Sir Keir declared today that Britain “needs to get closer” to the Brussels and claimed the country’s Brexit deal has “hurt the economy”.
His comments came during a long speech to journalists after his Chancellor Rachel Reeves faced accusations of misleading people over the true state of the nation’s finances, when it emerged no black hole existed despite her repeated claims otherwise.
Speaking at a press conference today, Sir Keir said the UK “needs to get closer” to Brussels on trade and insisted relations with Europe had been “reset”.
He urged the country to “confront the reality” of Brexit’s impact, and move “towards a closer relationship with the EU”.
Mr Starmer, who backed remaining in the EU, said the country needed to be “grown up” about it.
Pressed on whether Ms Reeves misled Britons before delivering her Budget, he said he would “defend [the budget] any day of the week” and insisted it was fair and necessary.
He also defended breaking his manifesto commitment not to raise taxes on working people, claiming his policies were “good for growth”.
During the 2024 General Election, Labour Politicians promised no less than 52 times not to raise National Insurance, Income Tax or VAT.
They went on to launch a multi-billion tax raid in a budget this Autumn, which saw millions dragged into different tax brackets. The budget was branded a “budget for benefits street” by Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch.
Mr Starmer repeatedly insisted neither he nor Ms Reeves misled the country, despite their claims that the UK faced a “black hole” in its finances.
He claimed he made the remarks after the Office for Budget Responsibility issued a productivity review that resulted in “£16bn less that we might have otherwise had”.
Mr Starmer maintained there was “no misleading” from Ms Reeves, following questions from journalists over Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch calling on the Chancellor to resign.