Starmer delivers speech on civil society
Labour leader Kier Starmer delivered a speech at the Civil Society Summit in London on Monday, attended by charities and not-for-profit groups.
Pledging a “society of service”, Starmer said his Labour government would “reset” the relationship between government and civil society.
“Now we need a new vision for a new era. A renewed social contract. A new focus on those who build the bonds that connect us, the communities that nurture us and the local institutions that support us,” he said.
He described the current Tory government as “14 years of chaos and crisis” that has “pushed people to the brink, stretched charities like yours beyond their limits and damaged the social fabric that ties us together.”
Tories “seem set on sabotaging civil society to save their skins”
Starmer hit out at the recent Tory criticism of the National Trust, a conservation charity, saying, “It’s come to something when the Tories are at war with the National Trust. That’s what happens when politics of self-preservation prevail over commitment to service.”
He went on to say, “Instead of working with the National Trust so more people can learn about – and celebrate – our culture and our history, they’ve managed to demean their work.”
He also said the government’s rhetoric had “helped demonise” the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) – a charity that has helped migrants at risk of drowning in the Channel. Nigel Farage in particular has said the RNLI is being used as “a taxi service for illegal trafficking groups” – but Suella Braverman has called it an “incredible organisation” that is vital for “saving lives and helping people in distress”.
Starmer also fired into the Tory party’s disdain for “woke agendas”, saying, ”
In its desperation to cling onto power at all costs, the Tory Party is undertaking a kind of weird McCarthyism, trying to find woke agendas in the very civic institutions they once regarded with respect.”
“Waging a war on the proud spirit of service in this country isn’t leadership. It’s desperate. It’s divisive. It’s damaging,” he went on.
Starmer’s speech can be read in full here.
Let’s take a look at what the papers had to say about the speech, and what elements they took and flipped based on their political bias.
Unless linked, headlines are front pages for January 23 2024.
Starmer wades into culture wars – on the side of the woke
Daily Mail
Starmer ignites culture war with anti-woke Tories
independent
Tories hit out at Starmer’s ‘vacuous’ speech which attacks Tory ‘culture wars’
Conservative attacks on National Trust are desperate – Starmer
Keir Starmer keen to show he is not just ducking fights with the Tories
Keir Starmer says Tory culture wars are a kind of McCarthyism
Starmer defends the National Trust’s ‘woke’ agenda
Starmer is wrong to defend the National Trust
Keir Starmer defends National Trust against government ‘woke’ attacks as he vows to create ‘society of service’
Keir Starmer wants to end the Tories’ war on woke – accusing them of picking fights to stay in power
