When Sir Keir Starmer revealed he had broken 10 of the “socialist” promises he made when running for party leader, the Left of Labour reacted angrily.
The Labour leader abandoned the pledges he made in 2020 while running to succeed Jeremy Corbyn and laid the blame on the Covid crisis’ effects on the economy.
A pledge to nationalise sizable portions of the economy was included in Labour’s manifesto for the 2019 general election, which Sir Keir also acknowledged he had completely scrapped.
Sir Keir reiterated that Labour frontbenchers shouldn’t join picket lines tomorrow in an effort to further distance himself from his party’s left-wing.
He also declined to say whether he supported public sector employees receiving pay increases that matched inflation during the cost-of-living crisis.
MPs were incensed by Sir Keir’s decision to renounce Labour’s plan to nationalise the rail, energy, mail, and water industries.
Party activists asserted that if he had been “honest” about his true intentions, he would never have been chosen to succeed Mr. Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party.
In a series of television and radio interviews this morning, Sir Keir claimed that the Labour Party’s election-year manifesto promises, made under Mr. Corbyn’s leadership, were “gone.”
Moving forward, we “start from a clean slate,” he declared.
Sir Keir also disclosed that he was no longer committed to the promises he made during his run for Labour leader in 2020.
He continued, “The financial situation has changed, and the debt situation has changed.”
On Sir Keir’s website, which claims they are “based on the moral case for socialism,” the ten promises are still listed.
He promised to “support common ownership of rail, mail, energy, and water,” among other things.
“Public services should be in public hands, not making profits for shareholders,” Sir Keir further proclaimed in his pledge.
Sir Keir abandoned Labour’s promise to place those important economic sectors under public ownership and instead blamed Britain’s Covid debts.
Labour’s proposals for widespread nationalisations are expected to cost taxpayers a total of £196 billion.
Sir Keir, who confirmed the U-turn, told BBC Breakfast that the epidemic had significantly altered the nation’s debt condition.
‘Unusually for an opposition, we’ve said we want to be financially responsible, we’ll lay out rules so everyone knows how we’ll fund every single item we’re claiming we would do,’ claimed the opposition well before an election.
“That means we will only invest for future investment and we will reduce debt,” the statement goes. “Day-to-day spending will be boosted by day-to-day results.”
There have been indications of problems inside Sir Keir’s own shadow cabinet in addition to anger from Labour’s Left over the party’s decision to reverse its stance on nationalisation.
Clearly stating that Labour is “committed to public ownership of rail and putting the public back in control of our bus network,” shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh wrote on Twitter.
Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, posted her tweet.
In an effort to calm the crowd, Sir Keir emphasised that despite the pandemic, Labour would not go back on its plans to nationalise the rail system.
He stated, “On rail, a sizable portion is in public control and we would continue with it.”
However, the Labour leader affirmed that he would refrain from making nationalisation promises for other significant economic sectors.
For the other sectors, we must address the issues, but we must also acknowledge that, monetarily speaking, things are different now than they were prior to the epidemic, Sir Keir continued.
And we want a responsible government that tells us up front how it plans to pay for any actions it takes.
“How we develop the economy and re-energize the economy is the single most essential thing, and that can’t be reduced to a talk about nationalisation,” the speaker said.
During the cost of living crisis, public sector employees demanded wage increases that matched inflation. Sir Keir was questioned about these requests.
The Labour leader, though, would not clarify whether he was in favour of big hikes.
That is a question for the people negotiating at the table, he continued.
Hopefully they can reach a compromise. As you can see, agreements have been reached in recent weeks.
“The role of government is to lay the groundwork for such conversations to succeed,”
Former shadow ministers for Labour Diane Abbott and Richard Burgon, who were both a part of Mr. Corbyn’s leadership team, criticised Sir Keir for his about-face on nationalisation.
‘Nationalization is agreed-upon Labour Party policy, in the platform we were all elected on,’ Ms. Abbott, a former shadow home secretary, said.
More importantly, it is essential for the economic revolution we require in order to lower living expenses, produce well-paying jobs, and stop a lack of investment.
Former opposition justice secretary Mr. Burgon declared: “On this day in 1945, the greatest Labour government ever took office.
Through the establishment of the NHS, a significant housing construction programme, and the public ownership of rail, energy, and other services, it completely changed our nation.
Labour should now stand for that audacious ambition.
Momentum, a left-leaning pressure group born of Mr. Corbyn’s two unsuccessful Labour Party leadership bids, asserted that Sir Keir had “lied to members and lied to unions.”
They foreshadowed a conflict over the party’s public ownership policy at the approaching conference in Liverpool in September and warned the Labour leader of it.
Due to his failure to uphold his ten leadership commitments, Sir Keir also came under severe criticism.
Former Mr. Corbyn spokesman Matt Zarb-Cousin declared: “If Starmer been honest about his goals, or if there was even the slightest amount of ambiguity, he would not have won the leadership.”
That is the reason he felt the need to publish the 10 commitments, highlight them on his website, and send them to every member in a mass mailing that would have cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Sir Keir indicated he would once more advise his shadow frontbench not to participate in picket lines outside train stations during strikes in a separate interview this morning.
Tomorrow will see another nationwide rail strike by the RMT union as they continue to call for significant pay increases, so people in Britain are being advised to only travel if absolutely necessary.
Sir Keir triggered a dispute with Labour’s trade union allies by directing senior MPs not to join picket lines during the first large train workers’ strike last month.
But when several Labour frontbenchers disobeyed his demands, he lost control of party discipline.
Sir Keir repeated the directive for his shadow team not to join people on strike outside train stations this morning in an effort to portray Labour as a government-in-waiting.
‘It’s pretty open for individuals to voice their support for working people who are suffering to pay their expenses,’ he said on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
But I’m absolutely clear that the Labour Party needs to be in power, not in opposition.
And a government works to resolve conflicts rather than forming picket lines.
“Our Government could intervene and assist in resolving the conflict, and I’m so upset with them… I believe the government is merely trying to capitalise on the conflict.
Sir Keir avoided firing the frontbenchers who disobeyed his orders not to participate in picket lines outside train stations last month, despite the fact that Alan Campbell, the top whip for Labour, had talked with the group.