Keir Starmer needs to drop Rev IM Jolly tribute act and give the country some hope

The summer recess chat is over, and it’s time to get down to the change the country voted for. And I don't just mean Keir Starmer moving Margaret Thatcher’s portrait from her study. I want us to feel that wave of anticipation which swept up even non-Labour supporters like me in its excitement in 1997. The belief that we had a new generation, with new ideas led by a bright, smiley young Prime Minister.

Instead, this time we appear to have a Prime Minister whose presentational style owes more to Rikki Fulton’s infamously glum Rev IM Jolly. Instead of uplifting promises and inspiration, this Labour government so far offers only depressing warnings of hard times ahead.

We all know that the Conservatives trashed the economy, adding to the problems caused by Covid. But it’s time to stop talking about what is wrong and give us solutions. Ideas that people can get behind. Be inspired by.

Whoever won the election was bound to inherit an incredibly difficult job. Of course, leadership comes in different guises. Honesty, which Keir Starmer says he offers, can be hard to hear. So, it needs to be tempered with something to believe in. In these difficult times, words matter. They leave a lasting impression with voters.

Stripping support from many of the poorest pensioners, just when energy bills are set to rise again this winter, has not gone down well. It is the wrong thing to do, and they need to rethink.

And considering dishing out a ban on smoking in outdoor spaces just strikes many of us as illiberal, unless you couple it with a slew of policies to improve social conditions. What message does it send to the South Asian community whose shisha bars are targeted?

Encourage, educate and inspire

Where is the ambition? Especially on health and social care. It is OK to be tough on the causes of ill health but you also have to be strong on overcoming the social and economic issues that underpin them.

We all know that only by getting people off NHS waiting lists can we get the economy growing strongly again. Empower people to live the best life they can. That is the responsibility of government. But don’t just ban them from doing things regarded as unhealthy.

Encourage, educate, and inspire them to live a different way. People want ambitious plans to turn our health around. As Liberal Democrats, we called for £1 billion boost to the public health grant and we will continue to call for action on issues like our national obesity crisis.

Brighter future

The first test for Labour comes when the Chancellor delivers the budget. We all want to hear what will soothe and relieve our economic and social pain. Not just what will hurt.

People don’t want the government to constantly talk down their future, blaming those who have gone before. They want to know that there will be a brighter alternative. That they have spent time coming up with changes the country can believe in, not just moving the paintings around in number 10.

Christine Jardine is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West