Keir Starmer has vowed that Labour will “rebuild” Britain just as it did after the Second World War.
The prime minister used his New Year message to the country to draw comparisons between the challenges facing the UK in 2025 and the country’s plight exactly 80 years ago.
It comes amid gloomy warnings about Britain’s economic prospects in the next 12 months, and growing pessimism among voters.
A YouGov poll for The Times found most people saw Starmer’s government as “incompetent”, “dishonest” and “unsuccessful”, and believe it will fail to achieve the six milestones unveiled by the PM in his “plan for change” last month.
But in his New Year message, Starmer insisted that better days lie ahead for the UK.
He said: “I know there is still so much more to do. And that for many people it’s hard to think about the future when you spend all of your time fighting to get through the week.
“So I want to be clear. Until you can look forward and believe in the promise and the prosperity of Britain again, then this Government will fight for you.
“A fight for change that will define this year, next year, and indeed – every waking hour of this government.”
The PM added: “That is what we will be focusing on. A year of rebuilding. But also – rediscovering the great nation that we are. A nation that gets things done. No matter how hard or tough the circumstances.
“We will have time to reflect on that this year. A chance, with the 80th anniversary of VE [Victory in Europe] and VJ [Victory in Japan} day. To cherish the greatest victories of this country. And the greatest generation that achieved it.
“But that victory – and indeed the peace and the prosperity that followed all rested on that same foundation we must rebuild today.
“The security of working people. That is the purpose of this Government. The goal of our plan for change. And we willpush it forward in 2025.”
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch warned that rebuilding the Tories will be “a long-term project” in the wake of last year’s landslide general election defeat.
She said: “Like all of you, I am looking forward to a 2025 that is full of hope, security and prosperity.
“The Conservative Party is also going through a period of change. This process of renewal will be a long-term project.
“Things may be bumpy along the way, but the party I now lead is going to do things differently. Watch this space.”
