Sir Keir Starmer scraps 10 ‘socialist’ Labour pledges

Sir Keir Starmer has ditched the promises he made when standing to be Labour leader two years ago, vowing to fight the next election on a “clean slate” of  new policies.

In a move that risks angering Left-wing MPs, the Labour leader said the economic impact of Covid meant commitments entered into before the pandemic can’t be honoured.

And risking a further schism with trade unions and members of his own frontbench, he issued a new ban on shadow ministers attending rail pickets on Wednesday.

He won the contest to replace Jeremy Corbyn, which took place in early 2020, by running on a socialist platform at the heart of which sat 10 key pledges.

They included renationalising rail, energy, water and the Royal Mail plus “defending free movement” with the EU, both of which policies he has already publicly dropped.

Sir Keir also promised to increase income tax for the top five per cent of earners and to oppose the then Conservatives’ plans to cut corporation tax.

But he said all those pledges have been formally scrapped, along with the commitments in the party’s disastrous 2019 manifesto.

“A lot has happened in the last two years. We’ve been through Covid we have debt on a scale we’ve not seen for a long, long time if ever before,” Sir Keir told BBC Radio 4.

“We have to go into the next election making choices, where we have to say we will do X because we can afford it but we might not be able to do Y and to be open and transparent about it.”

Asked if that meant his 10 leadership pledges were now dead in the water, he replied: “Yes. The financial situation has changed, the debt situation has changed.”

The Confederation of British Industry had previously calculated the upfront cost of Labour’s nationalisation plans at £196 billion.

Sir Keir acknowledged the move would anger those on the Left of his party, agreeing that “saying no” to your own side “is the hardest thing” to do in politics.

Vow to maintain radical values

Despite his remarks, the 10 pledges are still on his website, on which he says they are “based on the moral case for socialism” and vows to “maintain our radical values”.

Matt Zarb-Cousin, a former spokesman for Mr Corbyn, said: “If Starmer was honest about his intentions, or if there was even some ambiguity, he would not have won the leadership.

“That is why he felt the need to publish the 10 pledges, and foreground them on his website and a mass mailout to all members that would have cost tens of thousands.”

Sir Keir acknowledged that the move may anger those on the Left of the party, adding that “saying no” to your own side “is the hardest thing” to do in politics.

Despite his remarks, the 10 pledges “based on the moral case for socialism” were still on his website alongside a vow to “maintain our radical values”.

And the Labour leader faced a second day of backlash from Corbynite backbenchers over ditching the party’s commitment to renationalisation.

Diane Abbott, a former shadow home secretary, said: “Nationalisation is agreed on Labour Party policy, in the manifesto we were all elected on.

“More importantly, it is vital for the economic transformation we need, to cut the cost of living, create well-paid jobs and end the dearth of investment.”

“The greatest ever Labour government came to power on this day in 1945,” tweeted Richard Burgon, a former shadow justice secretary.

“It transformed our country through the creation of the NHS, a major house-building programme and by bringing rail, energy and more into public ownership.

“That bold vision is what Labour should stand for now.”

Momentum, the left-wing pressure group set up to support Mr Corbyn’s initial run for leader, said Sir Keir had “lied to members, lied to unions”.

Sir Keir hit back by attacking the economic policies of the two Tory leadership hopefuls, insisting Labour would not put up taxes further on struggling families.

He described Rishi Sunak as “the architect” of the cost of living crisis and said Liz Truss was living in an “economic fantasy world” with her spending plans.

The fractious TV debate between the pair on Monday night showed that “their party has now really lost the plot and any real sense of purpose”, he said.

Criticising the Tories’ record in government, he added: “We haven’t had economic growth for 12 years now. There’s no point pretending this is a result of Brexit or Ukraine.

“That’s why we’ve got wages that have been stuck for the best part of a decade and why as a country we’ve been hit harder by the cost of living crisis.”

But he wouldn’t commit to facing down union bosses over a planned wave of autumn strikes or say whether he would accept their demands for inflation matching public sector pay rises.

“I support the right to strike. If we were in government we would make sure those around the negotiating table came to an agreed settlement,” he said.