General election: Keir Starmer says ‘new age of insecurity has begun’ in speech on defence and security – UK politics live | Politics
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Starmer: ‘postwar era is over’ and ‘new age of insecurity has begun’
Keir Starmer, speaking about defence and national security, has said that “the postwar era is over” and a “new age of insecurity has begun”.
He said he had never expected in his lifetime to see the “rumble of war” in Europe as Russian tanks rolled into a European country.
Starmer said the threat was not just conventional warfare, “We must face down malign actors who tried to attack and weaken our nation. And not just through traditional warfare over air, land and sea but with hybrid threats to our energy supply, cybersecurity information warfare.”
He also spoke of his family’s own experience of service, describing an anxious wait for news during the Falklands War, after his mother’s brother’s ship was bombed.
Key events
Activists have this morning dropped a banner from Westminster bridge in London calling on the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, to say he will end arms sales to Israel if he becomes Prime Minister.
Speaking at a Labour event earlier, Starmer suggested that legal advice on UK arms sales to Israel would be reviewed under a Labour government.
Jedidajah Otte
Hundreds of parents have been sharing their thoughts with the Guardian on how Labour’s plan to impose the standard rate of 20% VAT on private school fees might affect them and their children, and whether the issue could change their vote.
Labour hopes to raise about £1.5bn a year to increase funding for state education through tax changes such as adding VAT to private school fees. Critics have warned that the policy pledge could alienate swathes of middle-class voters, and that it could be difficult for the state school sector’s overcrowded classroms to accommodate children whose parents will no longer be able to afford independent schools.
Parents who spoke to the Guardian included Jonathan, a father and top earner from Surrey, who was among many thousands of UK parents for whom a Labour win at the general election would probably mean an immediate financial disadvantage. Nut he does not mind, saying: “My daughter goes to private school, and I’m OK with VAT being added to school fees. Is it fair? No. Is it morally right? Yes.”
Legal advice on UK arms sales to Israel would be reviewed under a Labour government, Keir Starmer also suggested at the Labour event earlier.
The UK Government has resisted pressure to halt UK export licences to Israel in recent months, amid concerns that Israel could be in breach of international humanitarian law over the conflict in Gaza.
Answering questions, Starmer said:
It is for the Government obviously to review the licences. They do it one by one. They have got legal advice. We’ve been pressing them to disclose that legal advice. And I still press them to disclose that legal advice.
Obviously, if we’re privileged to come in to power, we’ll be able to see that advice or commission our own. But look, I will just add this, that the Rafah offensive should not go ahead. And that I think our Government should follow the US lead on this in relation to arms sales and review the licences to see whether any of them would be or are being used in the Rafah offensive.
Starmer said his “number one priority is to ensure we get a ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war. In answer to another question, he insisted human rights, international law and accountability “matters in Gaza”, adding:
You wouldn’t be human if you were not affected by the images that we’ve seen, the reports coming out of Gaza, the sheer number of people who have been killed – many of them women and children – and also the knowledge that hostages are still being held.
Pressure on Labour over its stance has continued, both inside and outside of the party. More than 100 artists and celebrities including Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes and Juliet Stevenson called at the weekend on the Labour leader to revoke UK export licences to Israel if his party wins the election.
For more on this, you might find this interesting from Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, on how Labour has walked a tightrope in recent months on Gaza.
Ben Quinn
Keir Starmer used a question and answer session at a Labour event earlier to accuse Rishi Sunak of “making money betting against the country in the financial crisis”
Answering a question from the Guardian’s Aletha Adu at a campaign event at the Fusilier Museum in Bury, the Labour leader said:
On the question of the hedge funds, we have raised this before. I think it is relevant at this election for the voters to know what did the two candidates for prime minister do before they came into politics.
I was working for the Crown Prosecution Service … trying to protect those who live in the United Kingdom from crime, Rishi Sunak was making money betting against the country in the financial crisis.
I think that’s for him to answer as to what he was doing before he came into politics.
The Guardian reported this morning that Labour is aiming to turn the spotlight on Sunak’s time before politics in the days before the first TV debate between the two leaders, after a week dominated by rows over Diane Abbott’s candidacy.
Key to Labour’s attempt to get back on the front foot will be to scrutinise Sunak’s time as a partner at TCI, the hedge fund which launched an activist campaign against Dutch bank ABN Amro which resulted in its sale to RBS in 2007.
The takeover was later described as “an extremely risky deal” by the independent financial regulator which said it was a key factor leading to RBS’s failure.
It’s Ben Quinn picking up the blog now while Martin takes a break.
Out on the campaign trail this morning deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has been visiting Doncaster in England.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who will take part in the STV debate tonight alongside the leaders of the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives in Scotland, has visited a community food pantry at the Pearce Institute in Glasgow alongside Scottish Labour candidate Dr Zubir Ahmed, an NHS surgeon who is standing for the party in Glasgow South West.
Defence secretary Grant Shapps has responded to Labour’s defence announcements this morning by asking on social media “How can anyone trust [Keir] Starmer on defence when he tried to make [Jeremy] Corbyn prime minister twice?”
Starmer was shadow secretary of state for Exiting the European Union in Corbyn’s shadow cabinet during the 2017 and 2019 general elections.
Nigel Farage has posted to social media that he is making “an emergency general election announcement at 4pm today”.
Here is a picture of that Labour event, which was being held at the Fusilier Museum in Bury.
Keir Starmer has finished taking questions now.
Keir Starmer has been asked by a reporter from Channel 4 about Labour selection processes, and if “enraging the Labour left is actually part of your campaign strategy.”
He somewhat sidesteps the issue, preferring to focus on the fact that he is appearing alongside Labour election candidates who used to serve in the armed forces. The Labour leader replied:
This is a changed Labour party. And part of that change is being absolutely clear about the importance of defence and security which is what we are doing this morning.
And part of it is about making sure I’ve got the best possible candidates to put before the country. I am delighted that what you’re seeing behind me is some of our brilliant candidates who’ve served their country, distinguished individuals, who have served their country and are now not standing by, but want to come and join the Labour team. We’ve got 14. That’s a record. That is evidence of a changed Labour party. That’s the highest number in recent times.
So I make no apologies for the fact that I wanted the best possible candidates to go into this election. This is a changed Labour party. The Labour party back in the service of working people. The Labour party that puts defence of the realm and national security is our number one issue.
Keir Starmer is now taking questions from the media. The first questions was from Chris Mason at the BBC, who asked “You could be prime minister next month. If circumstances necessitated, would you authorise the firing of nuclear weapons? Yes or no?”
He was also asked about David Lammy and Angela Rayner having previously voted against renewing nuclear weapons.
On the first question, the Labour leader said “It’s a vital part of our defence. And of course, that means we have to be prepared to use it.”
On the latter, he said “This is a changed Labour party. The most important thing is that I voted in favour of a nuclear deterrent. And if we are privileged to come in to serve, I will serve as the prime minister of this country. And my commitment to the nuclear deterrent is absolute.”
He has also been asked if he has thought about what he might write in his letters of last resort if he became prime minister.
Starmer replied “That is a matter of high confidentiality. You wouldn’t expect someone who is serious about being prime minister to disclose the circumstances in which he or she might take action.”
Starmer: national security and economic security must go ‘hand-in-hand’
Keir Starmer has said the Labour party will “never shy away from doing our duty at home and abroad” and that “national security and economic security must go hand-in-hand.”
He promised that under a Labour government “the UK would be a point of stability in a chaotic world.”
He said defence was not “a party political issue”, it was “a national issue”.
He said “It affects every single individual, every community and Labour will always put our country first. We will serve working people across our nation, respect our armed forces as they continue to protect our country.”
Starmer told the audience:
So with Labour, Britain will be fit to fight within the first year of a Labour government. We will carry out a new Strategic Defence review. We are absolutely committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence as soon as possible. Because we know our security isn’t just vital for our safety today. It’s absolutely central to our success for the future. National security and economic security must go hand-in-hand.
We also know that playing our part on the world stage makes us stronger and better off at home. So make no mistake I am absolutely committed to rebuilding relationships with our allies.
Starmer criticises Tories for partisan attacks on Labour over national security
Keir Starmer has criticised the Conservative party for partisan attacks over Labour’s defence policies, saying he would “not let that stand”.
Starmer described the increasing threats from “malign actors” around the world targeting the UK with “hybrid threats to our energy supply, cybersecurity [and] information warfare” and said that the “the rumble of war” was “rolling across our continent”.
He went on to say:
I would prefer if politics are kept out of this issue, even at this election. Throughout the whole of this parliament, I have deliberately not been partisan over issues of national security.
Just before this election, the Tories questioned this Labour party’s commitment to national security. And I will not let that stand. The people of Britain need to know that their leaders will keep them safe and we will.
The truth is that after 14 years of the Tories we are less safe and less secure. You don’t have to take my word for it. The Tories own former defence secretary says the government has failed to take defence seriously.
He added “With my changed Labour party national security will always come first.”
Starmer: ‘postwar era is over’ and ‘new age of insecurity has begun’
Keir Starmer, speaking about defence and national security, has said that “the postwar era is over” and a “new age of insecurity has begun”.
He said he had never expected in his lifetime to see the “rumble of war” in Europe as Russian tanks rolled into a European country.
Starmer said the threat was not just conventional warfare, “We must face down malign actors who tried to attack and weaken our nation. And not just through traditional warfare over air, land and sea but with hybrid threats to our energy supply, cybersecurity information warfare.”
He also spoke of his family’s own experience of service, describing an anxious wait for news during the Falklands War, after his mother’s brother’s ship was bombed.
Keir Starmer has started talking, he opened by paying tribute to soldiers who took part in D-day, which has its 80th anniversary this week.
John Healey, shadow defence secretary spoke next. He promised “Britain will be better defended with Labour.”
He told the audience:
What does it say to our adversaries when the ex-defence secretary, Ben Wallace, admits to me in the House of Commons that over 14 years the Conservatives have hollowed out and underfunded our forces?
What does it say when they’ve cut the size of the British army to the smallest since the Napoleonic wars. When they’ve wasted at least £15bn on bad defence procurement. When they’ve missed recruitment targets every year. When morale has fallen to record lows and when service families have to live in damp, mouldy housing, and increasingly draw on universal credit and food banks to get by. This is the shameful record of the Conservatives on defence for the last 14 years.
This has not been the most convincing performance of the campaign so far, to be honest. He stumbled over the delivery a couple of times and it was a rather downbeat tone for a rallying speech.
Louise Jones, Labour’s candidate in North East Derbyshire, has opened this Labour event. She said she is hoping to become Labour’s first female military veteran MP.
She said that the Tory government has made the bond between the country and its armed forces “increasingly fragile” and that it was eroding the offer to the military.
She said:
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the deteriorating state of the accommodation for our armed forces, whether it’s dodgy electrics, failed boilers, or mouldy walls. Too many of our military personnel had been let down.
We also now have the smallest armed forces since the Napoleonic Wars, but their workload has not decreased. We’re continually asking them to do more with less.
In the military, you’re taught to get involved. To not stay on the sidelines. We say the standard you walk past is the standard you accept. Well, I’m not going to simply walk past while our national security is threatened. That’s why I’m standing to be Labour’s first female veteran MP.
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