KEIR Starmer has said he knows his Government is “going to have to be unpopular” as he claimed that “popular decisions aren’t tough”.
The Prime Minister was speaking on the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show on a range of issues, including the recent far-right violence in England and Northern Ireland.
It also comes ahead of a vote on whether to axe the Winter Fuel Payment for all but the poorest pensioners - a move which has been criticised by those within Labour as well as other figures across the political spectrum.
“We are going to have to be unpopular” Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he knows his new government’s decisions are “difficult” and “unpopular” but says that they’re necessary to change the country#BBCLauraK https://t.co/axphQ0cFNb pic.twitter.com/DgNHSAFauk
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) September 8, 2024
Starmer said it was a matter for the chief whip in terms of what would happen to any Labour MPs who rebelled on the vote as he conceded that he was making “tough choices”.
“It’s a bit like, I don’t know, building a house,” Starmer said.
“If you know your foundations are rotten, if you know you’ve got damp or cracks, you can paint over it and pretend you’ve got a beautiful new house and within six months it all falls apart.
“Or you can say we’re going to strip it down, we’re going to fix the foundations and what then will happen, this is where the hope is, there what then happens is you’ve got a much better house at the end of the exercise, a country built to last and that’s what I’m determined we’re going to bring about in the time that we’ve got in office.”
Starmer said he is “absolutely clear” in his mind that the Winter Fuel Payment needs to be cut to stabilise public finances.
Asked directly by Kuenssberg if he was willing to be “unpopular,” Starmer replied that “we’re going to have to be unpopular”.
“Tough decisions are tough decisions. Popular decisions aren’t tough, they’re easy,” he added.
“When we talk about tough decisions, I’m talking about tough decisions. The things that the last government ran away from, that governments traditionally run away from.
“I’m convinced that because they’ve run away from difficult decisions, we haven’t got the change we need for the country.
“And because I’m so determined to bring about that change, I’ll do the tough things and I’ll do them early to make sure we can bring about the change we need.”
Starmer (above) added he wouldn’t “apologise for this” but he recognised how difficult times are, particularly for pensioners.
SNP reaction
Commenting on the interview, the SNP said Starmer had made a “political choice to follow the Tories’ austerity agenda”.
Kenneth Gibson, the MSP for Cunninghame North pointed out Labour spent the General Election campaign denying there would be a return to austerity.
“After just two months in power, Labour have already rolled back on this pledge – cutting public services and universal benefits which hit the most vulnerable in society hardest – with yet more cuts to come in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget next month,” he said.
“Feigning surprise at the state of the government finances to justify this austerity agenda will not wash with the public.
“The SNP, along with several respected independent bodies including the IFS, repeatedly warned about the scale of cuts to come under a Labour Government.
“Rather than bleating about making unpopular choices, Starmer and Anas Sarwar (above) must come clean that they are making the choice to follow Tory fiscal rules rather than investing in tackling poverty and public services which have already been hammered by 16 years of Labour, coalition and Tory austerity.”
Reacting to the interview, SNP MP Pete Wishart commented on Twitter/X: "Well, this is certainly one thing he seems to have had some sort of success with.
"Compare the current miserabilism with the cheery change agenda he promised only a few weeks ago."
Elsewhere, Chris Law, the SNP MP for Dundee West said on social media: "If you were feeling conned with the 'Change' campaign that UK Labour Party offered combining positivity, hope and no return to austerity...then."
Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens said Starmer's line could have come "straight from Margaret Thatcher".
Co-leader Lorna Slater (below) commented: "It's exactly the same rhetoric we heard from her, and from the Tories over the last 14 years, each time ending in economic catastrophe.
"Austerity has always been an ideological choice - a choice which has left us with crumbling public services and infrastructure, exponentially rising food banks, and a stagnant economy.
"Labour could instead choose to fund services by taxing the rich. By replicating Scotland's progressive income tax system the UK could raise an additional £11 billion, or with a wealth tax on the richest 1% we could raise well over £70 billion.
"That Labour are currently trying to pretend these choices don't exist, while they line up attacks on those already struggling after a decade of cuts, shows just how far the party has fallen."
Response to far-right riots
During his first few weeks in office, Starmer was faced with a number of far-right riots in towns and cities across England in Northern Ireland.
It comes after a “pro-UK” rally was held in Glasgow on Saturday, in which two people were arrested, as well as a counter-protest arranged by Stand Up to Racism.
Asked about the riots, Starmer said “there was racism there” but denied that the UK was a “racist country”.
However, the Prime Minister also added that he is “worried about the rise of the far right”.
#bbclaurak: Do you think we are a racist country? Keir Starmer: "No... We are a country of decent, tolerant people... the real Britain was the people that came out the day after... they are the real face of Britain." pic.twitter.com/kDfGC3JS7y
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) September 8, 2024
He said: “I don’t think we’re a racist country. I think we’re a country of decent people, tolerant people.
“The real Britain was the people who came out the day after in Southport. It was incredible, people came out with their trowels, with their brooms, they cleaned up, they rebuilt.
“They’re the real face of Britain and that’s the Britain I think is essential to reuniting and bringing this country back together.”
