Starmer vows to repeal anti-strike legislation

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer today gave a speech to one of Britain’s biggest unions but avoided mentioning the strikes which are blighting the country.

The extraordinary speech where Sir Keir admitted that Labour “needs to become the party of the working people again” saw him announce that he will repeal anti-strike laws brought in to guarantee minimum services in hospitals, schools and other vital areas for the nation’s health.

Conservative MPs today said that the “lapdog speech” confirmed that Sir Keir is “the union barons’ poodle” and that he will not work for the good of the British people if he is elected as Prime Minister next year.

With Labour 15 points ahead in the polls it seems likely that Starmer will get into 10, Downing Street.

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson, who left Labour in 2018 and is a former union activist, led the condemnation of Sir Keir.

Mr Anderson said: “In another sales pitch to the Mick Lynches of this world it looks like Sir Slippery is begging for more union cash to put in the election war chest.

“But what will the unions want in return? More taxpayers’ money is my guess.”

Stoke North MP Jonathan Gullis described the speech as being given by “a union baron poodle”.

He said: “Starmer is just in cahoots with the trade unions, following the orders given to him by his union baron bosses.

“It would have been good if Starmer could have found a backbone and demanded the end of the strikes so that the everyday lives of people are no longer disrupted and help this country get back on its feet after a very challenging three years with a global pandemic a war in Europe and a cost of living crisis.”

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Dudley North MP Marco Longhi pointed out Labour’s links to the climate change extremists who are disrupting everyday life blockading roads and vandalising places around the country.

He said: “The general public, who are the victims of union barons’ real intentions – to bring the Government down – will see Sir Keir’s position for what it is: completely implausible.

“How can he come across as credible and stand up to Unions when they bankroll him and the Labour Party?

“Ordinary people don’t buy his narrative, he consistently is on the side of Unions and other Labour-funding misery-causing entities such as Just Stop Oil.”

In his speech in Brighton, Sir Keir referred to his time on the Wapping picket lines in the 1980s when printers went on strike.

He said: “I was there in 1986, in Wapping, when the police charged the picket, doing my job as a legal observer.

“Everyone who stood in solidarity with the print workers – they were doing their job as well.

“But you know – I remember thinking that night. There’s one institution that isn’t doing its job here – the Labour Party.

“No – because the Labour Party was in opposition, it was on the sidelines. It was impotent and powerless. That’s the condition of opposition and I can’t stand it.”

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Promising to repeal anti-strike legislation, he went on: “In parliament again this week, a bill that takes away your hard-earned, democratic rights.

“Now, I can stand here and say – we will fight it and we will repeal it and mark my words – we will. But this only demonstrates the prize of power.

“The Labour Party is never doing its job when it’s in opposition – that’s our clause one.”

He also vowed to copy EU countries in strengthening the power of unions even more with collective bargaining agreements.

He said: “Economies like France, Germany and the Netherlands. Economies that have better collective bargaining, have stronger workers’ rights, and a fairer share of wealth across their country.

“So we will strengthen the role of trade unions in our society, and, like you, I want to see Amazon and businesses like it recognise unions.

“Nobody does their best work if they’re wracked with fear about the future if their insecure contract gives them no protection to stand up for their rights at work, or if a proper safety net doesn’t support them in times of sickness and poor health.

“That’s what Labour’s New Deal for working people is about.”

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