LABOUR PM Sir Keir Starmer, after a few warm words about how special Brighton was to him, got down to business to tell the working class at the TUC Congress that ‘The working people who got us through the pandemic and so much more are the backbone of this country. But now – the job of rebuilding begins.’
He added: ‘And I have to level with you… This will take a while. It will be hard. But just as we had to do the hard graft of change in our Party…Now we have to roll up our sleeves and change our country.’
Of course it is the working class that will have to roll up its sleeves.
Referring to his election pledges, he said: ‘We didn’t go further, because we knew there would be new problems – unknown problems … When we finally saw the books.
‘I promised only what I know we could deliver.’
He told his TUC audience of workers’ leaders: ‘And Congress – the bill for this performance is now in…
‘And I’m afraid if we don’t take action – it’s a cheque that will bounce.’
He revealed that capitalist Britain is bankrupt and that the Tories had left it ‘with a social black hole and a financial one…
‘£22bn this year alone.’
He warned: ‘Borrowing costs are high and the risk of inflation is real …
‘I owe working people the respect of economic stability.
‘A responsibility – not to be reckless with their money …
‘That is the mandate we have won.
‘And we will deliver this by fixing the foundations of our country.
‘Taking those first steps towards the long term change we need.
‘That is how this government will return wealth creation in Britain.’
He went on: ‘The crisis we have inherited means we must go deep into the marrow of our institutions …
‘Rewrite the rules of our economy …
‘Fix the foundations – so we can build a new home.’
In other words, the working class is to be completely bankrupted in a desperate attempt to save the British capitalist system.
Preparing the working class for the worst he told the TUC Congress: ‘And throughout this government …
‘No matter the storm …
‘The service of working people will be our anchor… As we face up to the daunting challenge of our inheritance … And secure our mission on growth.’
He revealed: ‘It’s why we’ve launched a new National Wealth Fund …
‘To invest in the critical infrastructure our industries need …’ – and to bale big business out at the expense of working class living standards.
He revealed: ‘We have the chance now to repair our public services, because we changed the Labour Party.
‘We have the chance to make work pay, because we changed the Labour Party … So, when I say “country first, party second” – that isn’t a slogan. It’s the guiding principle of everything this government will do.’
The country is British capitalism and the working class is to subordinate itself to the requirements of a bankrupted British capitalism.
He continued: ‘We ran as a changed Labour Party and we will govern as a changed Labour Party’ – that puts capitalism first.
‘So, I make no apologies for any of the decisions we’ve taken to begin the work of change.
‘And no apologies to those, still stuck in the 1980s … who believe that unions and business can only stand at odds.’
He added: ‘Let me tell you what is anti-growth …
‘An economy where real wages stagnated for fifteen years – that’s anti-growth.
‘An economy where productivity keeps on flatlining – that’s anti-growth …
‘An economy where the state of our public services prevents people going to work because they are ill – that’s anti-growth.’
He warned: ‘But I do have to make clear, from a place of respect …
‘That this government will not risk its mandate for economic stability, under any circumstances.
‘And with tough decisions on the horizon – pay will inevitably be shaped by that …
‘I owe you that candour.’
It is to be wage and benefit cuts for the working class.
On the child benefit cap, he said: ‘We have to take difficult decisions. It’s not right to question our determination to end child poverty. We are making changes on health and mental health.’
It is very clear that Starmer plans to rescue British capitalism at the expense of the working class.
What is required is the organisation of the general strike to bring down the Starmer government and to bring in a Workers’ Government and Socialism – the sooner the better.
