Keir Starmer has promised to rebuild Britain as Labour did after the second world war as he enters a pivotal year for his premiership.
The prime minister said in his prerecorded new year message that 2025 would be a year of rebuilding, with his government looking to turn the corner after a turbulent first six months in power.
Starmer invoked the forthcoming 80th anniversary of VE Day in May as he compared the task his government faces with that the Attlee government faced in 1945.
Labour ends 2024 with its poll rating lower than at any other year-end since the war, with surveys suggesting it would lose 200 seats if another election were held now. Starmer’s aides, however, insist voters will change their minds as they increasingly feel the effect of improvements to public services over the next few years, beginning in 2025.
Starmer said: “That is what we will be focusing on: a year of rebuilding. But also, rediscovering the great nation that we are, a nation that gets things done no matter how hard or tough the circumstances.
“We will have time to reflect on that this year, a chance, with the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day, to cherish the greatest victories of this country and the greatest generation that achieved it.
“But that victory, and indeed the peace and the prosperity that followed, all rested on that same foundation we must rebuild today. The security of working people, that is the purpose of this government, the goal of our plan for change. And we will push it forward in 2025.”
The prime minister is spending New Year’s Eve on holiday with his family, the first time he has been able to get away since becoming prime minister, after cancelling his summer plans when the riots broke out. Starmer delayed his trip for a day after the death of his brother, Nick, on Boxing Day, but flew out to join his wife and children over the weekend with friends reportedly saying he badly needs a holiday.
He will face a challenging in-tray when he returns this week, including the prospect of several more difficult months for the NHS, overly-full prisons and people continuing to cross the Channel in small boats in their hundreds every week. Labour is on 27% in the polls, the Conservatives on 25% and Reform UK on 22%.
May’s local elections are likely to prove a major test for Labour. Reform hopes to make significant gains, particularly in more working-class areas that voted Labour in 2024.
Some allies have urged Starmer to strike a more optimistic note after months of negative messaging about the state of Britain’s economy and public services, which some economists believe has contributed to much weaker growth than expected.
But despite the reference to Labour’s radicalism in the postwar era, the prime minister mainly struck a cautious note in his new year’s message, focusing on the economic pain he said people continue to feel.
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“I know there is still so much more to do, and that for many people it’s hard to think about the future when you spend all of your time fighting to get through the week,” he said. “So I want to be clear. Until you can look forward and believe in the promise and the prosperity of Britain again, then this government will fight for you.”
The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, gave only a brief new year’s message. “The Conservative party is also going through a period of change,” she said.
“This process of renewal will be a long-term project. Things may be bumpy along the way, but the party I now lead is going to do things differently.
“Watch this space.”
