We don’t need a crystal ball to know what damage Labour would do… past shows a clear enough picture

THIS week has revealed a face of Labour they have tried desperately to disguise.

The truth is that you cannot trust Sir Keir Starmer when he says he has changed his party when he was forced to suspend two parliamentary candidates — Azhar Ali and Graham Jones — for comments they made about Israel in a private meeting.

What these characters said and what they stand for has nothing to do with the views and values of the vast majority of patriotic Britons.

The suspension of these two Labour politicians is a reminder that Sir Keir’s party is still haunted by the ghost of Corbynism.

Voters need to take a long hard look at what has emerged from Labour this week and ask themselves — is this really a party fit for No 10?

The differences of opinion in my party are nothing like the divisive splits at the core of Labour.

What unites Conservatives is a vision for a greater Britain.

A Britain of fair play and firm government.

We believe in and are working to deliver a greater future for Britain, with long-term economic security and opportunity.

We believe in a world where hard work is always rewarded; where ambition and aspiration are celebrated; where young people get the skills they need to succeed in life; where families are supported.

Seismic events

Where those who have worked hard all their lives enjoy the dignity they deserve in retirement, where our veterans are valued and the attack on our history and heroes is first resisted and then reversed — secure at home and abroad.

When the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, a vote to regain control of our borders and our sovereignty, it was a vote of confidence in our future.

But in the past few years we have endured immense challenges on the path to greatness in post-Brexit Britain.

The global pandemic and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are seismic events which have eclipsed almost all else.

The tribulations the British people have endured over the past few years have had the effect of fuelling feelings of insecurity.

To rebuild social solidarity demands strong leadership and a unity of purpose.

The right path to realise our full potential and focus on what matters to the British people necessitates such certainty and purpose.

A plan to make Britain greater depends upon a government that believes in what Brexit can bring.

Having made such a plan, we must be absolutely resolute in sticking to it.

The worldwide backdrop is far from straight-forward.

Life has been tough for many. Higher inflation, backlogs in our key public services and additional pressures caused by illegal channel crossings and too much immigration have posed serious challenges.

All this is cynically seized upon by establishment liberals who never believed in Brexit because they don’t really believe in Britain.

We are beginning to realise Brexit’s dividend

Sir John Hayes

Because they detest Britain’s past they despair of our future.

Yet in truth there has been some significant progress in the past year.

Inflation has fallen from 11.1 per cent to four per cent, wages are rising and mortgage rates are starting to come down.

As a result, National Insurance has been cut from 12 per cent to ten per cent, saving an average worker some £450 per year.

We are beginning to realise Brexit’s dividend.

Meanwhile, the number of small boat crossings is down by 36 per cent.

Indeed thanks to our returns agreements, crossings from Albania are down 93 per cent.

Nevertheless, to fulfil the Prime Minister’s pledge to “stop the boats” the Rwanda policy must be made to work, whatever it takes, regardless of the bleats and whines of its liberal critics.

By sticking to an authentically Tory post-Brexit plan, we will deliver a strong economy, reduced borrowing, lower taxes, cut immigration and curb welfare spending on those fit to work who won’t.

The alternative is Keir Starmer’s Labour, racked with guilt about our kingdom’s past and with no plan for its future.

Wrecking ball

He can’t say what he would do to deliver any of what the British public wants to see — on immigration, welfare and the economy.

We don’t need a crystal ball to know what damage Labour would do.

A look back to what happened the last time Labour was in power shows a clear enough picture.

New Labour took a wrecking ball to Britain’s economy, presided over the biggest single wave of mass migration in our history and smashed Britain’s age-old constitutional settlement.

The 2019 coalition of voters transcended the old split between the traditionally Tory rural shires and the post-industrial northern working towns, united by discontent with the decades of mass immigration, the hollowing out of our towns and cities and manufacturing capacity lost in pursuit of cheaper foreign imports.

Only by sticking to an authentically Tory plan driven by patriotic will, can we deliver for Britain.

Sir John Hayes

People wanted to see a self-confident government that believes in Britain, willing to put the interests of hard-working, law-abiding patriotic Britons first.

To make difficult decisions addressing the long-term problems facing the nation — improving economic security and opportunity for everyone — the last thing we need is Labour.

Only by sticking to an authentically Tory plan driven by patriotic will, can we deliver for Britain.

I am clear. We must stop obsessing about Rishi Sunak’s premiership and get on with making Great Britain greater still.