Starmer to give speech on slashing the state
Sir Keir Starmer is to give a major speech this morning as he prepares to set out his plans to scale back the size of the state.
The Prime Minister will deliver remarks in East Yorkshire in the next half hour, followed by a town hall-style discussion with civil servants.
Sir Keir is expected to announce a new target to slash the cost of government regulations.
It comes after he wrote an article for The Telegraph in which he admitted record tax and spending in recent years had not improved public services.
He warned that the British state has become 'overcautious and flabby', before going on to describe the Civil Service as 'overstretched [and] unfocused'.
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Political Correspondent
13 March 2025 • 10:21am
10:19AM
We'll put Britain back in the driver's seat, says PM
This Labour Government was elected on a simple pledge: change, writes Sir Keir Starmer.
That was our offer to the British people after 14 years of Tory chaos. But it also reflects our volatile world.
Global instability fuels insecurity here at home. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed up bills, raised prices, and threatened the peace of our continent.
When people are worried about their family finances. When our streets don't feel safe. And when our public services aren't there for people who need them, it all adds up to a sense that Britain isn't working for them.
In times like this, people look to their government not to be buffeted about by change, or even to merely respond to it. People want their government to seize the future and shape it for the benefit of the British people.
10:05AM
Starmer: I will tackle our flabby state
Sir Keir Starmer has warned that the British state has become 'overcautious and flabby', writes Daniel Martin.
Writing in The Telegraph ahead of his speech today, the Prime Minister admits that record taxation and spending in recent years have not led to improvement in front-line services.
He promises wholesale reform of the Civil Service, which he describes as 'overstretched, unfocused' and unable to deliver security in an uncertain world.
His comments echo the sentiments of Elon Musk in the US, who has promised to reduce the amount of taxpayers' money wasted in his role as the head of the department of government efficiency (Doge).
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