us. We just have to have the courage to see it.
That’s why I’m also glad that, unfortunately after a new low I’m not proud of, we’ve finally come together as one party with a strong, principled commitment to take strong, independent action on antisemitism. And I will say again what I have said so many times: I have always spoken out against antisemitism. I may have made some mistakes while doing so. But I will learn, and I will keep doing so, and I will see this commitment through if I am elected.
Because for me, that’s what politics is about: standing up for what you believe in. It’s what I have done this entire campaign, from the very start. This has been about ideas, about causes, about the things we as a party are passionate about.
It’s been about making sure nobody is left behind as we enter post-Brexit Britain. My six tests will guarantee that our industries, our Union, our rights, our cultural exports, our public services and our communities get the deal they deserve - a deal that protects them, a deal with a close, cooperative relationship with the EU. Preventing no deal is part of that. And my Brexit Communities Fund will help with the transition to ensure it’s truly a Britain for Everyone after Brexit.
It’s been about a new economy that’s fairer and more dynamic. Where we harness new technology and take opportunities, realise aspirations, but never lose sight of those who stand to lose out. We’ll get tough on precarious jobs, raise the minimum wage, end unequal pay. We’ll raise up the self-employed into a new generation of responsible entrepreneurs. And we’ll forge a new partnership by giving workers a bigger stake in their workplaces and in our economy.
It’s been about public services that work for all. About ending austerity and making sure our public service heroes get the good deal they deserve. And that they get the money and the freedom to do their vital work for all of us, free from the pressures of an overblown private logic. We’ll end PFIs and the internal market in our NHS, empower our teachers with a Royal College to set standards and get tough on crime and its causes with a comprehensive crimefighting strategy. And we’ll put the public back in the public transport which so many people from A to B, by creating a new public interest-oriented train operator, expanding the successful TfL model across the country, and making sure trains and buses, the tube and the tram truly work for all.
And last but not least, it’s been about hearing the voices of young people across the world asking us to take action now to tackle the climate emergency. Together, we can unleash a Green Revolution that will see Britain lead the world like we did in the Industrial one. And it will be more ambitious than anything seen since - with ten years to make emissions-neutral living the new normal, which we must do. Which we can do, by harnessing the power of government, businesses and communities and forging a coalition to go green in time. To the young people of this world and all those who are afraid that theirs will be the first generation to find the planet worse than the previous one found it, we can say this: don’t be afraid, because Labour is your party, and we will stand up for you.
And some will say: that's nice. That it's a pretty picture but the real thing will never be as good. That we'll never see it through. They are missing a crucial point. Because bringing Britain back together, building a Britain where everyone counts, is not about a pretty picture, or inoffensive ideals. This is about real people who are struggling in this country, who feel they don't count, who have lost faith in politics and in eachother. For their sake, this is not change that's nice to have. This is change we need to have. Too many people have found themselves without hope, because politicians playing cynical games have not been there to give them hope. I want to give them hope. I need to give them hope. And I will give them hope, but I need your support.
So when you vote, know this - you know you’ve always got an ally in me. You know my passions and my drive, my vision and my policies. And when you vote for me as your leader, those will be with me, with us, every step of the way.
So that the movement that started in Doncaster, 120 years ago, will carry out its historic mission: to keep changing with the times, but always with a view to the same values. To stand up for working people. To protect the vulnerable and bring in the marginalised to the heart of politics. To build a Britain where everyone counts. A Britain for the many, not the few.
Thank you.