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A second coronavirus lockdown would be a “government failure, not an act of God,” Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The drastic action could have a “huge toll on people’s physical and mental health and on the economy,” the Work the leader warned.
Speaking before Boris Johnson Statement Revealing New Measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, Sir keir accused him of having “lost control” of the testing system.
Another blockade would have a ‘huge toll’ on people, Sir Keir warned
The prime minister “is simply not serious,” he added in his first speech at the labor party conference – be held virtually due to coronavirus.
“I have tried to be constructive,” Sir Keir said.
“I appreciate that these are unprecedented times and that governing is difficult.
“I have tried to be fair, to give the government the benefit of the doubt.
PM Boris Johnson to announce new restrictions later Tuesday
“But now, with one of the highest death rates in the world and on the threshold of one of the deepest recessions in the world, I am afraid there is no question.
“The incompetence of this government is holding Britain back.”
Sir Keir put victory in the upcoming election and a clear distinction between himself and Jeremy Corbyn at the center of his speech, delivered in front of a red wall in Doncaster.
The location was significant as Labor lost one of the city’s three MPs to the Conservatives’ landslide in the last election, part of the collapse of their “red wall” in parts of northern England.
“When you lose an election in a democracy, you deserve it,” said Sir Keir.
“You don’t look at the electorate and ask them, ‘What were you thinking?’ You look at yourself and ask, ‘What were we doing?’ “
Labor leader delivered his speech in front of a red wall
Sir Keir added that previous failed Labor leaders had “given the Conservatives a decade of power” and told activists that “it is time to get serious about victory.”
He stressed that the party is under “new leadership” and honed its patriotic credentials, ending his speech by saying: “We love this country like you. This is the country I grew up in and this is the country I will grow old in. And I want it to be the country that I know it can be “.
And on Brexit, Sir Keir tried to distance himself from conservative attacks on his pro-EU stance as Corbyn’s shadow Brexit secretary.
Labor will not ‘keep talking about Europe,’ said Sir Keir
He insisted that “the debate between Leave and Stay is over” and Labor will not “continue to insist on Europe”, adding that the prime minister “will fail Britain” if there is no closed trade deal with Brussels.
In response, the Conservatives said: “Sir Keir Starmer proclaimed himself the new Labor leadership, in his first speech at the conference this morning.
Conservatives said Sir Keir ‘advanced’ Corbyn’s plans in the shadow cabinet
“But nothing could be further from the truth. Sir Keir’s leadership is more of the same old Labor.
“He has advanced Corbyn’s far-left economic plans and has continually shown that he does not respect the views of ordinary people on crime, immigration and regaining our independence now that we have left the EU.”
:: Watch and follow live on Sky News as Boris Johnson updates MPs on coronavirus plans at 12.30pm, followed by his address in Downing Street at 8pm
