RUSHES: Keir Starmer speech to 'Labour Connected' party conference

Keir Starmer speech to 'Labour Connected' party conference; ** PART 2 of 6 ** ENGLAND: South Yorkshire: Doncaster: INT Sir Keir Starmer MP (Labour Leader) speech to 'Labour Connected' 'virtual' 2020 Labour Party Conference continued SOT - The mission of the Labour party I lead is to extend that same opportunity to everyone. And my vision for Britain is simple: I want this to be the best country to grow up in and the best country to grow old in. A country in which we put family first. A country that embodies the values I hold dear. Decency, fairness, opportunity, compassion and security. Security for our nation, our families and for all of our communities. Sadly, we don’t have a government that has such high standards. I’m hugely ambitious for this country. I think Britain has so much yet to achieve. And it angers me that this government is holding us back. I’ve tried to be constructive. I appreciate that these are unprecedented times and that governing is difficult. I’ve tried to be fair, to give the government the benefit of the doubt. But now, with one of the highest death rates in the world, and on the threshold of one of the deepest recessions anywhere, I’m afraid there is no doubt. This government’s incompetence is holding Britain back. They couldn’t get kids back into school in June. They couldn’t work out a fair system to get exams marked. They couldn’t get protective equipment to care workers and they wasted millions of your money in the process. Their failure to protect care homes is a national scandal. They still can’t organise a testing regime that’s even serviceable, let alone world-beating. The reason this incompetence angers me is that I think of the sacrifices people have made. I think of the dedication of all those who have worked so hard to keep us safe. The families that had to stay apart. The grandparents unable to hold grandchildren for the first time. Partners denied the chance to be present at scans and births. And in the most ...