Britain’s Prime Minister has vowed to inject ambition into what he described as a “broken” country that the Labour leader has promised to fix.
Keir Starmer hopes to use the unrestrained speech to reset his government after a turbulent first five months in power plagued by resignations, riots and questions over direction.
After 14 years of Conservative rule, including Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, Britain was “broken, but not beyond repair”, he told party followers in the keynote speech on Thursday. Channelling US president-elect Donald Trump's slogan of Make America Great Again, he said: “Because one thing the British people do know in their bones is that this is a great nation.”
The highly successful home of the British film industry, Pinewood Studios, was chosen as his backdrop, with Mr Starmer hoping its success, from the James Bond movies to the latest Tom Cruise thriller, will inspire others.
The studios, just outside London, could act as a “beacon for change”, he said. The filming hub's workforce of 8,000 “shows the British people that they are a country that can do great things”, he added.
Change is hard
In the candid language that has become a feature of Mr Starmer’s rhetoric, he sent a direct message to his MPs and civil servants to think with ambition.
The change he envisioned would “demand, from Whitehall and Westminster, a profound cultural shift away from declinist mentality, which has become so comfortable with failure that it risks breaking a precious contract with the British people”, he said.
Too many people in Whitehall were “comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline” and had forgotten former US president John F Kennedy’s point that “you choose change, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard”.
He criticised the culture in which people told colleagues “don’t try anything too ambitious”, and promised that "change and reform are coming”.
Managed decline
But there was a long way to go before things could be turned round as the country was on the “turgid path of managed decline”, he said.
He decried the inability to get major building projects approved – largely delayed or axed by the “not-in-my-backyard” lobby and unhelpful bureaucracy. Instead the country was “free-loading off the genius of its past”, he added, highlighting that no new reservoir had been built in 30 years.
“This government will not tolerate this nonsense any more,” he said, stating that 150 new major infrastructure projects would be introduced by his government. "A milestone that will triple the number of decisions on national infrastructure compared with the last parliament," he added, without going into further detail.
Change has begun
In similar plain-speaking, he criticised past governments that had “promised change but never delivered it”, while emphasising the “path of change is long and hard”.
“I expect to be judged on my ability to deal with this and the work of change has begun,” he said. Already in his tenure, £25 billion has been invested in the National Health Service, asylum seeker returns were up by 53 per cent, while workers' minimum wage will be raised by a record amount from April.
The new government was “fixing the foundations, clearing up the mess” so it could take the country forward towards “a decade of national renewal”.
Six milestones
The British people were right to “hold our feet to the fire”, Mr Starmer said, and the government would be judged on achieving six milestones.
“Make no mistake – this plan will land on desks across Whitehall with the heavy thud of a gauntlet being thrown down,” he pledged.
A key aim was to “deliver the highest sustained growth” in the G7, the world’s richest democratic countries, alongside an “ambitious” plan to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.
The ailing NHS, still recovering from a backlog exacerbated the pandemic, would ensure 92 per cent of patients requiring operations treated within 18 weeks.
An additional 13,000 police officers would be put on the beat, and at least 75 per cent of children would be able to read to read and write when they start school aged five.
Some questions were raised over the Prime Minister's pledge to put the UK on track to generate “at least 95 per cent clean power by 2030”, as it was previously understood this target would be 100 per cent. However, Ed Miliband, the Environment Secretary, later cleared up the misunderstanding by stating that 5 per cent was for gas needed as emergency back-up.
With legal and illegal migration running rampant – with an excess of more than 700,000 in the past year – the Labour leader also vowed to radically reduce the number “because that is what working people want”.
Into the storm
Ultimately, like every government, Mr Starmer knows he will be judged on his results but he has also made clear to the British people that he will not shy away from using direct language to achieve them.
“We will walk through the storm and build a new Britain,” he concluded. “We will fix the foundations, repair the damage, reform government and rebuild Britain through the power of change.”
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
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Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Specs
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Specs
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The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
