Protestors outside the Labour conference have spoken for all of us with a common sense takedown of Keir Starmer and the cabinet’s direction in their first few months in government.
Labour and Tories “constant blame game”
One Labour conference protestor saw through the Labour Party and Conservative trick of simply blaming the previous government then pursuing a near identical agenda to that supposedly opposing party:
The last government blamed the Labour government. It’s just a constant blame game going round and round in a circle. Last 14 years have been terrible, looks like the next five are going to be just as bad. I’ll be most surprised if there’s anything for the ordinary person.
She then pointed out that Starmer and cabinet members like Wes Streeting likely have their loyalties elsewhere:
There’ll be plenty for big business. Because obviously he’s been getting money from his donors. Wes Streeting’s had £175,000… from private healthcare organisations. Who’s he going to answer to? Us that elected him, or them? It’s going to be them.
It’s not just the £175,000 Streeting received. Starmer’s cabinet has taken half a million pounds from private healthcare lobbyists between 2023 and 28 May 2024.
And as openDemocracy recently revealed, Quadrature Capital, an offshore hedge fund with investments in fossil fuels, arms and private healthcare, gave Labour its largest ever donation of £4m on 28 May.
Labour conference: ‘resign, please’
Another Labour conference protestor summed it up when she was asked if there’s anything the leadership could do to encourage her. She said they should say:
‘I’m going to resign, but first I’m going to end all privatisation in the NHS’
Starmer pledged to “end outsourcing” in the NHS when he was, to put it fairly, lying his way to the Labour leadership. Since, Starmer and Streeting have said they want to expand private provision of NHS services, rather than investing in public healthcare.
The Labour leadership have also invited former health secretary Alan Milburn to meetings on the NHS. Milburn delivered private finance initiative scams under Tony Blair and has profited £8m largely from private healthcare consultancy.
“Deeply unpopular” even at the Labour conference
Times Radio asked a protestor why he was outside the Labour conference. He replied:
We’re here to make sure that Keir Starmer knows that his austerity policies, his continuation of Tory policies are deeply unpopular
Indeed, a More in Common poll found that support for Labour has plummeted by 11 points to 29% since the election. This shows the level of support for austerity 2.0. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already announced cuts of £13.6bn for the financial years until 2026.
Private school tax
Labour is planning to remove the tax free status of private school fees from 1 January 2025. Asked about this, one Labour conference protestor was forthright:
I think we should be taxing rich people. Private schools shouldn’t exist. I think that’s a minor question
For this protestor, Labour should be going further. In that vein, private schools take resources and teaching expertise away from public schools. They are uncompetitive, giving children a crucial leg up as a birthright. People holding top jobs, from business to politics, the media and the judiciary are five times more likely to have been privately educated.
“It’s a shambles already…everything in Britain is broken!”
Keir Starmer’s economic “tough decisions” are an attack on pensioners and the NHS, say protestors outside Labour conference.#TimesRadio pic.twitter.com/8cxx2jhqDf
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) September 22, 2024
Featured image via Times Radio – X
